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My puppy was spayed today. Is dried blood on the incision normal?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | spayed | 29 lbs

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.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on March 6th, 2021

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.

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    Answered By Mara Howard, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 7th, 2017

    I'm sorry to hear Princess is having an issue. It would be important to determine if the blood is vaginal or in the urine. Blood in the urine can be due to a urinary tract infection, bladder stones, or an underlying medical issue. After a spay, there should be no further vaginal bleeding. If there is, there is the possibility a small section of ovary is left, which is continuing to produce hormones. I would recommend she be evaluated by her regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for the blood you are seeing. Good luck!

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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.
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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.
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My dog was spayed 8 days ago and started lactating. Her incision looks crusty and has dried blood on it. I am not sure if it looks crusty because some milk got on it and dried or not. My other dog was neutered 3 days ago and his is a little crusty as
Based on what I can see in these photos, the incisions appear to be healing. Occasionally there is dried blood from surgery, but sometimes it can bleed a little after surgery, especially if the dog is too active. I recommend monitoring for increasing bleeding, swelling, heat, or licking of the area and seek veterinary attention if you notice any changes. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
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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
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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Our 6 month old labradoodle had her spay on Friday she seems ok but I checked the site today and there appears to be dry yellowish stuff around the part of the site I can't see any bleeding or fluid or pus
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This is probably ok for now though it does indicate that there was some discharge and potentially an infection. I would recommend that you keep a very close eye on the incision site. If you notice any active discharge (moist instead of dry), bleeding or pain, have her evaluated as soon as possible to make sure it is not an active infection. Keep the area clean for now. If no more discharge is noted, it is possible that it will heal completely on its own. Good luck and have a nice day!
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My dog had her spayed surgery five days ago, but I’m not sure if her wound is getting better or not, can you please take a look and give me some suggestions? She drinks and eats as normal. Thank you
From what I can see in the photo, this looks like a pretty normal spay incision. :) You can use a warm washcloth to gently clean off the crusty bits. I don't see any redness or swelling around the incision, and no evidence of bleeding or drainage. Feel free to post another photo once you've cleaned it off, so that we can get a better look at the actual incision.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My dog spay incision opened 3 days later and we got her stitched again. Unfortunately another 3days and her wound opened again. The doc got her stitched again. Now it's been two days and her incision is bleeding, and it hasn't stopped. I'm worried.
I am so sorry to hear about your dog. It sounds like a frustrating situation. If she is actively bleeding (like dripping regularly) this is not normal. A few drops of blood might not worry me, but regular dripping a few days out seems unusual. I would consider testing for a clotting disorder/bleeding disorder if it continues. If the wound is opening up again, I would also consider culturing the wound to see if a resistant bacteria is present and to determine the best antibiotic to put her on. I have seen cases with a very resistant bacteria where we couldn't get the wound to close initially and had to manage these guys as an open wound with bandaging until the tissue became healthy/uninfected again. Also, if your dog doesn't already have an e-collar on (cone-shaped collar) she needs one on at all times and she should be confined to a crate/small area right now while she is healing, and only go outside on a leash to use the bathroom. She should be on a pain medication if she is
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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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
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I can’t tell if my puppy’s spay incision is healing or getting irritated/infected. It’s been nearly impossible to keep her inactive (she’s a 5 month old German Shorthaired Pointer)
Keeping puppies "quiet" after surgery is certainly not an easy undertaking! The good news is that I think her incision is healing beautifully. There is very mild inflammation right around the incision, but the incision appears to be closed and does not appear to have any discharge. Continue doing your best to keep her as quiet as possible for the next week, but I know it's not possible to turn a 5 month old GSP puppy into a couch potato! If she's really out of control, you can ask your vet about prescribing mild sedative medications (like trazodone) to help her to stay a bit more mellow while healing. Keeping an e-collar (cone) on her is the best thing you can do to promote healing, as this prevents her from licking at the incision at all. Hope that everything continues to go well!
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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