My 6 yr old Female rottie/doberman

Question
On Friday I had a mast cell tumor removed from the side of her chest.  When we picked her up she ad a collar on her and the vet did not give us any instructions about covering her stitches, we asked because she is a large dog and we were concerned about her scratching.  He said not to worry; well this morning I only lost sight of her for a few minutes and she scratched 3 stitches off has about a one inch open wound on her side and the vet told us it was ok to wait until Tuesday morning to re stitch her.  Is this normal for a vet to recommend.  What can we do in the mean-time?  Thank you very much.
Maritza

Answer
Maritza-

If it is a clean, dry opening with no leakage and no swelling, it *can* wait until Tuesday when the vets reopen. Personally, I wouldn't want to wait because it just leaves a bigger chance of infection, but that involves taking her to an emergency vet to restitch if yours isn't open on labor day. Were they sutures, or staples? In the meantime, I would keep her on leash whenever she goes out, and keep the E-collar on. You can also cut an old T-shirt into a kind of vest for her to offer some more protection to the sutures.

Good luck- I hope she feels better!