My dog just gave birth. Is thick bloody discharge normal afterward?

Yes, it is common to see slight discharge for several weeks after whelping. Monitor for lethargy, fever, loss of appetite or heavy discharge. Seek veterinary attention if you notice any of the listed symptoms.

After the delivery, your dog may leak fluids and discharge for several weeks. This discharge is called lochia, and its color may be a shade of red. Lochia should be odorless -- if it has an unpleasant smell, contact your vet, as an odor indicates infection. Otherwise, general intermittent bleeding around the vulva may continue for weeks or, in some cases, months. If you notice that your dog is actually still bleeding a few days after birth, contact your vet. While it may be normal, you need to rule out complications like postpartum hemorrhage, which can result from poor blood clotting.

Poor giril. This looks like dark serosanguinous fluid, which could indicate an infection of her uterus. This often occurs post-labor or post-menstrual cycle. I would highly recommend taking Willow to your local vet to have her blood tested and vitals checked (temperature especially) to make sure she is ok. Often-times if there is an infection of the uterus (pyometra), the pet will have a fever, decreased appetite, sometimes vomiting and loose stool. I do hope that your pet Willow will be ok moving forward. Best wishes and take care!

Some discharge can be normal during pregnancy, but the best thing to do is to take her to a vet who deals with canine reproduction for a full exam. I would do a vaginal cytology and/or culture to see if the discharge is normal, and take xrays or do an abdominal ultrasound to see how far along she is and to make sure the feti look normal, and that there is no sign of gas in the uterus which can indicate dead puppies. She should be far enough along to see heartbeats and count a heart rate on the puppies, which is the best indication of puppy health. Feel free to schedule a consult if you'd like to discuss this in more depth. Hope that helps!

As I said before, the discharge may be normal. It is called lochia. Please refer to this article for more information. ( https://whelpingpuppies.com/how-long-a-dog-bleeds-after-giving-birth/ ) I only mentioned taking her to a vet because you stated she delivered a dead puppy 12 hours after the first two. If you are saying she is hot then she may have a fever. If you don't want to take her to a vet that is up to you. I can't tell you anymore than this without examining the dog myself. Feeding milk to a nursing dog is not recommended. Dogs at her age do not need milk and it is not going to do anything to boost the milk she gives the puppies. If she is eating a good dog food you don't need to give anything else.

Make sure she has water close by and see if she'll eat a biscuit. Often new mothers take a day or two to get their appetite back. Give her another day or so then if she still won't eat or drink then take her in. As far as the discharge goes it can be there for up to a week or so. If she stops nursing or the discharge has a foul odor then again I would bring her in for an exam. They may take an X-ray to make sure there are no more puppies and perhaps give her medication to contract the uterus to get rid of any fluid or afterbirth. I'm not overly concerned and think she just may need another day to improve. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Eris.

My main recommendation is to check her temperature to make sure she does not have a fever (over 102.5). While it is normal for the temperature to rise for the first 24 hours after whelping, by now it should return to normal. If she does have a fever or the vaginal discharge has a foul smell, is increasing in volume, or she seems to be feeling any worse, then take her to the veterinarian. If you have a house call veterinarian in your area, that would be even better. Infection of the uterus, or metritis, is possible and should be taken seriously. At two days post-whelping, a reddish brown discharge is normal. If she has no fever and seems to be feeling better, then just make sure she has plenty to eat and lots of fresh water. Here is a link to a good article on nutrition. http://www.akc.org/content/dog-breeding/articles/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-breeding-bitch-part-two/ Thanks for using PetCoach.