My dog lost a lot of blood after spay surgery. Can she recover?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, the care would be the same. Give her medications as prescribed. Strictly rest her: no running, jumping, playing with other dogs and leash walks only for 2 weeks. Use an E-collar or T-shirt to prevent licking of the incision. Watch for increased lethargy, anorexia, or labored breathing. Bleeding is a complication of a spay regardless of if they are in heat or not. Luna should be fine!!

I am so sorry to hear that Francis isn’t feeling well. I would be suspicious of tick born infections such as ehrlichia. She could have been infected for some time, but the stress of the surgery could have caused her to become ill with it. It is also possible that she is having a rare complication to surgery such as an infection at the uterine stump. Another possible cause is that she is experiencing an immune mediated anemia and thrombocytopenia event. If she is genetically predisposed then anything can trigger it- surgery, vaccinations, infections etc. I would recommend asking for a clinical pathology review of the CBC, the total protein level can help determine if she has bled. I would recommend an x-ray or even better an ultrasound to examine the uterine stump. Best of luck and I hope you find an answer soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

It does happen that some dogs will have a small amount of discharge from the vagina [after being spayed](https://www.petcoach.co/article/surgery-on-your-pet-what-to-expect-before-and-after-the-pro). If your dog is behaving otherwise, I would advise you to monitor her at home. However, if she is lethargic, weak, has pale gums or is passing a large amount of blood, you should take her back to your veterinarian or to the nearest veterinary ER immediately. [Rest her](https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-ways-to-rest-your-pet-after-surgery-or-injury) as mush as possible to aid in recovery.

These bruises happen when blood seeps into the tissue surrounding the surgical site. This usually happens when a dog has a coagulation disorder, or the dog bled a lot during the surgery (for example when spayed during her heat) and then the blood cannot be absorbed quickly enough and seeps into the tissue. If the bruises expand more and should your dog develop white gums or pale gums, then she needs to be seen by your vet who should do a packed cell volume blood test and a coagulation panel. Dogs can easily bleed to death when there is a coagulation problem or continuous bleeding.

At this point with history of a pyometra, the anemia could be secondary to a chronic infection and until the infection is under control the anemia may continue to worsen. Post-surgery, it would be important to ensure that there is no blood loss. If the total protein is low and the red blood cells are dropping this could indicate that there is a hemorrhage occurring somewhere in the body. If an ultrasound has not already been performed, I would certainly recommend having one done to help see if there's anything going on in the abdomen that may indicate an active hemorrhage. If an active Hemorrhage has been ruled out, then the next challenge is to determine whether or not the anemia is regenerative or non regenerative. As I stated earlier, this anemia could be secondary to the infection and it could also be immune-mediated meaning that the immune system is destroying the red blood cells for some reason. Some drugs can cause this condition and other times we never find out what it is caused by, we simply treat. I would have a reticulocyte count sent out as part of a full workup. My concern is that the red blood cell count continues to drop. You may be faced with the decision to do a blood transfusion to maintain the red blood cells at a particular level so that Hannah remains stable. If this is due to a chronic infection, then it may take some time for the antibiotics to start working before the anemia resolved or begins to improve. I sure hope Hannah improves soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help answer any others that you may have.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach 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.

Poor Stella! Unfortunately one of the potential risks of a bitch spay is that they may have a haemorrhage. It is rare nowadays but can still happen. There is a blood supply straight off the aorta to the ovaries being removed. Often underlying conditions such as bleeding disorders make this more likely, or in Stella's case the fact that she reacted to the sutures could have contributed. I'm really sorry this happened and I'm sure your vet did everything they could. From what you say I doubt she felt any pain.