Why does my BITCH BLEED from the VULVA?

Bitches can have blood on their vulva when they are in heat, but below we explain in detail what the heat of bitches is like and why it can happen that a bitch bleeds a lot in this process, something that is not the most common.

How is heat in bitches

Bitches, as you surely know, have ovaries that contain the female germ cells that, together with their enveloping structure, constitute the follicles; These go through various stages of development and maturation, until they reach the mature follicle, which at the time of ovulation breaks and expels the ovum. The ovary secretes small amounts of estrogen and progesterone.

In general, your canine pet has its first heat in a period between 6 and 24 months, this variation occurs, depending in many cases on the breeds and size of the animal. They are distinguished 4 phases in the bitch’s heat cycle:

• Proestro: in this phase, males are attracted to females but they refuse to mate. The onset coincides with vaginal bleeding. It lasts between 6 and 10 days. The vulva is edematous.
• Oestrus: period during which the female allows the male to mount her and mating occurs. Duration from 7 to 9 days. This is the best time for the dog to get pregnant.
• Right-handed / Metaestro: period that begins with the cessation of the male and where the levels of progesterone fall. It lasts about 58-60 days.
• Anestrus: period of time that elapses between two consecutive heats. Phase of inactivity or sexual rest, the average duration is 6 months.

In this way, your dog will present the period of heat twice a year.

My bitch bleeds a lot in heat, why?

Keep in mind that it is impossible to say how much blood is normal since, depending on the organism of your dog, it will expel more or less blood. A bitch will start to bleed once the proestrous starts, but it is impossible to tell how much blood is normal during heat because there is no exact amount or duration of heat in all bitches.

Notwithstanding this, there are some generalities that you can take as a reference:

• Keep in mind that the amount of blood has to decrease little by little as the days go by and the color of the blood has to change, from strong red to brown.
• It will also be necessary to observe if your dog bleeds for more than three weeks, since if this is the case, it is recommended to go to the vet because there could be some pathology.
• The amount of blood is variable depending on each bitch. In some cases it is even imperceptible because the amount of blood is small and most of them lick each other. The most common is to see droplets of blood coming off the vulva of the bitch and sometimes you may see small pools of blood in its resting place.
• If alarming symptoms such as fever, listlessness, pain, or the discharge of pus from the vulva appear, you should quickly go to the vet to examine it and rule out serious pathologies.

It may be the case where a bitch bleeds and the cause is not heat. If you rule out the possibility that your dog may be in heat and you see that she has bled after this or after a while without having it (that is, she is in the resting phase), you may be facing a disease that should be treated by a veterinarian . These are the causes of a bitch bleeding after heat more frequent:

Pyometer in bitches

Pyometra is defined as an infection that affects the uterus, in which an accumulation of pus occurs. There are two types: open pyometer, which is usually the most common, where the cervix remains open and therefore purulent and bloody secretions can be seen from the vulva. On the other hand, there is the closed pyometer, where, as its name suggests, the cervix has already closed, so no secretions are seen. In either case, treatment consists of an ovariohysterectomy, a surgery to remove the uterus and ovaries.

Recognize the symptoms of this health problem that your furry can suffer by reading this article on How to know if my dog ​​has pyometra.

Urine infection in bitches

Before a urine infection, an appreciable symptom is the discharge of blood from the vulva. In these cases, droplets of blood can be seen at the beginning or end of urination. Other symptoms associated with this problem are: straining to urinate, increased frequency of urination but in small amounts, pain … Treatment is usually the administration of antibiotics by the veterinarian.

Find out here the answer to How to know if my dog ​​has a urine infection.

Vulvar or vaginal tumor in bitches

Finally, if all the previous options have been ruled out, another reason why your dog could bleed from the vulva is the presence of a tumor in the vaginal-vulvar area. In this case, you will have to go to the vet to remove this tumor as soon as possible.

Now that we have answered your question about why does my bitch bleed without being in heat, it is recommended sterilization of the bitches that are not going to breed, to avoid the appearance of these problems. In this other oneHOWTO post we will tell you what are the benefits of sterilizing a bitch and a dog.

If your dog is pregnant and you have noticed that she is bleeding from the vulva, you should pay attention to the moment of the pregnancy in which she is. If you are in the gestation period, the cause is probably an abortion, so it will be necessary to go quickly to the vet.

If, on the other hand, your furry is in the final stage of pregnancy and the bleeding is light along with discharge and mucus, it may indicate that it is arriving the moment of delivery. It is normal for you to observe light bleeding during your dog’s pregnancy, but it will be necessary to be alarmed if the bleeding is excessive and repetitive.

Here we explain more about the question of Why does my pregnant dog bleed.

Once your bitch has after delivery, it is totally normal to secrete blood from the vulva, these secretions are known as loquios, which will cease as the days go by.

If the lochia do not subside in a few days, they smell very bad, your dog is listless or has a fever, consult your veterinarian.

It is possible that after a ride, the bitch bleeds from the vulva. The most common reasons why this could happen are:

• Vaginal tear: It may happen that during or after riding a tear appears due to penetration. It is recommended to go to the vet to examine your dog. This is one of the reasons why you never have to force them apart, something some people do when the crossing was not wanted. Here we explain how to take two dogs off when they cross paths.
• Urine infection: the dog you have crossed may have given you a urine infection.
• Possible pregnancy: If a week or more has passed since the day of the mount, the cause of the bleeding could indicate a pregnancy if the amounts of blood are small, otherwise it could also indicate an abortion if the amounts are large.

When it comes to spayed bitches bleeding from the vulva, the most frequent cause is usually a mistake made during sterilization.

• When a bitch is sterilized, it is normal that she does not go into heat but there are cases where the vet has made a mistake during this process, leaving small remnants of ovary tissue inside the bitch, which means that these remains are still producing sex hormones, so zeal will continue to appear. The solution for this is to re-operate the bitch and remove all the remains of ovarian tissue, as long as this is the cause why your bitch is bleeding from the vulva.
• A spayed dog can also get a urine infection, so it can also be the cause of the bleeding.
• Vaginitis it is an inflammation of the vaginal vestibule or vagina. It occurs because the natural bacterial flora that the bitch has in her vagina has gotten out of control. For this reason, it is common to observe bloody or purulent secretions. It is recommended to see a veterinarian since vaginitis is usually a secondary symptom associated with a more serious disease. This pathology can be suffered by both whole and sterilized bitches.
• Another cause may be a vaginal tumor, which we have explained previously.

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