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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Help - worried about something on my dog

56 replies

swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 07:26

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 Blush

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?

OP posts:
daisydotandgertie · 29/11/2011 10:35

She'll be fine in the bath! Confidence in handling her will help and she'll take her lead from you.

It does sound as though it's a mixture of blood and pus from something horrid, be it a cut or burst thing - and bathing in salty watr can do it no harm at all.

I am a bit concerned that she's unusually smelly which would make me think about an infection - if she starts to behave as though she's feeling really poorly, I'd get her to the vet asap for antibiotics.

Don't doubt yourself - or feel nervous. You absolutely can't do her any harm by bathing her and keeping it clean. As with humans, watch for signs of infection - lethargy, fever etc and act if you see any. In the meantime, just keep on keeping it clean and don't let her scratch it!

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 10:39

yeah i definitely will take her tomorrow i think unless i see it and am utterly confident it'll heal. she didn't really sleep last night - unsettled and annoying and with her just having been through her season as well it would probably be good just to get her checked over and check all is well. the smell is a worry but giving her a bath will soon let me know if that's a coincidence (rolled in something) or the stench of rotting flesh or something Shock joy

thank you Smile

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 10:40

crikey! who'd have animals? Wink

OP posts:
lisad123 · 29/11/2011 10:45

we had this with our doddle, but not to such a bad way. He had cut himself and it hadnt started to bleed till late, Head wounds tend to gap a lot more and look worse.
Hope bath goes ok and its nothing major

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 11:56

long exhausting bath done. i have definitely broken into it a bit but not totally. looked cleaner but hadn't got all the gunk out i'm afraid. let her itch and rub it against the towel at her own comfort level when i dried her and soaked myself

i'm about done in with dog trouble at the minute! at least she's not menstruating anymore Hmm

this is all said with a tired, exasperated but definitely fond tone, honest.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 11:57

i wish i could shave the fur and see what was going on

OP posts:
daisydotandgertie · 29/11/2011 12:48

I'd get at it with scissors if I thought it'd help see what's going on.

And keep on bathing it with salty water and cotton wool - every couple of hours if you can - and eventually you'll see what she's done to herself.

Dog trouble always comes along at once for us. Then it's months of nothing.

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 12:55

yeah to be fair i had about 9months of nothing other than some minor wounds from walking past a vicious dog that some idiotic woman had tied up outside the coop at a busy time of day where everyone had to walk past it and it lunged at my dog as we walked past Hmm so it is just that all of this has come at once. once this is dealt with hopefully it's plain sailing for a while till the next season and i'll be far more confident and experienced with that next time anyway.

OP posts:
wildfig · 29/11/2011 13:02

Much better to get your dog trouble out of the way now, than on 3pm on Dec 25th, which is when I suspect mine have got a double emergency planned...

JaneBirkin · 29/11/2011 13:04

Oh good luck.

I just had all this with a chicken, still no idea what it was as it was very very hard to break down the surface, and eventually as it was getting bigger and worse, I took her to the farmer to be dispatched yesterday Sad

Poor old girl. I know exactly how you feel about it - the nasty stuff I mean - the other week I couldn't eat for a couple of days after realising she had maggots inside the wound, and having to dig those out.

She really stank. Sad Sorry...utmost sympathy from here!!!

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 13:13

omg! shit jane! you've just made my stomach visit my mouth! you poor thing.

oh please god don't let sadie have maggots i could never look at her right again Shock

are you ok?

OP posts:
JaneBirkin · 29/11/2011 17:04

Oh gosh yes I'm fine, I'm so sorry!!!!!

I'm kind of blase about it now, but at the time it was disgusting. Smile

I grew to love her through it though, which was strange.

I think chickens are far more fragile than dogs, iyswim, I doubt you have anything to worry about on that front. Chickens are also very stupid.

It took me a while to notice anything was up, too, and I felt SO guilty when I realised what was going on with her. However she still seemed Ok in herself until a few days ago...she was wandering about as usual and eating etc.

It just got to the point where it wasn't going to get better.

I hope you get on alright at the vet, let us know what they say x

ChickensThinkYouCanGetStuffed · 29/11/2011 17:17

Chickens have a very fragile grip on this mortal coil, alas. Dogs are much hardier beasts x

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 18:08

i'm actually feeling a bit fed up. she's just wee'd on the kitchen floor for no reason. she'd been outside, came in and then wee'd in a line across the floor Sad she knew she had done wrong and watched me clean it up with her tail between her legs looking very po faced indeed.

please tell me i'm due a nice easy patch after this?

vets in the morning and now i've remembered it's strike day so i will be doing that with 4yo in tow and it looks like it'll be in the rain.

moan moan moan.

OP posts:
ChickensThinkYouCanGetStuffed · 29/11/2011 20:42

Maybe she's feeling poorly? Is she normally house trained? When Jasper had his anal gland infection he dribbled in the house a bit.

minimuu · 29/11/2011 20:54

If it is near the ear it could easily be an ear infection that has caused her to scratch her ear and cause a hot spot. What do the inside of her ears look like?

An itchy dog could be an allergic dog and that often causes ear trouble. Good luck at the vets tomorrow

MrsDistinctlyMintyMonetarism · 29/11/2011 20:54
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 29/11/2011 21:03

she is totally house trained usually yes chickens. i will get her checked out down below (suppose it's actually at the back for a dog really) when she's there tomorrow too. occurred that maybe all the swelling from having been in season may have caused something. clueless.

right now i'm really feeling the downside of having pets and feeling a bit sorry for myself - kind of dreading the bill at the vets too as selfish as that is in the wider picture.

it is quite near the ear mimmuu though her ears 'look' clear.

Sad and hmpf.

poor dog, poor me, tis a pity party Wink

thanks everyone.

OP posts:
ChickensThinkYouCanGetStuffed · 29/11/2011 22:02

Some days it feels like an uphill battle, huh? Hopefully the vet will be able to give you a simple answer and all will be well :)

MartyrStewart · 30/11/2011 00:18

Weeing in the house could be related to her season. Our old dog was obviously house trained at the age of 6 but would still wee in the house just before or after her season.

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 30/11/2011 00:36

thanks. yeah i'm thinking that'll be it bless her. still hormonal on top of all this. and i've made her sleep downstairs tonight. she's going to be miserable bless her.

OP posts:
MartyrStewart · 30/11/2011 00:51

Her? - or you? Wink

Original poster
swallowedAfly · 30/11/2011 00:59

Grin her to be honest. i think i need to get some boundaries back in place. her behaviour is great and stuff but as awful as it sounds i think i need to foster a bit of distance between us. does that sound awful? i feel i have no space at all these days and am needing a bit.

i've put her a bed at the bottom of the stairs. she's walked up and moaned at my door a couple of times but gone back down and settled.

it sounds utterly ridiculous but it's been really demanding her being in season, it has been really intense.

i sound like a nutter but i hope i don't sound cruel.

OP posts:
Original poster
swallowedAfly · 30/11/2011 01:00

but yes i'm struggling too. blimey! mentalism.

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MartyrStewart · 30/11/2011 01:05

It's not about fostering distance, it's about her earning your attention. Not in a bollocks pack theory thingy.

If you have an unhappy dog, give it a job. She's a Lab isn't she?

She gets your attention when she earns it. Get her to fetch something or carry something for you. Sorry if I am teaching you to suck eggs, but I know my Lab loves a 'Well done' for completing a task much more than a big cuddle for nothing even though I don't