My dog has bruising and a lump after neuter surgery. Is this normal?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The red area next to his incision looks like some bruising that likely occurred due to trauma/pinching of the area during surgery. Bruising can worsen during the first 2-3 days following a procedure, but should start to improve after that time. The dried blood/crusting around his incision is not abnormal either. If Charlie Brown will tolerate it, you can gently wipe the crusting away using a damp wash cloth once daily, but not any more frequent than this. I definitely recommend keeping Charlie Brown's Elizabethan collar on AT ALL TIMES until his sutures are removed by your veterinarian to prevent him from licking at the area and causing trauma/increasing the risk of an incisional infection. If the bruising worsens after day 3-4 post-op, and/or you notice yellow/thick, foul-smelling discharge, and/or if any of the sutures seem to have fallen out, I recommend having Charlie Brown seen by your veterinarian right away. Otherwise, I recommend monitoring the area and keeping his E-collar on. Best of luck with Charlie Brown! And THANK YOU for neutering your pet!

Unfortunately i cannot see the picture of it, which would be ideal to give you a specific answer, but I can guess that is a small herniation of muscle/subcutaneous tissue coming through surgical incision (which i guess is healed now) or the result of a chronic inflammation (possibly due to licking the area). In both cases a check up would be required to confirm clinical suspicons and treat appropriately. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hi, I have seen bruising like this myself in several cases and in itself is not a cause of concern as long as Ollie is eating, drinking, and seems comfortable. You could apply a cream on the bruised area, such as Arnicare twice a day (Arnica cream), skipping the area where the stitches are and obviously keep an eye on him. If he should be quiet, uncomfortable, not eating, I would recommend to have him checked over, if not just keep him home and monitor him. Hope all goes well, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

That appears to be a small scab and likely no cause for concern. The post op swelling is minimal and the bruising should be decreasing as well. Keep the e-collar (cone) on him and monitor for redness, swelling, bleeding or lethargy.

Hello, and thanks for your question about Willie. It’s normal to have a bit of scrotal swelling in the first few days after the neuter, but 9 days later it would be unusual for this to appear, unless Willie has been more active than he should. If those lumps are small then I recommend keeping him quiet (no off leash play, and short leashes walks) for a few days and monitoring. If the lumps are large, noticeably growing, painful, draining, or bruised then I recommend rechecking with your vet to make sure he doesn’t need to start oral antibiotics or anti inflammatory medication. Hope this helps!

He may have banged into his willy when he hit the ladder causing this bruising, or it could have been when he was in for his operation. It should settle with time, if it diesnt look swollen i would keep an eye on it and apply some arnica cream.

That looks fine for soon after surgery. If he licks at his incision, you should get him a cone to keep him from paying too much attention to it and delaying healing or opening it back up. The bruising is not unusual and should fade over the next few days. Keep him from running, jumping, crate him or confine him in a small room if need be. He should go out on a leash only just to potty and then back inside. He can be out with you if you're home and able to keep an eye on him. After a week to ten days of restricted activity he should be ready to resume his normal routine.