# Dog Bleeding From Vagina - Need Answer Fast **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957 "2009-12-12T03:47:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/41 "2009-12-16T15:10:36Z")
Sorry for the lack of updates. So, everything appears to be back to normal with the pooch. There was a bit more bleeding on Friday night, through to Saturday night. And by a bit, I mean drops, which is entirely consistent with her un-spayed physiology. We’re uncertain which orifice the initial blood came from. She’s getting older and the output from her seasonal feminine cycle has lowered to usually just mere drops in last couple of years. Is it possible that this last round was the result of some form of doggy menopause? Or, perhaps the bleeding came with the diarrhea? We really don’t know, but she slept for a good few hours on Friday night, sequestered in the laundry room, and then woke us up to complain about the loneliness. My wife’s been off work so far this week and the dog apparently will not leave her side. To sum thinks up, everything seems back to normal now including appetite, but she does seem a bit more cuddly. I have not been around to examine how any of her poop has looked since, but she seems to be fine now. Is the onslaught of menopause a possibility? ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/42 "2009-12-16T15:30:03Z")
Aw, I bet it is menopause. And before my female dog was spayed, she had two periods. She had loose stool both times. She also bled A LOT. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/43 "2009-12-16T15:44:00Z")
Bleeding from stones comes and goes, just FYI. I would (especially!! because she’s a Bichon) at least have them run an UA on her. If she is “in heat” she would be swollen in her private area, so if that is not true, there is probably another explanation for the bleeding. Not a vet, just worked for them forever :). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/44 "2009-12-16T16:21:37Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > Bleeding from stones comes and goes, just FYI. I would (especially!! because she’s a Bichon) at least have them run an UA on her. If she is “in heat” she would be swollen in her private area, so if that is not true, there is probably another explanation for the bleeding. Not a vet, just worked for them forever :). Yes, she was swollen in accordance with “heat.” ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/45 "2009-12-16T16:52:17Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > Aw, I bet it is menopause. Dogs don’t get menopause… Dogs (and most animals) have a completely different cycle than humans (and primates) IF an intact female dog stops cycling, THAT is the abnormality. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/46 "2009-12-16T17:03:03Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > We’re uncertain which orifice the initial blood came from. She’s getting older and the output from her seasonal feminine cycle has lowered to usually just mere drops in last couple of years. Is it possible that this last round was the result of some form of doggy menopause? Dogs don’t get menopause… IF she has completely stopped cycling (gone through years you don’t notice any “heat”), only to return now with blood and diarrhea, that is unusual. > [@](#): > > Or, perhaps the bleeding came with the diarrhea? Perhaps she ate something she shouldn’t have. Any change in diet, any indiscretion, anything she could get her muzzle on. > [@](#): > > Is the onslaught of menopause a possibility? Dogs don’t get menopause. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/47 "2009-12-16T17:21:56Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Dogs don’t get menopause. Menopaws? So they’re potentially fertile till death? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/48 "2009-12-16T19:06:19Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Menopaws? > > So they’re potentially fertile till death? Ayup. Not necessarily as fertile, but it’s not as unlikely as a 70 year old woman naturally getting pregnant and carrying the pregnancy to term. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/49 "2009-12-17T03:32:22Z")
So have you taken the animal to vet or not? If a dog is “more cuddly” than usual, that’s a fairly good sign that it is in distress. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/50 "2009-12-17T17:51:03Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > So have you taken the animal to vet or not? Doesn’t sound like it. Isn’t it great when people ask you for advice and then completely ignore it? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/51 "2009-12-17T18:00:19Z")
> [@Pullet](#): > > Doesn’t sound like it. > Isn’t it great when people ask you for advice and then completely ignore it? I hope he doesn’t ask if spaying the dog would be a good idea. Maybe he’ll figure it out on his own. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/52 "2009-12-17T18:10:49Z")
> [@Pullet](#): > > Doesn’t sound like it. > Isn’t it great when people ask you for advice and then completely ignore it? I didn’t ask whether or not I should take the dog to the vet. I was looking for possible causes for the event. She’s calmed down now and all seems well. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/53 "2009-12-17T18:12:00Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I hope he doesn’t ask if spaying the dog would be a good idea. Maybe he’ll figure it out on his own. Wasn’t going to. However, is there a problem with spaying 7 year old dogs? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/54 "2009-12-17T18:27:16Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > However, is there a problem with spaying 7 year old dogs? Nope, but it is always better/easier for the veterinarian (and the dog) if it is done when the dog is not in heat. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/55 "2009-12-17T20:40:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Sorry for the lack of updates. > > So, everything appears to be back to normal with the pooch. There was a bit more bleeding on Friday night, through to Saturday night. And by a bit, I mean drops, which is entirely consistent with her un-spayed physiology. > > We’re uncertain which orifice the initial blood came from. She’s getting older and the output from her seasonal feminine cycle has lowered to usually just mere drops in last couple of years. Is it possible that this last round was the result of some form of doggy menopause? > > Or, perhaps the bleeding came with the diarrhea? We really don’t know, but she slept for a good few hours on Friday night, sequestered in the laundry room, and then woke us up to complain about the loneliness. My wife’s been off work so far this week and the dog apparently will not leave her side. > > To sum thinks up, everything seems back to normal now including appetite, but she does seem a bit more cuddly. I have not been around to examine how any of her poop has looked since, but she seems to be fine now. > > Is the onslaught of menopause a possibility? OPs have already told you, but dogs don’t have menopause, and their fertility cycle is vastly different than a human’s. Their uterus, like ours, will build up a thick, blood rich lining before ovulation. But unlike humans, this lining is never shed - and it is therefore ripe for infection from outside sources. Bleeding from the vagina in any quantity except a few drops is not normal in canines. For some reason, the likelihood of pyometra increases with age. You dog will remain fertile and go through heat cycles well into old age, with an increased chance of this happening again. I think you’re being very irresponsible not to take her to the vet. It seems she has at least partially recovered from this episode, but it could still become more serious. Pyometra hurts quite a bit, and it can kill your dog. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/56 "2009-12-17T21:31:43Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > I think you’re being very irresponsible not to take her to the vet. It seems she has at least partially recovered from this episode, but it could still become more serious. Pyometra hurts quite a bit, and it can kill your dog. I second all of this. I’d say a lot more, but this isn’t the pit. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957/57 "2009-12-17T22:08:41Z")
I don’t think that the OP is going to get much more factual information about his dog’s condition without going to the vet, so I’m going to go ahead and close this. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-bleeding-from-vagina-need-answer-fast/520957.md?page=2)