Bleeding from the urinary tract?

Our question this week was:

My dog is bleeding from her urinary area. It's not a steady flow, but she is bleeding from there. She doesn't act sick. She is only one year old. What could be wrong with her?

Amy Wingo

Answer

Thanks for your email. Your question is about why your dog is "bleeding from her urinary area". You mentioned that she is acting okay and is one year old.

There are several possibilities and I'll try to answer your question. It would be easier to give you a precise answer if I could examine your dog but I'll do the best I can. Female dogs that bleed from the urinary area probably means you are seeing blood come from her vulva.

The vulva is the portal to both the urinary and reproductive tracts. The big question is – is the blood coming from her urinary tract or reproductive tract?

If could be from her reproductive tract. If she is not spayed, she could be in heat and this is a possible reason to have small amounts of blood. If she is intact and pregnant, this could be another reason. Other causes for bleeding could be an infection or inflammatory disease of the reproductive tracts or bleeding problems that just happens to be occurring in the reproductive area.

If the bleeding is from the urinary tract, it could be due to an infection, bladder stones or a bleeding problem.

I'll give you links to two articles that you might find helpful. The first is about bloody urine and discusses the causes – Hematuria in Dogs and the second article discusses causes for Vaginal Discharge in Dogs.

The best thing to do is to have her evaluated to help you determine the underlying reason for the bleeding.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra

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