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Newborn puppy's belly button has a bleeding hole. What to do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | 2 days old

we are taking care of 6 newborn orphan puppies. The doctor applied stitches to the umbilical cord and now, (2 days later), the umbilical cord fell and there's a hole. It is pink and bleeds a little. We are applying an antibiotic cream and trying to maintain the belly button covered but I was worried about the situation. There are 4 of them with this condition. We are not able to take them to the veterinary and at this moment we cannot even contact him. The puppies eat a lot and are very active.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 3rd, 2017

Poor pups. This can sometimes happen with the umbilical cords, especially if the sutures are placed close to the skin. I would not recommend placing any topical ointment on a bleeding wound. Instead I would suggest cleaning it with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water and then flushing it daily with just sterile Saline, both found at your local pharmacy. This will hopefully keep the area from getting infected until they can be seen. Take special care not to soak the pups and only use a gauze to apply this so that it quickly dries. Newborn pups can’t regulate their temperature until they are around 1-2 weeks of age.
Then it’s best to take them back to your vet for a recheck exam since this is a complication from a previous visit. The vet may need to place skin glue to the open area and possibly give the pups some antibiotics. I hope that your pups are able to recover well. Best wishes and take care.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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