How to Clean a Dog After Neutering

Neutering a dog requires an incision be made in your dog’s scrotum to remove the testicles and tie off ducts and blood supply. Your veterinarian will then close the incision, usually with dissolving stitches. Most veterinarians recommend that you not bathe your dog for 7 to 10 days after neutering, as water can compromise the stitches used to close incisions and introduce contaminants. 

What do you do to clean the area around the incision if required, or to clean your dog if he manages to get soiled in the meantime?  It is not uncommon for dogs recovering from anesthesia to pee or poop on themselves, or to vomit during recovery. What if your dog needs a cleaning after neutering, what can you do to address hygiene without compromising his incision?  There are several methods you can use to clean up your recently... err... altered companion!

• Avoid getting incision areas wet. Work around the incision.
  
• Do not manually interfere with incision area.  Pat dry or clean around the incision, not directly on it, except when necessary by irrigating with saline.
  
• Watch for signs of infection of hemorrhage and get medical assistance if required.
  
• Use clean hands and clean materials when working on your recently neutered dog, to keep the surgical site clean and uncontaminated.
  

Your neutered dog has had quite enough tampering with, thank you very much--just ask him! If you need to clean urine, feces or vomit off him after surgery, spot clean him and keep his scrotal area dry. If it is necessary to clean the incision area, do so by irrigating with saline and cleaning the surrounding area very gently, wiping in a direction away from the incision. You will also want to discourage your dog from cleaning himself and licking this area, and you may need to use an Elizabethan collar for this if required. 

The less cleaning and interference at the surgical site the better. Bathing should wait until at least a week after surgery as it is important to avoid getting his surgical incision wet, which could compromise and loosen stitches and introduce contaminants to the surgical site. Usually, neutering is a straightforward procedure and little cleaning is required other than necessary spot cleaning.