Can a spayed dog bleed? Essential Tips

A foreign body within the vaginal wall

It’s possible for foreign material such as a grass awn to track within the vagina and form an abscess.

This can cause a bloody discharge and local infection.

Vets should be able to detect the abscess on a physical exam.

Treatment is to remove the foreign matter, flush the area and start the female on medicine including antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.

It is not uncommon for bleeding coming from the anus to be mistaken for vaginal bleeding by owners.

This can occur due to e.g. colitis or anal gland disease.

Your vet should be able to make the distinction after a thorough physical exam.

What is ovarian remnant syndrome?

Ovarian remnant syndrome is a condition that occurs when ovarian tissue remains inside the body after a female dog is spayed. This tissue can produce estrogen, triggering signs of heat in the dog.

In an intact female dog, the ovaries produce hormones, including estrogen. It is this estrogen that triggers your dog to go into heat. When your dog is spayed, the entire reproductive tract (including both ovaries and the uterus) is surgically removed. Therefore, your spayed dog no longer has ovaries, produces estrogen, or goes into heat.

If a previously spayed dog shows signs of going into heat, this may indicate that functioning ovarian tissue (known as an ovarian remnant) is still present and producing estrogen. Ovarian remnants may be left behind during surgery or may be caused by the presence of accessory ovarian tissue (a small piece of tissue that fragmented off the ovary and established enough of a blood supply to begin producing hormones).

Dog bleeding after being spayed – is it normal?

When removing a dog’s uterus and ovaries, an incision is always made. It is normal that at times this incision will result in light bleeding during intervention and or dog bleeding after surgery. This bleeding is normally controlled by the veterinarian performing the surgery.

During surgery, the dog may be given certain anaesthetic drugs such as propofol[3]. This drug lowers the dogs blood pressure, which will raise again once they gain consciousness. The increased blood pressure can cause some seepage from the wound, but it should not be excessive.

During a dog’s postoperative period, due to the incision and invasive techniques used, it is normal that the surrounding area will be have a red or purple hue. This is otherwise known as a hematoma; blood that remains under the skin, causing a bruise like effect. If the bruising is seen all over the abdomen, this is not considered normal and may signal internal bleeding.

At times, this wound can also appear inflamed. In this case, female dog bleeding a little after spaying is normal. This is often largely due to a fallen stitch, that hasn’t yet closed the wound. In this case, the bleeding will be minimal, remitting in seconds.

5 Possible Complications After Spaying Your Dog

Spaying your female dog can result in many health and behavioral benefits. It also has the obvious advantage of no unwanted pregnancies or unwanted attention from local male dogs. In theory, spayed female dogs should no longer have their periods either. But just how true is this though; do spayed dogs still bleed?

In this short guide, I will explain all I’ve learned about whether female dogs have discharge bleeding after being spayed, and what you can expect.