Should you let a dog lick your wounds

Should You Let A Dog Lick Your Wounds. Unfortunately although dog saliva does have some healing properties the risks carried by allowing dogs to lick wounds are simply too high to warrant licking as a healing tool. Four The Elizabethan collar is really the only guaranteed way to prevent your dog from licking a wound. Although your dog means well when it tries to lick your wounds canine saliva can cause infections in humans. However if your dog wont let up with the licking problems can start fast.

Ringworm for you too. It can be helpful in trusting this process so no infection is created. If your dog has a minor superficial scrape allowing your dog to lick it for a minute is probably fine. Animals mouths are cleaner than ours they say citing the pithy adage that suggests wed all rather eat a plate of spaghetti off a dogs tongue than off our Crate Barrel finest. Though illnesses transmitted this way are rare Dr. These may be necessary if you are not right there to observe your dog closely at all times and in the case of surgical wounds.

Yet it may be important to not let your dog go too crazy with licking away at your wounds.

You can and you should let him lick it but not bite it. Keep your dog mentally occupied if he or she is otherwise healthy and up for it play games hide food practice tricks. If your dog has a significant wound or a surgical site licking should. It seems harmless and affectionate. Despite the suggestion that there may be bactericidal benefits the trauma caused by the friction of licking is destructive to the healing process. MRSA infection in humans which produce lesions like the unsightly one above can be caused by as little as one lick from your dog.