Cause for Concern? - Page 1

A female I have came into heat 2 weeks ago Saturday evening, dripping blood, she is still dripping blood. Took her to the vet and he says she is fine, all blood work okay, but is ready for breeding, which I am not breeding her at this time, so not an issue. What my question is, Is it normal for a female to still be dripping blood, 17 days into her cycle? All my other female drip for 5-7 days and then again at the end of the cycle days 20-28 or so. So this is odd to me, but the vet is not concerned, anything else that should be checked? She was checked for Pyrometria, infections and bacteria all of which is clear. Thanks in advance for the help.

My bitch is going on her 3rd week of bleeding as well. All is normal and she is driving herslef and the rest of the bunch nuts, flagging anything that moves. If your vet gives you the ok, I wouldn't worry. All bitches are different just like us humans.

be concerned... tell the Vet you think she's bleeding in the pelvis. You'll save her life if the vet believes. I know of a dog in their first heat started bleeding and didn't stop... the owners did nothing for her till she couldn't walk no more then brought her to the vet. and said "we bred her and now she's sick". The dog died bleeding to death. The owners said she started bleeding 4 weeks ago. Go figure.

.. if you start to see any sort of "gel" looking stuff.. be worried quicker.

Is this her first season as I found with one of my bitches that she bled more heavily in the first season and then was normal thereafter. Only 2 other issues come to mind - liver problems and von Willebrand's Disease. Has your Vet done liver function tests - as a problem here with liver function could make her bleed more than normal (we had friends with this problem) and the other is a bleeding disorder which is of course more serious. If she has not had any accidental injuries or operations in the past or trauma then it might not have shown up before this. These are hopefully not the case here, but something to be aware of. Do not wait is she bleeds for much longer especially if she passes clots or it gets heavier and fresh red blood. Hope some of this helps. May be nothing to worry about as human females are all different too, hope she will be OK. Keep us posted. Best wishes

This is her 3rd season I beleive. I have had her only about a month, she was very ill 2 months ago, so her blood has been checked often. Her liver levels are normal, about in the middle of normal, not high or low. I will keep a close eye on her, just was worried I missed something we sould check for. She is healthy and happy otherwise and driving my male NUTS, especially since they won't be mating this time. Thanks for all of your advice!

I have a female right now and she's in her 3rd week and still bleeding. This is her second heat after a litter. Seems heavier than the last heat but she's doing fine. I wouldn't worry just yet.

Vomveiderheiss, you have taken your female to the veterinarian. I guess that my only question is this; is the discharge true blood, or blood mixed with the normal uterine discharge later in the heat cycle? I know that we usually see dark red blood, then red-tinged discharge, then straw-tinged discharge, but I have also see the discharge remain very dark to the end that I could not discern the timing and I had to do a progesterone level test. Since the female has already seen the veterinarian, and it is her third season then she is probably okay. I presume she is "on cycle" as far as the occurrence of this event. BabyEagle4U, very intersesting comment. What cause the mentioned bitch to bleed from the pelvis? Was it an injury, infection, or just an abnormality? Bob-O

vomveiderheiss, YES CAUSE for CONCERN!! Your bitch should be checked by a repro vet, if an ovary cyst exists. This could be seen with a good ultasound device. If there is a cyst the bitch is not coming to ovulation and will continue bleeding and drive your boys crazy. Probably ovulation can be induced by hormonal intervention. If you want to breed her in the next cycle, you can also run into the same problems. That means: it is hard to make a plan for the intendet mating!!

Hewetz, thanks for the information about the cyst. I know these happen (usually they are small and of no concern until the breeding years are over) but I did not know that it was possible for them to bleed. I have no experience with this, and I appreciate the information. Bob-O