Meet Thor
Our family adopted him when he was 10 months old. His original owners said he was “uncontrollable,” and we were approached because Mark McKibben, husband, and father, is a dog trainer. Within no time, Thor became a model citizen, so much so that he attends meetings with Mark and has become the example of a well-behaved pooch.
Fast forward to about six years. As a more mature dog, Thor developed a lipoma, a lump under the skin that occurs due to an overgrowth of fat cells. His wound was on his hip and quite large. (Yes, he needs to lose weight.) Vets consider lipomas as non-cancerous growths, but it’s always advisable to remove them, just in case.
So, Mark took him in to have the growth removed. That was the easy part.
Should Dogs Lick Wounds to Heal Them?
It’s said dog kisses heal, so why didn’t we let Thor lick his post-surgical incision? Let me answer by asking, when was the last time your dog ate something off the sidewalk that you couldn’t identify? When was the last time they went licking their unmentionables? How many times do they brush their teeth?
It’s true that dogs can be a comfort when their people are depressed, hurting, lonely and need a friend. But while their mouths have a different set of bacteria separate from humans, which is why they don’t get sick when we have a cold and we can’t get kennel cough from them, licking a wound has a higher potential of getting infected.
Let us tell you about the experience we had with Thor licking his stitches.
Want to read more of Stephanie McKibben's article written for Penn Scripter? Click here.
Til Next Time,
Carol
Our family adopted him when he was 10 months old. His original owners said he was “uncontrollable,” and we were approached because Mark McKibben, husband, and father, is a dog trainer. Within no time, Thor became a model citizen, so much so that he attends meetings with Mark and has become the example of a well-behaved pooch.
Fast forward to about six years. As a more mature dog, Thor developed a lipoma, a lump under the skin that occurs due to an overgrowth of fat cells. His wound was on his hip and quite large. (Yes, he needs to lose weight.) Vets consider lipomas as non-cancerous growths, but it’s always advisable to remove them, just in case.
So, Mark took him in to have the growth removed. That was the easy part.
Should Dogs Lick Wounds to Heal Them?
It’s said dog kisses heal, so why didn’t we let Thor lick his post-surgical incision? Let me answer by asking, when was the last time your dog ate something off the sidewalk that you couldn’t identify? When was the last time they went licking their unmentionables? How many times do they brush their teeth?
It’s true that dogs can be a comfort when their people are depressed, hurting, lonely and need a friend. But while their mouths have a different set of bacteria separate from humans, which is why they don’t get sick when we have a cold and we can’t get kennel cough from them, licking a wound has a higher potential of getting infected.
Let us tell you about the experience we had with Thor licking his stitches.
Want to read more of Stephanie McKibben's article written for Penn Scripter? Click here.
Til Next Time,
Carol
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