Does a dog licking his wounds really help?
Ever scraped your knee? Licking wounds is instinctive behaviour for many animals and primates (yes, even us). It won’t take long before your dog comes over to try and lick your weeping knee. Some historic traditions promoted that dog saliva has healing properties good for humans but the jury is still out on that one. It’s not something we recommend.
Dogs lick to clean themselves with great success. They also naturally lick their wounds because less face it, licking is the only option they have but it is not always helpful.
The licking motion can be beneficial for removing debris from the surface of the wound and the saliva does contain beneficial properties for healing but don’t be fooled into thinking it is sterile. Some science argues that wound licking is most beneficial when used by the same individual that has sustained the injury. However, sometimes no licking is beneficial. Licking and or biting to excess is definitely not a good thing and can lead to slower healing, no healing though damage to new tissue and even secondary infections.
Many people may argue that in the wild canines have to make do without intervention and wound licking may have even helped more wounds that it has hindered. But before you look at your vet in horror at the thought of bandaging or an Elizabethan style collar whilst your dog heals remember that most injuries occurring in the wild do not usually need to recover from surgical incision sites and some injured canines in the wild don’t make it through at all. We cannot always trust nature to look after wounds and leaving it to chance can result in disfigurement or death. Medical intervention can mean less pain, less suffering and shortened healing time. Your veterinarian can assess a wound properly including the degree of tissue damage etc. and set you on the right path for wound management.
Leah & Angela O’Meara
Hound Dog Day Care (Specialists in Dog Minding & Dog Boarding, Pet Sitting Brisbane & Doggy Day Cares Brisbane)