# Slight bleeding from spay incision



## Dolce0617 (Feb 27, 2011)

Paranoid puppy mom here...
I have had my my 8mo old terrier mix for about a month now, and had her spayed on Tuesday (4 days ago)...So far I have followed all the "rules" - she keeps the cone on when I can not directly watch her, I have minimized her activity as much as I can (no running, only a little walking to go outside and to get food and to stretch her legs, and when I have her restricted to a corner of the room), I gently clean her incision daily - but now her incision seems to be bleeding some. Nothing major, just a little bit of seeping, but I noticed it when I went to clean it today that it looks a little more open than before. Not like you can see in or anything, but she has those internal stitches with the glue on the skin, and I don't know if that has anything to do with it. It wasn't bleeding earlier, and she hasn't done much today. The only thing I can think of is that she tends to get really anxious and cry/shake whenever I leave the room (she is overly attached - something we've been working on overcoming for a while), and despite when I leave her in her crate/have her restricted to a small area, she still moves around quite a bit when she is upset. As much as I would love to be with her at all times, I can't  She has also mastered scratching her belly with her back legs, and I don't know if that is reaching her incision, but I stop her when she occasionally does this.

I apologize for the long-windedness, I just tend to be very anxious about my little girl  Any advice would help! thanks!


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## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

I would keep an eye on it. You can cover her stomach easily with a piece of panty hose. Cut it to the length of her torso, and cut holes for her legs. It will cover the incision and keep her back legs from hurting it if that is what she is trying to do.

If it is more than a little, or has any funny look or smell, time to see your vet.


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## Dolce0617 (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks!
I took her to a vet (not where the procedure was done - they were only open til noon today), and they said it looks like she may have opened it just slightly when she was scratching with her back paws. Unfortunately some dogs are flexible enough to do that :-/ They said it doesn't look bad, just something to watch. If it gets worse tomorrow, I am supposed to take her back in for a staple? Never heard of a staple for spay incision...has anyone else? I would probably try to hold off and get into see my regular vet first thing Monday. Anyways, she has baby booty socks on her back paws now, with rubber bands to hold them up on her tiny lil legs  (she's only 11 lbs). I also have a stocking (which they recommended as well), that I will fit her with tomorrow. Since I am watching her right now and she is sleeping, I want to let it breathe for a while before putting the stocking on.


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## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

Be careful that the rubber bands aren't restricting circulation to her paws..


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## Dolce0617 (Feb 27, 2011)

Yea, I made sure they are not too tight, just enough to hold them on when she is laying/standing/walking a couple steps,...otherwise she steps right out of them lol


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

Another thing you can do is a cotton T-shirt, knotted over her back. It will be loose enough for her to move, but will cover things enough that she can't get to them. And it will breathe.


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## Dolce0617 (Feb 27, 2011)

Update:
The socks don't work. They don't stay on, her feet are too small. And I'm not comfortable making them stay on, because they would be too tight. We tried the t-shirt idea (a baby t-shirt because she's so little), and that seemed to be working, but lo and behold not even an hour ago she managed to open it...through the t-shirt. I'm not sure what to do at this point, because as much as I would love to, I can't keep an eye on her at all times to make sure she's not itching. And the cone, t-shirt, and socks don't seem to stop her from itching with her back paws. So for now, I took a gauze pad and put it over the incision and wrapped an ace bandage around her torso. I know that doesn't let it breathe, but its thicker than the shirt and will stop her claws from doing any damage until I can get her to the vet first thing tomorrow morning (and stop anything from getting in there and possibly causing an infection in the meantime). I don't want to take her to the place I visited yesterday because they were going to put a staple in, which I think is a bit excessive considering it's not bleeding (just open a little less than an 1/8th of an inch) and is a tiny incision (probably 3/4 an inch), and I've never heard of staples for spays? Plus, because it's not bleeding and there are no signs of infection or redness (besides the opening), I would feel best taking her to the place that knows her better.

I just don't know, even if they do fix it, how am I going to keep her little back paws away from it, but still allowing it the air it needs to heal? Ugh, can't wait til this is all healed!!


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

Staples are perfectly normal. Most vets I have encountered use staples or sutures for spays.

I think your temporary solution is very good, and your plans to visit your vet in the morning are exactly what I would do (and I have some medical knowledge and experience). However, I would go ahead and go back to the vet that performed the spay, since they know the history, and are probably best equipped to fix the issues. Again, sutures or staples are perfectly normal, and to be expected. Nothing to worry about there.


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## 5 s corral (Dec 31, 2007)

I had a sheltie male that had to have staples he was a bad boy 
and they worked fine sounds like you have a great idea with the ace and gause pad 
keep us posted


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## Dolce0617 (Feb 27, 2011)

Update:
Called the vet first thing this morning, they said I could bring her in and they would fix her up. I told them all the many things I have tried (thanks to you all on here!!), and they said that's everything they would've recommended. I picked her up this afternoon, and she was happy as ever - they put a staple over her incision, and wrapped her back paws in soft (but secure!) gauze. They said that her incision wasn't infected (it was "dry and quiet" according to the vet lol), so she doesn't need antibiotics. They also recommended I give her 25mg Benadryl 2x a day to keep her mellow and help with the itching. I gave her one tonight and she sat calmly in her crate (which is rare!) while we had friends over. I think I'll stick with just one Benadryl a day in the morning to help her stay calm and not start scratching while we're at work. 

So hopefully this is the end of the incision saga!! If anything new unfolds, I'll post it...but you all have been such a great help! It's so nice to have a community to reach out to that cares about their dogs as much as I care about my lil Dolce  (and no, her name is not from the expensive brand, but rather it means "sweet mannered and kind" in Italian  lol

Here are some pictures of her! (They aren't that great - all the good one's are on my phone!!)

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After her surgery (with her favorite turtle):


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

EXCELLENT news! Thanks for the update! 

Oops, forgot to say...she's flippin' ADORABLE!


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