The average length of time for stitch removal

[maxview]

It has now been 7 days since Zolton's ear crop. His ears are looking good, nice and dry thanks to the Gold Bond powder which is all I have used on him during the past week.
My question is how long has everyone else left the stitches in before removal?

I was going to call the breeder today as she said she would remove them....she has been breeding Danes for 20 years very experience but I just wondered if I should take him to my vet to have it done or let my breeder do it (who is obviously not a vet or vet technician)....the clinic that she took my puppy along with one of her show bitch puppies is about 2 hours out of town.
And since there have been no complications and the stitches look fine I thought either having my breeder or my personal vet do the removal will be less tramatic than a two hour drive both ways for the puppy.

I think personally I might feel better taking him to our personal vet (who will now be looking after his needs) to remove the stitches but I don't want to insult the breeder who has been most helpful....any suggestions??

Also the foam that is still attached pretty securely to his head will that stay on for a while still after the stitches are removed??

Any input appreciated
Barb

[lwrees72]

Most leave stitches in for 7-10 days, some as long as 14. Depends on how the edges are healing. I removed mine at 10 days. My breeder's daughter (former vet tech) and I removed them. We then put Gold Bond on the ears, posted them, taped them and braced them up. They were down no more than an hour.

[krb0471]

I was a first time ear poster as well, and removed my girl's stitches at around 10 days. Her skin was beggining to heal over the stitches, so if the ears look healed I'd remove them to avoid scar tissue like we have. Just use cuticle scissors or a seam ripper and be gentle, it's not as difficult/scary as you think.
Good luck!

[Carolyn]

I remove the stitches 8 days post surgery (for ears).

Recommendation:

Id go back to your breeder to have the stitches removed.
2 reasons:
1) the pup knows the breeder and feels comfortable there. Sometimes removing the stitches can be a not so pleasant experience (especially if there is a deep stitch that needs to be dug out) and the pup would be more forgiving/understanding having this done by someone they know.
You dont want the pups first trips to the vet to be anything but happy and positive!

2) every cropper does a little bit different stitch job on ears, and Im guessing your breeder knows the fastest/most efficient way to remove the stitches on that crop.

Good luck which ever way you decide!