Why does my dog have brown spots on her stomach after spay surgery?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The incision looks like it is healing well so I would not be concerned about those dark spots. Those could be normal pigmentation changes. As long as the incision continues to look like it is healing, there is no need to recheck her. Good luck and best wishes!

If the skin is not irritated/itchy and feels the same as the skin surrounding that is not dark in color, I would just monitor the area. We can have changes in pigmentation of the skin in dogs as they age, as well as changes as the result of inflammation. If the area begins to spread, or the skin feels dry/rough in this area, or she is licking, a visit to the vet is recommended.

Hi and thanks for your request. This could be due to a very mild skin inflammation due to a superficial infection. Disinfection for 4-5 days with a product like hibiscrub diluted 1:10 with water will help to sort the problem out.

If the spots are near where the incision was, it could be that the scar tissue formed in a different color than her normal skin. If the spots are in a different location, then it could be something else. You can repost your question with some pictures and we may be able to help you further, or you can request a consult where we can chat back and forth and try to figure out what is going on with Chica.

Without a photo or examining her myself it is hard to say what is going on. I have two thoughts that came to mind after reading your post. One is that those spots could be post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation - basically the skin was inflamed maybe from the previous allergies and because of the inflammation the skin turns black. This should resolve and the skin will go back to normal. My other thought is that the spots could be actually bruising and we call those ecchymosis. This could be a serious problem even if she seems to be acting normal. This is a problem with the clotting cells called platelets (immune mediated thrombocytopenia). Of course, it could be something else entirely. Those are just my first thoughts. I suggest you get Kaya to your vet for an exam just to be safe. Hope this helps.

Changes in skin color to a black pigment are often due to hyperpigmentation, which occurs secondary to chronic inflammation or irritation. The most common cause of this would be allergies (or atopy). Allergies usually show up between the ages of 2-4 years, so Pearl is right at that age. I recommend touching base with your vet to discuss if they think it's appropriate to start Pearl on an allergy treatment. Hope this helps! Here's a bit more information on allergy management if you're interested! https://www.petcoach.co/article/9-common-treatments-for-allergies-in-pets/

Poor girl, that doesn't look very comfortable. I'd recommend wiping the areas of with hydrogen peroxide once (avoiding the incision for her spay), and then putting her in a baby onsie (maybe two) in addition to an e-collar. The onsie is to protect her a skin if she tries to scratch. If it's looking worse instead of better after 24 hours, I'd recommend taking her back to the vet to see if she need antibiotics. Itching or licking damages skin, which allows normal bacteria on the surface to set up a mild infection, and sometimes the immune system can clear it up if the itching stops, but sometimes oral or topical medications are required.