My 2-day-old puppy has a blood blister on its tail. What should I do?

Hi there. I think Ginger is going to be just fine. I would recommend you hot pack that wound a couple times a day for the next few days. Take a really warm (NOT HOT) washcloth and hold it on there for 5 minutes 2-3 times a day. If there is any infection that should help to draw it out. After hot packing, you can apply some Neosporin or other antibiotic ointment. If it doesn't look better after 4 or 5 days OR it gets really swollen OR if it has a lot of pus coming from it then you should take her to your vet for an exam. I hope this helps. Best wishes!

Aww poor Beau! The good news is that this tail looks pretty good to me. I can’t say for certain without looking at it but this could be normal healthy granulation tissue filling in his wound/surgery site. It could possibly be a small suture reaction or incision infection. If you can keep Beau from licking it (E collar), you can apply a triple antibiotic cream (Neosporin, etc) once or twice daily. Do not bandage the tail. Best of luck and hope this helps!

The needle likely created a hematoma (blood collection under the skin) from puncturing a small blood vessel during the testing process. This should go away on its own. If it continues to grow in size or persist, I would have the veterinarian that performed the test originally recheck the area. If the mass does not go away, I would send out further testing to the laboratory to help confirm what the mass could be. With Peppa's age, it is likely benign or infectious versus cancerous but there is no way to tell unless a sample is interpreted at a lab further. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

No, do not poke anything into this lesion! It looks as though this puppy has a significant congenital/birth defect that also appears to have misshapen the skull. In many cases, when a puppy has one congenital defect, there are often additional issues that are also present. A vet should examine this puppy (take Holly and the other puppies to the appointment as well) to evaluate this lesion and determine if other issues are apparent. I hope that all goes well!

The part may be getting infected. A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

This could be a sign of puppy pyoderma, trauma (is she licking the area a lot?), insect bites, or signs of a viral infection/fever, rodenticide ingestion, a congenital or acquired disorder affecting the platelet's ability to adhere to damaged blood vessels. If these blood "blisters" keep enlarging or do not go away within a few days, you will need to consult your veterinarian. The vet will perform a thorough physical examination. Lab tests will be necessary such as a complete blood count, biochemistry profile, and urinalysis and possibly a coagulation panel. There is no specific treatment for those blood filled skin lesions, however it is important to find the underlying cause, which then can be addressed. So, I suggest you monitor the skin and if the lesions enlarge, or if they do not go away within a few days or spread, you take your puppy to your veterinarian. If your puppy gets pale gums it is an emergency and your pup needs to be seen at an ER right away.

Hello. I’m not exactly sure what they meant when they said a “double tail”. There really is no such thing. This large bump may be a cyst or an abscess. It definitely needs to be checked out by your veterinarian. A new puppy should always have a veterinarian examine them to look for problems within 1-3 days after purchase/adoption. This puppy also needs vaccinations and checked for parasites. Your veterinarian can address the tail and take care of the other preventive care things that need to be done. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach