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My puppy is dripping blood after spay surgery. What should I do now?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 34.6 lbs

My 5 month old puppy was just spayed on Monday, and tonight after a walk I noticed she is dripping a small amount of blood-tinged fluid. She did have her e-collar off for a bit yesterday and when we noticed her licking we stopped her and put it back on. The incision looks fine other than maybe one suture looking somewhat loose.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on September 30th, 2017

It could be that Scarlett is being exercised too much, leading to a seroma (a build up of fluid). When puppies are spayed, there should be no exercise at all to allow them to heal properly. At most, she should be take out on a leash to go potty in yard, and brought right back in when she's done. Do not take her for anymore walks until her stitches are out. She could have loosened a suture by licking at the incision, so do not take the collar off again. Keep an eye on the incision site, and if she continues to drip bloody fluid, the amount of fluid increases, you notice swelling in the area, and/or she loses a suture, take her into a vet.

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Related Questions

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Health & Wellbeing
Got my pup spayed today and I looked at her incision and and there blood around it , I don’t think it’s wet blood because it’s not getting on anything but I don’t know if I should be worried.
The image shows no drips or tracks of blood. This may be some normal post op discharge. If she will allow, you can use a plain, unscented baby wipe to gently clean around the incision. Keep an e-collar (cone) on her and restrict her activity to just leash walks for elimination. Avoid or prevent running, jumping, stairs or rough play as much as possible. If she has a crate, consider crating her for the night. Monitor for active bleeding, discharge, lethargy or pale gums. If any of these develop, she should be seen by your veterinarian or at the nearest veterinary ER.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Our dog got spayed 3 days ago. We are seeing a small amount of bleeding from the incision today. The first picture is the day of the incision, the second is today. Should we be worried?
The site itself looks good. No swelling, redness or bruising and it appears closed. The slight discharge does not appear to be frank blood. It looks like it may be fluid from a seroma. Seromas can occur after surgery. Continue to monitor the site, If the discharge increases or has a bad odor then see your veterinarian. Monitor Delilah for lethargy, fever, loss of appetite, vomiting or diarrhea. These are symptoms that should also be addressed by your vet. Keep an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent licking or chewing of the site. You can use a diluted betadine or Hibiclens solution around the site to keep the area clean.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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My 7 month old doberman puppy was spayed 5 days ago, and of course she has stitches, which will come out after 10 days. Anyway, all has been going well, and she has been on restricted activity, no running or stairs, but today when I took her out on t
It can happen sometimes that puppies can get a little overexcited after surgery! One concern about too much activity is that it can cause a seroma to form at the incision site. A seroma is a collection of fluid in the dead space under the skin, and can be a common complication post-surgery. They aren't very serious, they typically resolve on their own, but sometimes the vet may need to drain them. The other concern is that too much activity can interrupt the healing process and cause the internal and external sutures to fail. I would keep an eye on the incision, checking it twice daily. If you notice any swelling in the area, have Roxie seen by your vet for an ultrasound on the swelling to check what it causing it. Also have her seen by the vet if you notice the sutures coming out, or if the incision becomes red, hot, and/or has pus coming from it. Otherwise, one little run shouldn't cause a problem. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I got my 7mo old puppy spayed 3 days ago and at the top and bottom of her incision there is some blood drainage. It is also still really swollen around the incision.
If Marley has significant swelling with bloody discharge from her incision, she should be seen re-examined by her vet. This can indicate infection and poor healing of the incision. She will likely be started on a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications. Make sure she is wearing an e-collar (cone) at all times until her incision as fully healed to prevent further issues.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
young dog about 1 year old spayed one week ago. Since that time she has been straining some when outside. She had a bloody mucus discharge the first day. Now the discharge appears to be blood only. when she was spayed she was pregnant. I am not sure
I recommend to call the clinic who preformed the procedure. It's possible the blood is coming from the surgery site or that she has a bladder infection (which can happen after a spay). The veterinarian may want to exam Sissy to make sure she is not bleeding internally from the surgery site. They may also want to test her urine. I hope this helps and that this gets figured out quickly. Please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Out pup was spayed on Tuesday, and tonight got a little too rough during play and it looks like her stitches may have opened in one area. It lightly bled in that area, but not much. We would like to know if these stitches should be touched up or if t
Hello, and thank you for your question. It looks like Sydney's incision is still mostly apposed. I would keep her very quiet for the next week, and keep an e-collar on her at all times. With strict rest, the small gap may start to scab up and start healing on its own. Over the next few days, if you notice any further redness, swelling or discharge, I would take her back to the vet to see if she may need a few stitches or tissue glue to re-appose the edges again. I hope this helps, and that Sydney continues to heal well!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My puppy was spayed yesterday and this evening she has a scant amount of serous discharge at the incision site. The wound is well approximated at this time with minimal swelling and slight redness right at the incision. She has sutures, which are hid
Great question! Yes, a small amount of serous discharge is normal, and as long as it isn't excessive or bloody, there's not need to take Kimber into the vet. Keep monitor the incision, make sure she doesn't lick at it by keeping the Ecollar on her at all times, and be sure to contact your vet (or ask us!) with any questions or concerns :-)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My bitch has been spayed a few days ago, the part where they cut her started to swell then started to dribble out really watery blood and the swelling was all gone
This likely was a little seroma and the body actually evacuated it all by itself. This is not infection, but a natural reaction of the body to the insult (wound). As long as the incision did not open up there should be no problem. Make sure Dave cannot lick the incision (e-collar! at all times) and the incision does not get very swollen, painful , hot, and angry red, all is well. Should it turn like I described you will need to take Dave back to your vet for a recheck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
We adopted Mia 3 days ago. One day before we adopted her she was spayed. She’s somewhere between 3-5 months old. Tonight we noticed she had been lightly bleeding from her incision. We let her off leash today and think she may have irritated it doing
Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. Judging from the photos, it appears as though the area around the incision is slightly swollen with a small amount of blood evident. If Mia is otherwise normal and the color of her gums is nice and pink, I would suggest applying some pressure to the incision area and holding this for 10-15 minutes to see if the bleeding stops. With her being hyper, she certainly could have caused a blood vessel in her skin to begin bleeding. If the bleeding does not stop with pressure, I would get her examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog was spayed 9 days ago and she just started bleeding from her vagina about 4 days ago. It’s is a mucus type of blood, not excessive but consistent. She doesn’t appear to be in pain. The wound from the spay is almost healed. Her gums are not pal
That is unexpected. I recommend to get Sadie in to see her veterinarian quickly. An infection of the internal surgical site or a bladder infection could be to blame. The doctor will likely want to check her PCV to make sure there’s no evidence that one of the ligatures came off a blood vessel and internal bleeding is present. I recommend to call them now and tell them what is happening. I suspect they will want to see her. Hopefully it’s nothing serious! Please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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