Can I put super glue on my dogs incision?

Surgical glue is used by surgeons and vets when they need to seal an incision quickly, cleanly, and securely. It also has its application for closing wounds as part of first aid.

Did you know that? I didn’t.

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Surgical glue versus superglue
Super Glue on wound? *Edit* Buddy's stitches are OUT!!
What glue is safe for dog cuts?
Can you super glue an incision?

When Cookie cut her paw pad, I was double-checking the best ways of taking care of the wound and getting it healed fast. I did find some articles on the internet that mentioned crazy glue. Of course, that just sounded down-right crazy.

When I turned to the Dog Health Issues Facebook group, super glue came up again.

This time from a respected vet technician. While some other feedback also considered this crazy, I was intrigued.

You can superglue the laceration closed. Just make sure it’s a new super glue so that it is not contaminated. Clean the area well, pat dry and super glue the laceration shut. It is basically the same as surgical glue just not sterilized …

Surgical glue versus superglue

There is a medical-grade super glue that you can get that works on pads. My dumb fur kid cut hers about 2″ across…took her to the emergency vet and they closed it with superglue. 300 dollars later…. she cut the other pad the next day (I crawled the yard on all 4s to find a broken unearthed bottle on old land) and we glued it ourselves …

I have closed many wounds with superglue, work beautifully.

It was already late for us to try because the wound was no longer fresh and I was afraid of contamination.

However, I did ask Jasmine’s vet and he actually didn’t think it was such a crazy idea at all.

Cut pads are hard to heal because every time they put weight on it , the edges are pushed apart. Glue is unlikely to hold edges together but can act as a bandage to attempt to protect skin cells trying to heal..
Dr. Rae Worden

He was skeptical about whether it would be effective enough but didn’t think it was a crazy idea.

So that’s quite interesting. Perhaps if Cookie ever cuts her pad again, we might take her in and have it professionally cleaned and glued, depending on the wound.

The bandaging route we chose works fairly well but it’s a long process. The glue might or might not have worked better.

Notes:

the wound needs to be perfectly clean prior gluing as you don’t want to seal any bacteria or debris into the tissues
never use glue for wounds from animal bites
note that the application really hurts at first

Related articles:
Dog Wound Care: Scissor-Free Bandaging
Dog Wounds and Manuka Honey: Our Experience Using Raw Manuka Honey for Wound Care
Canine Wound Care 101: Classification, treatment, and physical therapy

Further reading:
Simple First Aid to Treat Your Dog’s Cuts and Small Wounds at Home

Super Glue on wound? *Edit* Buddy's stitches are OUT!!
Has anyone ever used Super Glue on a dog's wound?
Buddy put his foot through a glass window again when an unexpected thunderstorm rolled through yesterday when no one was home to give him his tranquilizers.
He has an inch long gash where his foot pad ends. It's not in his pad it's the flesh. The hubby came home at 4:00 to find the shattered glass and bloody foot prints all over the house and called me to come home from work.
It happened at about 3:00.
It was bleeding a lot yesterday but has slowed down. The problem is that every time he walks, it opens back up because of where it is.
They are in crates today I'm hoping that keeping him off of his foot all day will help it to start healing and stop re-opening.
A friend has used super glue on their dogs a few times to close open wounds.
I was wondering if anyone here has ever used it and how it worked for them.
Of course if it doesn't look like its any better today I'll take him in for stitches, but my thought is that the super glue would help to keep it from re-opening and it would be able to heal on its own.
Last edited by pitc9; 08-11-2007 at 11:09 AM.

~Angie, Sierra & Buddy
**Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die!**
I suffer from multiple Shepherd syndrome
Originally Posted by pitc9
Has anyone ever used Super Glue on a dog's wound?
A friend has used super glue on their dogs a few times to close open wounds.
I was wondering if anyone here has ever used it and how it worked for them.
There are a lot of differing opinions found on various internet sites about using
"Super Glue" as opposed to sterile "Surgical Glue". Here's one guy's opinion >>>
"most forms of super glue aren't considered toxic to humans -- hencesome forms are approved for use as a "suture" material.
Scott, do you just look for one that says "non-toxic" or is it moreinvolved than that?
Reply:
AFAIK cyanoacrylates in general are not toxic.
The ones made for medical use have a longer carbon chain on them, yielding a more flexible bandage. Plus, they are made to be sterile, and they have a dye in them. For example I think that Johnson & Johnson Liquid Bandage has an 8-carbon chain on the cyanoacrylate, and it is very flexible and comfortable. There is a similar product for vet use called VetBond. There is even a cyanoacrylate made for internal surgical sutures.
Regular superglue on the other hand is a methyl cyanoacylate, I think, which is 1 carbon, and it's crusty and rigid when it dries.
However, whenever I get a cut I still use plain old superglue on it and it works great. I have heard anecdotal evidence about doctors doing the same thing at home too. Note that you don't put the glue IN the cut, you use it to keep the edges sealed together by putting it over the top.
Hope Buddy heals up quickly!
I have heard that it works, but I've never used it myself. Also, liquid bandage has worked, too. Again, never used anything like that. The only wound I ever had to deal with like that was far far too severe for anything I could do at home (it was a dog attack), so I've not had any experience with the super glue or the liquid bandage.

