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Dog neutered yesterday: incision red with pus. Is this normal?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Samoyed | Male | neutered | 8 months and 9 days old | 40 lbs

My dog got neutered yesterday and the vet told us to go to the emergency vet if his sutures burst open. We have been trying to limit his movements but he has been walking around a little. We are crating him now to limit any further movement. He has a little yellow puss and some redness (picture provided). Just curious if you think we should bring him to get resutured at an emergency vet or really crack down on the no movement? Don't know what's normal a day after surgery.

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1 Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on August 19th, 2017

Oh no, poor Oliver! Thank you for providing pictures of his incision. There is a little blood, which is normal after surgery, but the incision itself doesn't appear very red or swollen. It's also normal to see a little bit of discharge, but it doesn't look like a huge amount to me from your photos. I would crack down on the no movement, keep him confined to a crate to limit any further moment. Take him out to potty and put him right back in when he's done. Continue to monitor the incision, and if it becomes very red, swollen, warm to the touch, any sutures burst, there is an excess amount of bloody discharge, or there is large amounts of pus from the incision, then I would take Olive into a vet immediately. I hope this helps!

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