Just wanted to hear what other people have experienced. I posted a week ago about my gsd Jake who killed his ceramic bowl and ended up with stitches in his paw.

I kept it wrapped until Thursday night, then carefully unwrapped it and since it looked pretty dry and healthy, left the bandage/wrap off as instructed by the vet. This morning I let Jake and Dixon out, and one of the neighbor's cats was taunting them through the back fence, so of course they tore off after him. When he came in I noticed his paw was bleeding lightly. Dabbed at it gently with a clean, wet paper towel and noticed that one end of the "thread" appears to have popped out. I put him in his crate and when I went home at lunch, it was clean and no longer bleeding (I'm sure he licked it). Put him back in his crate with a kong.

Called the vet, and they said as long as the cut hadn't opened up, to just try and keep him from messing with it until the ten days was up (they said I'd have to bring him back in 7-10 to have the stitches out).

Sorry that was a long description-- but is all that normal? Should I be doing anything else? Jake keeps trying to run around like nothing ever happened- doesn't seem to be bothering him at all.

I'm such a worry-wort

Try to keep this guy quiet. :-) Walk him on a leash to relieve himself for the next 10-14 days. If the stitches/wound are in the pad of the foot, they can take forever to heal over! Keep the foot clean & dry, covering it with a plastic bag when he goes out works and just remove it when he comes in. If he will not leave it alone, go and pick up an elizabethan collar from your vet so he can't lick at it. It will not heal if it is constantly moist from his licking.

Someone was nice enough to throw their empty soda can into my yard about 10 years ago and Rasta sliced the rear pad on his right front paw. He had the stitches out two days later. We went to a country/working animal vet and he said "I can restitch it, but he's just going to pull them out again. Keep it clean and let it granulate shut." Take that with a grain of salt but his foot healed without issue.

 Quote: carolyn pike

.... noticed that one end of the "thread" appears to have popped out. ....

But no red puffiness along the original wound and no opening of it at all, right?

Nope-- no red puffiness and the original wound still looks closed. The cut was actually just above the pads at the back of the "foot" so he's not physically stepping on it, but I'm sure it flexes as he walks.

He seems to be leaving it alone pretty well. I occasionally catch him licking at it and tell him No then give him something else to keep him occupied or we do some marker training with lots of treats. I was surprised he didn't mess with the bandage when he had that on; he did try to "help" me remove it when I was unwrapping it though.