Bleeding in unspayed dog

[LilF]

If anyone could weigh in on this. I just came home and Blossom was dripping dark blood. Her back end had to be wiped . I saw some blood come out of the thing that looks like a slit. I don't even know her female parts names. Typically when she is in heat she doesn't drip that much. She seems a bit nervous too but my house is hot because the AC broke and won't be fixed for 10 days. She ate ok today but her appetite was a bit lower a couple days ago which I attributed to some supplements she might not have liked how they smelled. So her heat cycle was December 2022, June 2023. Would it even be possible she is having another heat so soon. What ELSE could this be. I was gone for 2 hours and this is new since I got home.. She seems a bit more nervous than usual and tries to lick in the back. It is the holiday and as usual something goes wrong, like my AC and in the past something wrong with a dog. My vet was in today and I even spoke to him at 1PM. He is gone now for the holiday. What could this be and what should I look for. I thought pyometra was a clear or purulent discharge. This is blood. Is it her uterus? I cannot get this dog to a hospital without difficulty which would be an hour away since she still does not like car riding. Is this her uterus? Bladder? Yesterday she had blood done and today the vet said we have to repeat it because there were clots and we don't know if this is artifact or a real problem So he said it throws all the tests off. The platelets were low so we don't know if this is a true result. Any thoughts? I just got hit with this. Thanks

 

[LilF]

You can't give me any help in how to assess the situation? She went for a short walk like usual this morning. Still dripping blood, Still furiously licking behind. Pooped and peed. If I am faced with surgery maybe less invasive laporascopic would be the choice evn though I want OSS? Her medical condition is still undiagnosed and maybe should opt for a safer surgery if need be. Consider stress level riding in car an hour, she is used to 10 minutes. If anyone responds later I wont get this that is why I posted yesterday

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

This does sound like estrus. Heat cycles can be as short as 63 days. Sounds like she is skipping them here and there.

If blood was clotted then platelets can't be counted by machine. Should have done a hand count but maybe even that was impossible.

How is her BEAM otherwise?

 

[LilF]

I have her in the car with a friend and she seems to be doing fine and she seems happy. I did not feed her this morning because I did not know if she would need an empty stomach so I do not know about her appetite but I don’t know if I mentioned it but she did drink water last night a lot of it and she hasn’t had any water for a year because she would not drink water, she is still bleeding but not as much she did get in the car by herself. So I guess you could say her Beamer is OK but I don’t know about her appetite yet until I offer her food. Surprisingly she’s doing very well in the car with somebody without any treats offered , the homeo path seems to be on a vacation for the past over a week so there’s no response there. I just don’t know why she would be having another heat when she should be in the window timeframe for pyometra from her June cycle prior to all this she was messing up her beds and turning them over and doing the same thing to a heavy carpet that I have but again she was resting comfortably. Wanted to go for a walk today and is now in the car and seems to be happy when I called the hospital they said I should see how she is and 28 I mean 24 hours so my question is how fast if it were pyometra does it progress because I would want her to get the shots instead of the surgery. Ironically, she was supposed to get an ultrasound yesterday. I mean Friday because I found a mobile place that comes to her own vets office but instead, I opted to do the blood.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Yes, sounds like estrus to me as well.

Considering her normal BEAM, I wonder what you need help assessing Lil?

If you mean help deciding what to do about her surgery, you may want to try sitting quietly and breathing cohesively for a few minutes. Then follow your gut.

 

[LilF]

Yes, sounds like estrus to me as well.

Considering her normal BEAM, I wonder what you need help assessing Lil?

If you mean help deciding what to do about her surgery, you may want to try sitting quietly and breathing cohesively for a few minutes. Then follow your gut.

Thanks. This helpsme make an assessment. She just bit the friend that was in the back seat with her. She bit him twice. Now he doesn’t want to help me get her anywhere if need be. I will keep watching. Her discharge is much less. Thanks again

 

[LilF]

Oh, I am just so up in the air now..... I came home and the blood is all over her inside tail and when she got up blood was a stream. I tried to look at her gums and maybe they are a bit more pale than before. This is way more blood than she ever had lost.

 

[LilF]

Could I use union bayou to stop the bleeding or is that a bad idea?

 

[GinnyW]

OK, I can't prescribe - but: is this bright, thick, fresh blood? Does it keep on coming out steadily, even after you've mopped up? Or is it clotty, dark-colored, stinky, and intermittent? I don't know your age, but I remember what menstrual blood, and also that of female dogs, looks and smells like. Pyo is a serious matter, as you know; she may be thirsty and will pee a lot, obviously uncomfortable, and with poor gum perfusion.
Rather than treating this yourself, if it seems serious go to a vet for diagnosis and some form of treatment. Yunnan Bayou would be appropriate, I believe, only if this is a wound-like condition - not for infection or hormonally-caused bleeding. If she is in a dire condition, even a regular spay might be the best emergency treatment. We can discuss hormone replacement further down the road as she ages, but her immediate health is much more critical.

 

[LilF]

OK, I can't prescribe - but: is this bright, thick, fresh blood? Does it keep on coming out steadily, even after you've mopped up? Or is it clotty, dark-colored, stinky, and intermittent? I don't know your age, but I remember what menstrual blood, and also that of female dogs, looks and smells like. Pyo is a serious matter, as you know; she may be thirsty and will pee a lot, obviously uncomfortable, and with poor gum perfusion.
Rather than treating this yourself, if it seems serious go to a vet for diagnosis and some form of treatment. Yunnan Bayou would be appropriate, I believe, only if this is a wound-like condition - not for infection or hormonally-caused bleeding. If she is in a dire condition, even a regular spay might be the best emergency treatment. We can discuss hormone replacement further down the road as she ages, but her immediate health is much more critical.

