My dog just got spayed. Is a hard spot under her incision normal?

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.

Yes this is normal. The stitches underneath the skin can cause swelling like you are seeing while they are getting dissolved by the body, The incision itself is healing nicely. She may have this swelling for several weeks before it goes down completely. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Minnie.

Larger dogs or dogs that are playful after a procedure can develop a seroma at the incision site. These firm bumps under the skin at the incision and are not painful. Sometimes they can drain and be fluid-filled. They will go away completely as healing takes place, but it may take a little longer than the normal 10 days for healing. It is still there after 2 weeks, begins to ooze any fluid, or gets noticeably larger, then I would have it rechecked. It's unlikely to be a hernia, particularly if it resolves on it's own. For some dogs, warm (not hot) compresses applied a few times per day can be helpful.

Hi, if Azumi is well in herself, I would recommend to prevent her from licking the area and have the wound reassessed in a couple of days. The swelling should gradually reduce over the course of time. If it should become harder and firmer or Azumi should be uncomfortable, I would recommend to have her checked over.

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.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Pet Coach. Cynder's spay incision sounds perfectly normal. The "hard" feeling underneath the skin/scar layer is her body wall incision that is still continuing to heal. It may have this "hard" feeling for quite some time, but no need to be worried about it. From the way you have described it, it sounds like everything is healing normal as it should. It is fine that she is still nursing her puppy. Nothing to be concerned about in that aspect.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. The picture is a bit grainy and discolored so it is difficult to say for sure what the problem is. However, with your description, what you are feeling are likely the knots of the suture at the top and bottom portion of the incision line. These knots can sometimes cause inflammation due to a slight suture reaction. If the incision is not open, then I would just monitor for now. If the incision is red, inflamed or there is pus present, then I would have Huggle rechecked by the veterinarian that did the procedure. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! If the bumps are indeed due to the suture and they do not worsen, you should see those disappear over the next few months hopefully. Complete absorption of the suture I use in my spay procedures takes about 3-4 months to occur. However, absorption time depends on the type of suture used.