The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world. - Dr. Paul Farmer
I've done it, on smaller tears. It worked fine. Don't use on any kind of puncture or deep wound. Those need to drain. Pine sap works too on smaller wounds!
I probably shouldn't admit this, but I use it more often on my husband than on my dogs! Stuart's scalp and his hands have been held together by superglue quite frequently!
My Mom used to be a fly-in nurse in a very remote area. She says she never went anywhere without a tube of Crazy Glue!
ya learn the darndest things here!
It's all going to depend on how it looks today when I get homeif I use the glue or not.
I don't know for sure how deep it really is, it was a piece of broken glass, so it could be quite deep. I'll have to make sure I take a good look at it.
The hard part would be making sure I only get the glue on the skin and not inside his boo boo.
Oh Bud....

~Angie, Sierra & Buddy
**Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die!**
I suffer from multiple Shepherd syndrome
Originally Posted by pitc9
It was a piece of broken glass, so it could be quite deep.
I'll have to make sure I take a good look at it.
The hard part would be making sure I only get the glue on the skin
and not inside his boo boo.
You really need to be CERTAIN there aren't any Glass Fragments still IN the wound!
Not so sure how you can make that determination - gonna be hard to *see* into
the wound without causing more bleeding (and pain).
Maybe you should dial up the White Coats and ask them what to do?
A "little cut" is a candidate for a home fix-zit Glue Job ...
a deep cut, possible witha a foreign object (GLASS) imbeded is something I'd
be inclined to turn over to someone who signs their name with "DVM" on the end.
Hang in there Bud ... we'll figure this out purdy quick!
Wow, this really is very interesting. I hope buddy's boo-boo is not serious, but just in case he may need some extra cookies tonight. And I am going to buy some VetBond, or liquid bandage or maybe even superglue on my way home tonight. I agree with Pat, the things you learn on here are amazing.
I've Been Boo'd!
I actually spread it open last night and flushed it with water and could see in it quite well (blech....) and didn't see anything. I was going to stop at a drug store on my way home from work now and buy some saline to flush it out with to be sure there's nothing in the wound.
I'll know for sure what's going on when I get home around 6:00.
*Watching the clock... tick... tick... tick...*
~Angie, Sierra & Buddy
**Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die!**
I suffer from multiple Shepherd syndrome
Yes, one can use superglue on cuts. I've done it dogs, a snake ... and humans, too.
I asked my vet about it when I first heard about it. He told me it worked well and caused no harm, as long as you use your common sense. Obviously, one would not use superglue on a puncture wound or a huge gaping wound.
My grandma was a nurse, and told me the same thing.
"We give dogs the time we can spare, the space we can spare and the love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made" - M. Facklam"We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers and discoverers - thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams."- P.S. Beagle"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king." - J.R.R. Tolkien
Originally Posted by pitc9
Buddy put his foot through a glass window again when an unexpected thunderstorm rolled through yesterday when no one was home to give him his tranquilizers.

\
AWW Buddy, we are so sorry you were spooked by that nasty storm and even more that you got yourself a booboo. I have heard of a super glue type material being used to close wounds but didn't know if there was a specific kind for this use rather than using the generic stuff you can buy in the store. I agree...the things you learn here! (((Hugs))) to you Buddy. In the future, just remember what my mom told me when I was little. It is just God moving his furniture.
Originally Posted by Pam
In the future, just remember what my mom told me when I was little. It is just God moving his furniture.
Oh I'd give ANYTHING for him to believe that!
Well... $180 later Buddy has 4 stitches.
When I got home from work yesterday, after him sitting in his crate all day the wound looked good!! No bleeding and it looked like it might close on its own!!

Yippee!! Well.. That celebration was short lived.
I had to leave for a little while, so I gave Bud a happy pill and I left the fans on, radio on and windows closed just in case a storm came through. Well.. one did, and nothing I did worked to help ease him through the storm.
When I came home he had jumped through the window he had broken out the day before and now was trapped in our mud room and had ripped his wound open again.
There was blood all over the floor, doors and windows, he had been scratching on and jumping on them freaking out.
So we went to the white coats this morning and they gave him 4 stitches. I thought I was going to have to leave him there all day, but they just gave him a local and zip zip zip zip, we were outta there!
*sigh* Oh Bud....
~Angie, Sierra & Buddy
**Don't breed or buy while shelter dogs die!**
I suffer from multiple Shepherd syndrome
Used it and it works great. I also use the glue from drugstores that are for humans, works great also, never noticed a difference really and super glue was cheaper.
Geez, I'm so sorry that he has such a horrible fear. Lilly and Zipper were terribly afraid of thunderstorms, but they never did anything like that. Hope the sweet boy will be healed up soon and that you can find some kind of solution to this horrible problem.
Logan
oh, Buddy, you poor baby!
Have you ever talked to Nancy E about Buddy's storm fears? Maybe she could help communcate to him about it. Let's hope there are no more thunderstorms for a while (yeah, in Ohio, right
) Big hugs to your Buddy baby, and to you too! Belly rubs for Sierra!

What glue is safe for dog cuts?

Vetbond Tissue Adhesive comes in a convenient and easy to use 3ml bottle with for reusable tips. Vetbond helps to quickly close minor wounds, while eliminating the need for bandages. This product creates a strong bond, and polymerizes in seconds. Vetbond comes in an easy to see blue dye, making application a breeze.

Can you super glue an incision?

Takeaway. For certain kinds of cuts, super glue can be an effective way of closing the wound for healing. Using the version formulated for medical use — as opposed hardware glue — will avoid irritation and be more flexible. If you have a deep cut that is bleeding profusely, seek professional medical attention.