Frequent How do you tell if a dog is bruised? Here’s the Answer

Other Conditions That May Cause Dog Bruises

If you know your pup has not been recently injured or involved in a physical trauma, and you know your canine doesn’t have antifreeze poisoning (or any other type for that matter), your vet can help you determine whether or not something else is causing your dog to bruise. It could be your dog was born with something that causes bruising, or it could be your dog has acquired a medical condition that may be causing it.

Congenital means a condition a dog is born with. It also means the condition was likely something inherited from his parents. Two of the most common congenital causes for dog bruising include Von Willebrand disease and hemophilia. Note that clotting diseases can affect humans as well. Certain clotting disorders appear to be more prevalent in some breeds over others.

Von Willebrand disease is a disorder that affects a dog’s ability to form blood clots. Blood has something called blood platelets that help to control bleeding by clumping together and “clotting.” The clotting mechanism helps dogs (and humans) stop bleeding quickly if any blood vessels become ruptured. A dog that has a clotting disorder will have lower levels of platelets in his blood, and his ability to form clots will be impaired, leading to excessive bleeding.

When there is excessive bleeding, it can leak into a dog’s skin and cause the appearance of bruising. Impaired ability to form blood clots can be highly dangerous, especially if a dog is injured. Your dog could become injured and bleed internally, with disastrous consequences.

This is why it’s very important to rule out clotting disorders if you notice your dog has a bruise. Von Willebrand disease appears to be more prevalent in breeds like the Scottish Terrier, German Shepherd, Shetland Sheepdog, Doberman Pinscher, and German Shorthaired Pointer. If your dog is one of these breeds, it’s important to learn about Von Willebrand disease and arm yourself with knowledge.

Hemophilia is another clotting disorder that can create a coagulation deficiency and cause bruising. This disorder most often affects purebred dogs and seems to be more prevalent in males. It’s also more often seen in puppies, although dogs that survive into adulthood are seen as well. Often, in severe cases, puppies will suffer from excessive bleeding and die weeks after being born.

Thrombocytopenia can be caused by a few things. One is related to an immune disorder that triggers a dog’s immune system to attack itself and destroy platelet cells that help his blood clot properly. This condition is rare, but not unheard of. Thankfully, it is treatable. Drugs can be used to manage the disease or in some cases, a spleen removal may be recommended. Dogs can also develop thrombocytopenia from other health concerns like poisoning, trauma, and canine chemo treatments.

What Causes Bruising in a Dog?

A bruise is basically a skin injury where the blood vessels beneath the skin rupture and bleed. This causes the discoloration that we call “bruising” to occur and become visible. There are a couple different types of bruises a dog may develop. Tiny, red or purple-colored bruises that look like little pin-points are called petechiae. These types of bruises are indicators that blood vessels are leaking beneath the skin within the mucous membranes.

Larger bruises (up to a centimeter in size) are called purpura, whereas bruises that are larger than a centimeter are called ecchymoses. Very rarely are any of these types of bruises “just” a bruise. They are usually solid indicators that your dog could be in serious jeopardy and should be seen by your vet as soon as possible.

All three types of bruising can come on and appear suddenly, with no prior warning. They can be related to a minor injury the dog has suffered, or be due to something more serious, like severe trauma or the ingestion of a toxic substance.

If a dog has not experienced anything traumatic (for instance, getting hit by a car or getting in a dog fight), and you know your dog has not ingested anything poisonous (such as accidentally ingesting the household aspirin or bottle of NSAIDs), you should seek council from your vet. The bruises are more likely to be due to a health condition or internal injuries and bleeding that you can’t see or treat on your own.

Causes of Bleeding Under the Skin in Dogs

The most common cause for bleeding under the skin of dogs is simply bodily injury or trauma. However, over-sensitive, excessive or chronic bleeding under the skin may be caused or exacerbated by one of the following disorders:

Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, an autoimmune disorder that causes a dog’s platelets to be destroyed by an overactive immune reaction. Additional symptoms that your dog may exhibit include lethargy, loss of appetite, weakness, nosebleeds, pale mucous membranes, bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, blood in the urine, vomiting blood, coughing, and ocular hemorrhages.

Infectious thrombocytopenia, an immune reaction that causes a dog’s immune system to destroy its own platelets may be caused by ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, leptospirosis, leishmaniasis, heartworm, cytauxzoonosis, parvovirus, herpesvirus or blood poisoning. Additional symptoms your dog may exhibit include nosebleeds, bloody urine or feces, and retinal bleeding.

Canine thrombopathia is a platelet-functioning disorder that negatively affects the ability of the dog’s blood to clot. Additional symptoms that your dog may exhibit include nosebleed and bleeding gums.

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphocyte cells, which is a subset of white blood cell integral to your dog’s immune system. Additional symptoms your dog may exhibit are anorexia (or lack of appetite), weight loss, lethargy, and weakness.

Acquired Clotting Protein Disorders inhibit the body’s ability to clot blood due to liver disease or liver toxicity, most commonly from rodenticide-caused Vitamin K poisoning.

Estrogen Toxicity may cause bone marrow suppression leading to low red or white blood cell or platelet count.

Chemotherapy may cause bone marrow suppression leading to low red or white blood cell or platelet count.

Von Willebrand’s Disease is a clotting disorder caused by a deficiency in the clotting protein known as von Willebrand’s factor. Additional symptoms include spontaneous hemorrhaging from the nose, vagina, urinary tract or oral mucous membranes.

Drug reactions that affect platelet functioning: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin.

How To Tell If a Dog Pulls a Muscle? Warning Signs You Should Know

Dogs incur minor skin injuries all the time, especially the more adventurous breeds. This may occur from scraping against a rock or hard surface (abrasions), bumping against a blunt object which damages small blood vessels (bruises), or a cut from a bush, a thorn, or other sharp object (lacerations).

Always check your dog from head to tail after he goes outside, or when you return home from work, to see if it acquired any cuts or bruises. If you should find any, re-examine him more thoroughly to see if there are deeper wounds.

Minor injuries occur most frequently on the legs and paws, especially after exercising in the woods or areas with overgrown shrubbery.