Help - worried about something on my dog

[swallowedAfly]

Hello.

I walk my one year old lab in the countryside a lot so it's not unusual for her to get a bit muddy. The other day i noticed she had a patch of something under where her ear hangs down and assumed it was a bit of mud from a full on walk we'd had the day before that she'd cleaned up from everywhere else. I remember saying you need a bath my love but being really busy with cooking for family coming over and sorting the house so i thought no more of it

last night i noticed it again properly and it had changed. I examined it and i don't know what it is - the fur is matted together and there is a bit of a mass of something, i sort of pinched the area to make it stand out and there appears to be some kind of sticky residue down in between the hair. It actually made me feel quite sick and i'm not generally a squeamish person.

what on earth is it? i have to take ds to school this morning and then i can phone and try and arrange to go in to see the vet with her. i think it also smells a bit - which i assumed was from the walk but am now worrying is this thing that smells. it's not mange or something is it?

really worried and feeling bad that i ignored it for a couple of days and put it down to dirt. really close to the dog and she's with me all the time - i feel bad i didn't realise it was something more and examine it properly but i was all caught up in being busy and it was under where her ear hangs down (labrador) so it wasn't noticeable. also she's just been in season so i was tending to focus more on her nether regions and behaviour than something on her skin.

any ideas would be great - i'm totally clueless as to what it is unless she had a little absess there and it burst or something?

First guess is that she's cut herself and it's a mixture of blood and pus - especially if it's a bit smelly.

Try bathing it with warm salty water and see if that frees it up so you can have a look at what's underneath.

can you wipe round the ear and have a closer look? I couldnt possibly say what it is -without having a good look at it, could be anything. If you dont want to poke around the ear then get an appt ASAP for the vet.

my first instinct last night was that i wanted to get her in the shower this morning and give her a good wash - was hoping that would soften up and clean whatever is matting her hair around the area so i could get a good look.

but then i started panicking which is so unlike me. my cat got an absess a while back and i treated it and dealt with it and he was fine. i think it's that my dog is only just turned a year and is my pfb for shame and i suddenly felt terrible that maybe something really is wrong with her and i haven't noticed.

i'm also worried if i bathe her and disturb it will it make somethign worse or will it mask symptoms/signs of stuff that the vet needs to see?

i've just been reading all about mange and scaring myself because she is a big scratcher and always has been but this thing doesn't sound like mange so i'm trying to calm down my hyperchondria on her behalf.

a cut would make sense as it's basically just above her jaw line at the broad bit of the head that the ear hangs down over - exactly the part of the head that would be likely to get cut given they explore by sticking their head in/through/under things.

The other thing it could be is a tick - is she scratching at it or shying away from touching it because she's sore?

I'd give it a wash and take her to the vet if you are at all concerned.

her itching is all over and ALWAYS has been. she's treated regularly for fleas and worms and i've never seen her to have fleas. she did have a tick once which she let me remove and i got it out completely. she scratches and scratches - not viciously or overly hard she's just constantly stopping for a big scratch of her belly, her neck whatever. that scratching has gone up i would say - last night she was keeping me awake because i could hear her kicking herself.

it may be two separate issues but now i've been looking up about mange i'm really worried about the scratching where previously i'd just thought it was her thing as she never seemed sore or had parasites or anything.

Mange tends to start with bald elbows and small sore patches on the face so it doesn't sound like that to me.

too big for a tick i think. the area feels to be about double the size of a 50p piece but that could all be just matted hair and ooze rather than whatever is at the bottom of it.

i'm just going to have to get her in the bath and shower her aren't i. maybe hold off the vet till i know what i'm looking at.

Don't panic! There'll be plenty more labrador accidents during her life, I reckon. It's hard to see if some labs have hurt themselves because some of them give no outward indication at all that somethings gone wrong.

We have one that's an absolute drama queen and wails at the slightest ouch and the other three just don't seem to feel pain and will quite happily waltz around with proper wounds.

