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My dog's neuter incision is red, swollen, yellow. Is it infected?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Goldendoodle | Male | neutered | 2 years and 8 months old | 72 lbs

My male golden doodle got neutered on Friday, September 15th. He just finished his pain meds yesterday and has been acting like himself and eating normally. He has had diarrhea and thrown up once since surgery, but out vet said his pain meds could cause an upset stomach. However, his incision sight is yellowish, red and seems a little swollen. I just want to make sure he isn’t getting an infection.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 20th, 2023

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I think the incision looks fine. Just continue to monitor it by checking it daily definitely keep him from licking it. Licking is the the number one cause of incisional infection. Don't apply anything to the incision and don't remove the scabs. Just leave it to heal on its own. Things to be worried about: swelling, actual discharge (pus or blood-tinged fluid) coming from the incision, lots of redness around the incision or a portion of the incision is open. To me, this looks just fine right now. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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    Answered By Claudia Fioravanti

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 17th, 2019

    Hi, yes I think there might be a bit of infection in the yellow area of the wound. I would recommend to have him checked over so that the wound can be cleaned and antibiotics given if necessary. Hope this helps !

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