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My dog's spay incision looks raised with a skin fold. Is it normal?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 6 lbs

Hi, sending my question again as the picture did not get uploaded correctly. My female dog (almost 1 year old) was spayed 10 days ago. She is acting healthy. However, the incision scar appears a bit raised, like there is a fold of skin alongside the scar. Is this normal? There is no redness, additional swelling or discharge. Picture attached. Thank you!

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 9th, 2019

Thank you for providing a picture! I agree, there is no redness or discharge, so I don't see signs of infection. It may be the incision hasn't healed apposed correctly, giving this line of skin. This can be normal, but have Poppy checked out by a vet to be safe. I hope this helps!

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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is this spay incision healing properly? or does it look infected? this is my first dog and im not sure what exactly to look for. the dr said a little redness is ok, but to me this looks swollen..please advise if I should take her to the vet. Thanks
It is normal to have some redness and a little bit of swelling, and from the picture, Skye's incision looks fine to me. It looks like the incision is healing well, and I would be concerned if the incision was really red and quite swollen. Continue to monitor it, and if the swelling and redness increases, then I would take her into the vet. You can take into the vet if you'd would like just to be sure, and it may give you peace of mind. I hope this helps :-)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Long story short we had our high strung shepherd spayed in early May. We had issues with the vet and with our dog being so active it was hard to keep her calm. The incision swelled a little we saw a new vet who got us on antibiotics and she's been fi
It looks like there could be some inflammation at the site of the incision. That could be due to her body breaking down the sutures, or she caused some sort of trauma to the area. If she is acting normal and you don't feel any swelling around that area I would wait and see if it improves. But if there is swelling, drainage, or pain I would worry about a dehiscence (opening of the incision) which would be an emergency and she should see a vet immediately.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My dog was spayed on Thursday and her incision looks swollen and red. Is this normal?
Hello and welcome to Boop by Petco. The incision looks inflammed, but this could be part of the normal healing process. If there is any discharge, OR if the wound looked better than this previously and is now looking MORE red than say Friday or Saturday, I would take her back to the vet right away. If it is steadily looking better, and she is eating, drinking, pooping and peeing normally, then you can continue to monitor it. Best of luck with Lilo.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Lina had a spay/gastropexy one week ago. The incision today looks more red/scabby. Just making sure this is normal. The photos are in order of earliest to present
Thank you for contacting Boop by Petco with your question about Lina. Unfortunately only one picture is attached, and I think it may be the earliest picture given your description in the question. If the incision looks more red and scabby, that suggests infection. I would have her seen by a vet first thing in the morning to get it checked out to be safe. I hope this helps!
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Ilsie had a nephrectomy on Thursday 11/15. Does the redness and swelling toward the bottom of the incision look normal? While there is some bruising around the incision, the surrounding skin does not appear to be red or infected. The red parts are
Thank you for contacting Pet Coach with your question about IIsie. The top half of the incision looks like it's healing beautifully. You can see some redness and if the staples are tighter at the bottom of the incision, it could account for the swelling. I agree there are no signs of infection from the picture, so continue to monitor the incision for now. If the area gets redder, more swollen, and/or you see other signs of infection, then I would be concerned and have her seen by a vet. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Dog had spot on spay incision, had them checked out yesterday but today it seems to have popped? Is this normal? I can’t get through to my vet. Surgery was 12 days ago.
Thank you for the photo. I think it looks OK. It appears to be a mild reaction to the stitches under the skin. This happens with some regularity. I would not be overly concerned. You can apply a topical antibiotic ointment to it once a day until it is healed. If you are worried about it you should always have your vet check it out.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My dog was spayed about 9 days ago, but there is a little red bump on her belly at the incision site. She has been on an antibiotic and an NSAID for 4 days.
This appears to be healing just fine. I suspect this is a mild reaction to the stitches under the skin. This is very common. I would only be worried if it opens up and starts draining fluid, gets much larger or becomes very red. Just make sure she cannot lick it until it is completely healed.
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Does my dog’s spay incision look okay? The small red spot on the left side of the wound is worrying me
It looks to be healing just fine. The red dot is nothing to worry about - it just a scab. There is a swelling under the skin at the top of the incision and that is normal as well. It is a knot from the stitches under the skin.
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My dog was spayed 4 days ago and she is doing really well. She is eating, drinking water, peeing, pooping, walking and also shows interest in playing and going for a walk. Her wound looks good it has not bleed at all, its not red the only problem is
Hello. There is definitely more swelling on the one side, but the skin looks very good, no redness or drainage. It is always best to let your vet take a look, but there does not appear to be anything serious going on & other than possibly applying a warm compress, I doubt any treatment will be necessary at this time. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Luna was spayed 7/31/18. As of today 8/4/18, this is what the area looks like. There is some fluid that came out of the hole and a little bit of blood. Is this normal?
Hi and thanks for posting! I think the actual spay incision which appears to be the green line below the area of concern (green die is used sometimes to tattoo them) looks very good. The area above this looks like there is some blood and redness from perhaps a scratch or puncture wound. It is a little hard to tell from the picture. I would recommend you can take some mild soap and water and clean the area a bit to see exactly where the blood in coming from. If the area continues to have discharge or blood coming from it, I would have Luna seen by her veterinarian. Typically spay incisions should not bleed or have a lot of discharge. I hope this helps and thanks again for posting!
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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