Stitches

I have a boston terrier that was just spayed and need to know easy technique for removing stitches?

I have a fiesty boston terrier that was just spayed and I was told my the animal shelter that had it done through a vet that we would need to clip out the stitches in 7 to 10 days. Is there a trick to this or will we just have to hold her and use cuticle scissors (cleaned) to do it?

Public Comments

1. What? I would call that animal shelter back up and tell them they need to remove the stitches for you. In every animal I have ever owned...and they've all been fixed...I have never had a vet tell me to remove the stitches myself. They either told me to come back in a week or put in the kind that dissolve. I don't know...maybe I'm over reacting...I just don't think it's fair that they expect someone with no animal medical experience to do something like that.
2. Take her in to have them professionally removed....
3. Usually the vet who does the surgery takes out the stitches - are you sure they told you to do it yourself??? If so, wait the full 10 days, by then the stitches will be lose and the area of the incision shrunk and you can just use clean manicure scissors to cut the stitch and pull it out. If there is ANY redness or infection, you need to have a vet look at her.
4. you can do that, but you could also take her to the vet to have it done. most wont charge for that
5. Please don't clip the stitches out yourself, regardless of what the shelter told you. You say yourself that the dog is "fiesty"--why would you take a chance that she'll squirm while you're trying to cut so close to her skin!? Usually, the stitches that are used are made so that they dissolve. If these stitches must be removed, please bring her to a vet to make sure they're ready to be removed and then have the vet do it.
6. OMG, the easy way is to take the dog to the vet to have them removed then you dont' have to worry aobut infection or hurting the dog and you can have her checked out and started on her shots too. Why don't ppl want to take the dog to the vet anymore??????
7. Take her back to the vet if stitches need to be removed. I really thought they were using dissolvable stitches these days.
8. That is silly that this shelter would use these types of sutures and then tell you to go somewhere else to have them removed. But they are actually very easy to remove. Sit on the floor and allow her to calm down before going at her with scissors. Roll her over and clip one side of the suture and pull it out. Don't snip both ends because you want the whole thing to come out. Wash with a little soap and water and that's it. Just make sure you get all the sutures. If they are tied real tight (they usually are not) just be careful you don't stick or cut her. It will make it difficult to remove the others.
9. Suture removal at the vet that did the sugery, is usually (correct me if I'm wrong) just a follow up FREE visit. The 3 times I've had female dogs in the past 25 years, I've never been charged for spay suture removal. Plus at the same time, it gives the vet the opportunity to look over the incision and make sure everything's healing properly.