How To Stop Dog Licking Wound Without Collar- 4 Safe Ways

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My heartfelt compassion for all those pet parents who are going through a hard time because their dog had a surgery or a recent accident. It’s probably a tough time and you need to calmly take care of your pet child. Usually, dogs have a harmful habit of licking wounds. And such action can lead to reopening the wound. Sometimes that results in a horrible infection. You surely don’t want to get that point.

Before you reach out to the shock collar, try something else. Let me tell you some ideas on how to stop dog licking wounds without collar.

How To Stop Dog From Licking Wound Without Collar Using 4 Tricks

Your dog is already in pain and so, it will be a bit too much if you use a shock collar during this time. But sometimes there’s this desperate need to stop the dog from licking wound. This is causing terrible harm and as a pet owner, you just can’t ignore that and then also, your heart doesn’t want to try the shock collar.

In such a confusing period, some ideas can help a lot. Let’s talk about those tips below one by one.

Why You Should Not Let Your Dog Lick an Open Wound?

Sometimes we end up slightly hitting our head due to sudden stress or frustration. But as a common human nature, we also rub our head right after hitting it. That’s kind of same for a dog licking its wound. This is usually not the case with wild animals. Since they are too busy looking for food or finding safe shelter. They lick occasionally only to clean the wound.

But domestic dogs are used to pampering and so, they have a devoted time towards licking themselves. However, when they do this to a wound, it becomes extensive and sorer eventually. Once a dog licks wound these things may happen:

Licking the slit or cut will delay healing process.
The wound will open and stitches might get removed as well.
It can turn into a horrible and hard-to-reform habit later.
Dog’s mouth can have bacteria and so, it can cause severe infection.

If one morning you come to visit your dog and find out a relatively red and excoriated looking skin around the wound, bad thing has happened. Most certainly your dog licked the incision at night and caused a problem. That’s why it’s important to never keep a wounded dog out of sight.

Bitter Formula Spraying Tactic.

Trying an Elizabethan collar on a dog can backfire if your pet can’t tolerate it. And so, you need another way rather than the collar. The first method that comes to my mind is Bitter Yuk. You need to invest in one bottle to try this.

This bottle is not the regular apple spray bitter drink. There’s no alcohol causing stinging properties with this. It’s basically a water-based formula. And it helps in repelling the dog from chewing or licking an open wound. There’s no stickiness with this formula. In most cases, it should work pretty effectively.

The formula is very much bitter. If you ever get even slightest on your lips accidentally chances are, you’ll feel the bitterness for a pretty long time. A dog that has this spray will never want to lick that terrible thing once he gets a taste. And there you are, comfortably sitting back knowing very well the wound is getting its time to heal properly without any problem.

Clothing Can Help.

Suppose your dog got a horrible wound in sensitive areas. Such as the genital area, tail, back leg, rump, and so on. If that’s the case then the veterinarian would suggest you always have a closer look at your dog. But if you need to leave the house, there must be something done to avoid the licking behind your back. A t-shirt or boxer can help.

You can use any men’s boxer for this. For abdominal or chest wounds, use a t-shirt instead. This will cover those wounds pretty well. And your dog won’t be able to lick anymore.

However, this is surely not going to work if you have a pretty aggressive or chaotic dog around. Since they are super flexible with removing clothing in no time. And so, it becomes critical and difficult to use clothes on this type of dog.

Teaching the Dog “Leave It” Command.

If you’re going to be in the house then leave it command can work pretty well. Most dogs already know this command. If not, then you must train your dog to learn this command. You can give your dog a soft toy or some sort of playing tool. This will keep the dog busy. And eventually, he or she won’t pay attention to the wound.

However, the only problem is that this command won’t be very effective for dog owners who need to leave the house. Since once they turn their back, the dog is supposed to go back to its usual self. They figure out the command maker is no more watching so they’ll start licking the wound again.

Using Recommended Itch Relief Medicines.

One common reason for dogs to lick their wound is the itchiness of wounded skin. If you figure out this is what happens to your dog then take help from a vet. Get some suggestions for using itch relieving products.

Most veterinarians will be able to prescribe itch relieving medication by inspecting your dog’s condition. Some common medicines that relieve itchiness are Benadryl and cortisone-based spray. There are also shampoos and steroids available. You can also find several home remedies for treating allergies.

Keep Your Dog Distracted.

You need to idle the tongue and paws of your dog. And so, you may think of using a bowl of food to distract. However, it will hardly need a minute to finish that bowl. You need to hide scattering biscuits around. This will keep your dog attentive for a long period of time.
You can also try using some plastic bottles with holes for hiding biscuits. This will keep your dog busy for quite a long time trying to destroy the bottle. Peanut butter stuffed in kongs is also a great way. Also, you can try chilled dog food. This will make your dog be attentive to the food since food are in solid form.
You need to use some mental activities such as teaching tricks for your dog and keep it tired.

Wrap Up

Dogs will lick their skin and wounds because that’s what they’ve learned from their ancestors. The saliva does have some antibacterial properties but that does not mean continuous leaking will help. Wild dogs don’t put all of their time into licking wounds because they need to find food and shelter.

But since your pet dog does not need such hunts and livelihood activities, it’ll spend time in these sorts of habits. By following these tips on how to stop dog licking wound without a collar you are letting it heal properly and safely. So, do not be careless about this unhelpful and harmful cycle of your dog.

Read Also:

How to Train a Dog with Shock Collar for Better Results?