Dog Nose Bleed: Causes, First Aid and When It's an Emergency

First Aid for a Dog Nosebleed

• Keep your dog calm and quiet. Excitement raises blood pressure and can make bleeding worse.^1,5
• Hold a cold pack or ice wrapped in a cloth on the bridge of the nose, between the eyes and nostrils. Make sure flat-faced dogs can still breathe.^1,5
• Don't put cotton, tissue or anything else into the nostrils, as it can make your dog sneeze and bleed more.^1,5
• Don't tilt your dog's head back.⁵
• Don't give any human medicines.^5,1

Swallowed blood can cause black stools or bloody vomit afterwards.¹

Causes

Problems in the nose

• Injury: a knock to the nose or face.^1,5
• Foreign bodies: grass seeds and other objects sniffed into the nose.^1,5
• Nasal tumors: a common cause in older dogs, often with sneezing and discharge. Discharge or bleeding often starts on one side but may affect both by the time a dog is seen.^1,4,11
• Fungal infection (aspergillosis): nosebleeds, nasal pain and a patchy, pink loss of color on the nose.¹²
• Nasal mites and other infections.^6,5
• Tooth root abscess of an upper tooth.^1,2

Problems in the blood or body

• Rat and mouse poison: anticoagulant poisons stop the blood clotting. Bleeding typically starts 3 to 7 days after the poison is eaten.^7,1
• Low platelets or poor platelet function, which can have many causes.²
• Tick-borne disease: ehrlichiosis, spread by ticks, can cause nosebleeds and other bleeding.⁸
• Inherited bleeding disorders: von Willebrand disease is the most common, and is seen in several breeds, especially Doberman Pinschers.⁹
• High blood pressure.^1,2
• Some medicines, such as anti-inflammatory pain relievers, which can affect clotting.¹

Whether the bleeding comes from one or both nostrils doesn't reliably tell vets which kind of cause it is.^13,3

What Your Vet Will Check

Your vet will ask about any injury, medicines given in the last month, and whether your dog could have found rat poison.¹ Tests may include:^1,13,14,8

• Blood tests, including a platelet count and clotting tests
• A blood pressure check
• Tests for tick-borne infections
• X-rays or a CT scan of the nose, and chest X-rays
• Rhinoscopy, a camera exam of the nose under anesthesia, with biopsy if needed

Treatment and outlook depend on the cause.¹ For nasal carcinoma, survival without treatment is often only a few months, while radiation therapy has been reported to extend median survival to about 14 months.^4,15 See why dogs sneeze and cancer in dogs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a dog nosebleed an emergency?

It is if the bleeding is heavy, won't stop within a few minutes, or comes with breathing trouble, weakness or pale gums, or if your dog may have eaten rat poison.

Can a dog nosebleed stop on its own?

A small bleed after a bump often stops by itself, but unexplained or repeated bleeding needs a vet.

Why is my dog sneezing blood?

Common causes include a foreign body, injury, fungal infection, nasal mites, a tumor or a clotting problem.

Is a nosebleed in an older dog serious?

It can be. Nasal tumors are a common cause of nosebleeds in older dogs, so see your vet promptly.

Can stress cause a dog nosebleed?

Excitement and stress raise blood pressure, which can make an existing nosebleed worse, so keep your dog calm. A nosebleed with no obvious cause should be checked by a vet.

Should I put ice on my dog's nose?

Yes, a wrapped cold pack on the bridge of the nose can help. Don't put anything inside the nostrils, and in flat-faced breeds make sure your dog can still breathe around it.