Hi, I’m new to this forum but was just looking for a bit of advice. My lab is currently 16 months old. On June 6th we noticed watery, bloody spots on the floor and thought that she had come into her first season. We only noticed a few spots on the floor for one evening and a few the following morning and nothing else but decided we should take it as a season to be on the safe side. Now nearly 5 weeks later we have noticed actual blood spots on the floor and we’re now confused as to whether this is maybe a proper season and the last one wasn’t. I haven’t noticed any change in her vulva at either time and it’s difficult to determine whether her mood has changed as the weather is so warm at the moment. I’ve tried using a bit of white kitchen towel to dab her vulva but nothing. We just don’t know if maybe this is her true season or if this is what I’ve heard as a split season? Just wondering if anyone could offer some advice really?
I think you probably need to get her checked by a vet as they can get things like pyometra which can lead to discharge from the vulva. It could be a interrupted session, what was her last one like or is this the first time it's happened? Either way I think I would get her checked out just to be sure.
This is the first time this has happened. We thought the watery blood was her first ever season 5 weeks ago and now we’ve noticed more blood. I’ve kept an eye on her today but I’ve seen nothing more throughout the day. We want to get her spayed and booked it in for 3 months after what we thought was her first season but now this has happened we’re thinking we may need to change the date.
I’m actually wondering if maybe this is her actual season. Just noticed another spot, wiped her with a white paper towel and there’s definite blood from the vulva. I can’t see it being pymetra when she’s never had a season before, I thought pymetra was for older bitches when they’ve had a number of seasons without having puppies and have developed an infection.
I’m going to phone her vet tomorrow for some advice and explain the situation. We had already booked her spay in for the end of next month and if this is now her season I don’t think they’ll continue with it and we will have to reschedule.
Hi there, and welcome to the forum. It doesn't sound as though your dog has pyometra, but because pyometra is so very serious, it might be a good idea to get her checked over. It is true that dogs can get pyometra at any age. But it is also true that the risk of pyometra increases with every season that a dog has. So it is much more common in older dogs. Sometimes a female dog's first season is not the full event - and she will show few symptoms. Some female dogs fail to ever have a normal season, and some have annual seasons (I have had two cocker spaniels that only came into season once a year) So the range of 'normal' is quite wide. Any female dog that has a discharge of any kind that is not part of a normal heat cycle really does need to see a vet, both to eliminate the risk of any kind of infections, and to eliminate any underlying cause of disturbance to her hormonal cycle. The chances are your vet will say she is fine, but I would still get her checked out. Better to be safe than sorry. Here is an article on the signs and risks of pyometra: Pyometra - How To Keep Your Dog Safe
I don’t think it’s anything serious, and like I said I will ring the vet just to get some advice and if they advise for me to take her in for a check, I will. She was quite ill as a puppy, to the point that she nearly died, and they think it was due to inflammatory bowel disease and she needed to be on steroids for a while. So we were wondering whether this has had an effect by slightly delaying her development and delaying her season. She’s absolutly fine in herself, eating and drinking as normal, no obvious change in her urinating or bowel movements. Either way I’ll ring tomorrow.
