Is green bruising or a knot normal on my dog's spay incision?

Yes, bruising can be very normal as long as it is not severe or progressive. This amount of bruising is normal and usually caused by little vessels in the skin that bleed during surgery. I would monitor the area closely and the bruising should start to improve over the next few days. Contact your veterinarian if it is progressive or if your dog has any heat, swelling, or discharge from the incision.

This appears to be healing just fine. I suspect this is a mild reaction to the stitches under the skin. This is very common. I would only be worried if it opens up and starts draining fluid, gets much larger or becomes very red. Just make sure she cannot lick it until it is completely healed.

It looks like there could be some inflammation at the site of the incision. That could be due to her body breaking down the sutures, or she caused some sort of trauma to the area. If she is acting normal and you don't feel any swelling around that area I would wait and see if it improves. But if there is swelling, drainage, or pain I would worry about a dehiscence (opening of the incision) which would be an emergency and she should see a vet immediately.

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.

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.

This is more bruising than normal. It can be caused by a blood vessel in the skin when they put the buried sutures in. It’s not from the abdomen. The incision is fine. The underlying stitches cause the incision to be jagged but it will heal fine and you will barely be able to see the incision in a month or so. So nothing to be overly concerned about. Keep her quiet with no running and jumping and she’ll be fine. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

It looks to be healing just fine. The red dot is nothing to worry about - it just a scab. There is a swelling under the skin at the top of the incision and that is normal as well. It is a knot from the stitches under the skin.