I'd bathe it, because if you don't the vet will and you'll pay for the privilege. And I'd want to see what was there too before I went. It does sound like the perfect place for a cut - and a good description of how a cut goes on a dog if you don't know it's there.

Get out the cotton wool, salt and warm water and gently soak the area until the crusty stuff comes away. Then you'll have good idea about what you're dealing with and can act accordingly.

her nipples have all come out and look quite swollen/sensitive since she's come into season so maybe they could be making her itch - like more blood flow to equivalent of breast tissue or whatever?

It doesn't sound like mange, the itching could well be caused by her food or washing powder etc - but that's probably a thread for another time!

I don't think it will be a tick - they are usually unaware they even have them. Ours pick up quite a few over a year, I check them all every day and take them off as soon as I find them.

thanks daisy - she's black as well so everything just disappears under her cloak of darkness she's very laid back so will probably let me bathe it bless her. i'm feeling squeamish probably because i was worried it was some awful infectious disease or something and because it was a bit stinky but i will crack on and deal with it after i get the boy to school.

Sorry - paranoid person new to Australia here! Mine never had a tick in the UK - they'd been here a month and they both got one!

Being Australia they have to be bloody toxic too (ie needing antivenom - yikes).

Sounds like a couple of issues, def clean that wound first. I agree with daisydotandgertie that it could be food causing the general itchiness.

I bet she'll love it.

For ours, any attention is good. I tend to sit on the floor and make whichever one of ours it is lie between my legs facing in the best direction for access to the injury; if you can get her towards you with her head on your leg and turn it into a giant cuddle it'll make life easier.

Cuddles like that are much sought after in our house .

Drama dog tries to fling herself into the 'I'm poorly' cuddle position at every tiny ouch . She is a weed.

my sisters dog whails if it gets a tick! seriously. it is a total wuss. mine is a typical lab and yes any attention is good attention.

those ticks sound terrifying mrsD.

she's had several types of food with different effects upon her digestion but i've never noticed any variation in terms of the scratching.

When you say you've tried different types of food, were they different brands or did you try an elimination process?
I ask as I have a food allergic Staffy here who is restricted to a few brands of foods as he's allergic to most grains, brewers yeast and a protein in cheap preservatives. Took us ages to find it out and he's now scratch free...ish and his constant ear infections have cleared up.

The itching could also be your treats, not just the food.

oh! good thinking about the treats.

food wise she started out on not such nice stuff with breeder and i tried her on autarky puppy for a while which went well and then i switched to one called fishmongers choice which was lovely and seemed to really suit her tummy. when i couldn't get that anymore i bought fish4dogs but to be honest despite the outrageous price she didn't seem to enjoy it much and seemed to be hungry all the time. i've now got her back on autarky, an adult fish based one and she's suffered no noticeable problems from it.

in terms of treats she gets the odd rawhide bone or twist which she loves and i have recently been giving her a dental chew once every day or two. on top of her own food and the odd treat she gets the odd bit of fruit - my son gives her his pear and apple cores or if his banana has a black bit on it (god forbid) she gets that. she seems to enjoy fruit a lot and i hope i haven't done wrong in giving it to her. if i cook rice or something very wholefood nothing fakey in it and there is a little bit leftover in the pot i will give it to her sometimes - no more than a few mouthfuls really for the flavour because i don't want to overfeed her.

she's very active and still lovely and slim though looking a little thicker round the middle since she's had her season as she was a bit hungrier and obviously couldn't get as much good, off lead running with dogs exercise as usual because of being careful of her being fertile. i was advised as soon as it's over to give her loads of exercise and get her running because allegedly it helps avoid phantom pregnancies (don't know if that's a mad dog lady folklore or not but worth a go i thought and will burn off any weight she may have put on).

sorry epic long post. there's no lesions or scabbiness or anything to show for the itching. not sure if it's relevant but the vet commented she had a lot of skin - you can pull away handfuls around her neck - didn't know if it was vaguely connected to that. really don't know.

thanks for reading and helping. am back from school and having a quick coffee then i'll get on with bathing this whatever it is thing and having a closer look.