I am at the vet hospital now and the blood is more intermittent and it’s very dark and today I saw it streaming out of her one time when I came home, it was all over the inside of her tail to. Since she’s been here laying in the hospital floor waiting for a doctor. Nothing has really come out. I don’t think it’s noticeably stinky and I don’t think I would do a surgery here on the Sunday of a holiday. I hear some woman crying uncontrollably in another room but I’ll see if I can get more information. I did get her here and it’s 15 minutes away from home.

 

[LilF]

She did not lick her self on the way here or here at the hospital

 

[LilF]

I think I’m going to leave there are fleas on the floor in this room and she hasn’t dripped any blood since we’ve been here so maybe it’s just her heat there is never a good staff on a holiday weekend and it’s making me nervous

 

[GinnyW]

I think that's a good decision, Lil. If and when she settles down, we can evaluate what's going on hormonally, and take any appropriate actions. Good observational skills all along, my dear

 

[LilF]

I think that's a good decision, Lil. If and when she settles down, we can evaluate what's going on hormonally, and take any appropriate actions. Good observational skills all along, my dear

Thanks.... So far she has not bled much at all today so far and not much last night either. It was like soon as we got to the hospital it stopped abruptly, like a "sign" and she was laying on the floor there so calmly. I tried to separate my last awful experience with JJ at a hospital when my intuition told me to leave accompanied by physical signs to support the intuitive feeling but I let rationality take over and the worst happened. So with Blossom and with the help here I decided it best to leave and maybe the little fleas helped me to decide too!! So they also say there is opportunity in crisis. As I reflected on the way home I realized what a great day it turned out to be. I PUSHED myself on behalf of Blossom's bottom line health needs to "git her in the car and lets just go" She rode 50 minutes there and was anxious with barking but I didn't look, touch or talk to her. except when she got in my face too close and I told her firmly to sit down---she does listen to my firm voice. We got there (I had just gotten back from a trial run there a half hour earlier just to be sure that I knew how to get there should I need to get her there in an emergency so it was a lot of driving. So on the way home I was stunned. I had the relaxing CD in that she is used to at home every night that I play, She laid her head near the gear shift and rested THE WHOLE WAY HOME, no barking, no leaping on the dash---total nirvana. A breakthrough with her car riding. Prior to this for a year I was able to ride her in the car 4 min, then let her out for a walk and then the next 8 minutes to the vet. Lately when she would bark, I would bark back at her, like a game and she seemed to be smiling and not the panicked grin like in the past. So all in all it was a good day. She stopped bleeding there for a reason, no more licking etc... When we got home I washed her back end and tail off of the blood. She gets a redraw of blood wednesday. I found a mobile ultrasound company that comes to your vets office instead of the flea ridden hospital. I already submitted the records and info form and it is just a matter of scheduling now. Actually I had it scheduled for last friday and canceled it in preference to having her blood drawn instead. I was just trying to get all the opinions and information I could about her from different sources and then decide what to do considering everything. I ended up taking her to the hospital and while waiting I was asking people if they liked the place etc... since it was new. Ironically, one gal said she picked this one because she read bad reviews on the other one, (just so happens to be the one JJ died at ---interesting--the one I had a gut feeling to leave because of my one short interaction with the vet.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Could I use union bayou to stop the bleeding

Yunnan Bayou can indeed decrease bleeding from most sources. However, it sounds like it was not needed for Blossom.

As I reflected on the way home I realized what a great day it turned out to be. I PUSHED myself on behalf of Blossom's bottom line health

That's wonderful! Fantastic observations of both Blossom and your inner state. It is truly amazing to see how pawsing and reflecting on the bigger picture can help us.

That's one of the big take homes of next month's Sacred Paws summit:

Join me at the Sacred Paws Summit

WE’RE UNITED BY A BOLD VISION:To help shift pet care towards the compassion, caring and connection for animals, their guardians and their health care team!

www.holisticactions.com

 

[LilF]

I will have to tune in... Unfortunately, many people I know call this "overthinking" in me and label it a negative state. I call it growth. Why have an experience you don't process and learn from for the next time?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Why have an experience you don't process and learn from for the next time?

Good question!! This is something I've pondered for a long time. What do you think Lil?

 

[LilF]

Just another question on the pyometra. Blossom had much less bleeding today.... Yesterday was a flood. I was wondering does open pyometra ever turn into closed pyometra where if it was pyometra with the heavy bleeding, can it turn into a situation where she is not expelling it? She did eat today but did not ravenously lap up the extra meat juice that she usually drinks. She did walk and enjoyed going into the car just to relax. How long does pyometra take to develop, I want to make sure I guess. I should navigate this site more about it.

 

[LilF]

My vet just emailed me Blossom's blood taken the day before this all started. Actually her liver enzymes normalized and her resting cortisol went midline. Her previously off Na:K ratio was ok too. The globulins were high at 4.4 (low end of range is a 4)--arent those inflammation and infection ? Albumin Globulin ratio was .7 which is also the lowest end of normal which is .7) I suppose I should cross check with CBC WBC but because the sample had clots and fibrin, he said it has to be redone. He thinks it could be artifact but my question is if there are clots in the blood, does this dovetail into what is happening now with bleeding? Platelets were low too. In other words can bleeding like this occur as a result of clots if the result is accurate. My vet has never screwed up blood in the past which makes me wonder that the value is what it is and that would not be good.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

my question is if there are clots in the blood, does this dovetail into what is happening now with bleeding?

Nope. It almost always occurs from tissue thromboplastin being secreted during the blood draw. This will also artifically lower the platelet count (they get sequestered in the clot).

Platelets were low too. In other words can bleeding like this occur as a result of clots if the result is accurate

Nope.