If the Autarky is the salmon one, there are no obvious or common allergens in it; but if it's the chicken version it contains maize which can cause problems. Otherwise, it could well be the treats or dental chews. Try investing in a stag bar - our labs love them. They're expensive, but last a very, very long time.

Do you use fabric conditioner on her bedding? Or anything like that?

Fruit is brilliant for dogs - but try and take out the apple pips if you can.

it's the salmon one. i tend to stick with heavily fish based stuff because her tummy seems happier with it ie. nicer poos to contend with.

i don't tend to use fabric conditioner much at all - only on my sheets and towels and then a very basic one. i'm a bit of an itchy myself so fairly careful.

i need to invest in a new bed for her. what's a stag bar? the dental chews look and smell disgusting so i'll happily eliminate those. there's not problems with rawhide is there? she loves rawhide chews but gets through them in minutes.

am just cooling some boiled water with salt in and have cut up a clean old cotton vest into bits ready to bathe this 'thing'. i feel i should have a peg on my nose though as she's really smelly which is unusual for her as she doesn't smell except the couple of times earlier in the year when she rolled in silage (vile beyond belief) and had to have an instant shower.

It sounds like a cut, but one other thing it could possibly be is an infected subcutaneous cyst that's burst - if you squeeze it, does white cottage-cheesy pus come out? My dog has a few skin lumps and she managed to burst one last year while she was scratching - I had to bathe it in very strong salt water for a few days until all the gunk came out, then it healed up. But they do have a habit of refilling, so the vet removed it when she went in for her spay - very quick and easy.

If it's making you feel bleeurgh, I'd make a vet's appointment and get them to put your mind at rest. But then I am (a) squeamish and (b) a tragically PFD owner.

ok. i think i'm going to have to take her to the vets. it's hard to clean the area as i'm going over the surface and i suspect there is a kind of flap, trying to lift the hair/skin to see what's going on underneath is obviously distressing for her and me and there is clearly something messy going on there i'm thinking better to get her to the vets where they can have a more confident look at it and i'm presuming get her onto antibiotics asap? i'm not confident to poke and pull at it oh! my poor dog! and my poor bank balance!

if any lurkers considering getting a dog are on here do take note. i've gone from 3 weeks of a menstruating dog with a fanjo the size of a melon to contend with to some kind of weird nasty unidentified 'thing' to deal with. when people say dogs are a full on commitment they mean it - they are definitely not cats!!!

having said that i don't regret it and i adore her but i am aware i've signed up for a pretty big job having her in my life.

x posted wildfig - i'm thinking a burst something rather than a cut i 'think'. it reminds me of when my cat had a burst absess presumably from a bite at the end of his back/base of tail. similar but you could get to a hole iyswim whereas with this i can't get through the hair to see for sure. and yes i think it's the PFD thing that's killing me really because with the cat i just dealt with it. but sadie's sad eyes are looking at me and i feel awful!

If she seems happy in herself, I would be tempted to bathe it for a couple of days to see if it clears up.

Our Lab had a similar thing behind his ear from scratching and it turned out it was so sticky because there was ear wax mixed in with it

A couple of days bathing and he was right as rain.

Obviously if you are worried, or she seems out of sorts then get her to the vets but I am of the opinion that if you can sort it yourself, then do.

god it's all so yuk isn't it!! thanks martyr.

just been on the phone with the vets - the only time they can see me today doesn't fit in with having to pick ds up - i don't drive and there's no one to pick him up for me instead as family away. so i have an appointment for 10.10am tomorrow but i've talked it through and got reassurance that it will be ok to stick her in the bath and give her a good shower and use a ph neutral baby shampoo and wash her and really try and break down whatever the goo and yuk stuff is so i can get a proper look at it, then keep it clean with salt water bathing.

this was utterly my instinct but for some reason i really doubted myself and was worried i'd make it worse/hurt her etc my usual brusque confidence with this sort of thing disappeared.

letting her have a rest then sticking her in the bath and getting to the bottom of it - gonna have to tell myself she can take it, she's a dog, i'm not trying to kill her etc and go for it.