hard spot on puppy's ear

17 years ago

This morning when we got up I noticed a spot on the outside of my pup's ear about the size and thickness of a dime..raised up area and hard. (He sleeps in a crate, inside) Could it be a spider bite? He was outside playing last night in our fenced in yard and went into the bushes and who knows what he might have gotten into under there...(living in Florida it could be any number of things) This morning he is pretty lethargic also...has eaten, but not his usual bundle of energy. any idea or suggestions? (to the vet tomorrow if he isn't back to himself!) Six months old, 7 pound chihuahua terrier mix....a little dog I picked up a week ago running around in the middle of the road, dodging dump trucks at 6:10 in the morning. Added him to my household of greyhounds...what a change from greyhounds!!! He has added a whole other dimension to our home!!!!

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Comments (9)

yborgal
17 years ago
Does it seem painful? Can you see a puncture spot? Yep, could be a spider bite. You're so right. We have all sorts of critters lurking in yards shrubbery here in FL.
Is there a stinger?

(((Poor lil thing)))
craftyc
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes...there does seem to be a tiny puncture spot...can't see a stinger of any kind left in there...but he was wiggling so much we couldn't get a very long look at it! I put a little "sting stick" liquid on it and tried icing it...yeah!!!...a 6 month old puppy holds still for that about 1 second or less!!! He doesn't seem to be in pain, not shaking his head or scratching...just seeming less energetic than usual, not really wanting to play like he does in the mornings. Probably a spider or scorpion, although scorpion bites are much more painful, and seems like I would have heard him yelp if that had been the case. I was outside with him and he didn't "say" anything! Poor little guy....one feels pretty helpless when their furkids are not doing so well.
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craftyc
Original Author
17 years ago
oh dear...now his eyes are running...a yellowish liquid. Do you think I need to get him to the emergency vet?$$ or can this wait until tomorrow for our regular vet? He is still lethargic.
Lillie1441
17 years ago
If it is a spider bite,which it sounds like,I think I would take him to the emergency vet.More so since he is not feeling well and the runny eyes sounds like an infection or alergic reaction to something.Some spider bites can be very dangerous if not seen to immediately.I'm sure you have seen the Brown Recluse bite E-mail that has been going around? Same thing can happen with animals and spiders.Hope the little fella is OK.It would be a horrible quirk of fate to have survived getting run over by big trucks,only to be done in by a spider! Please keep us posted.........Lillie
yborgal
17 years ago
I agree with Lillie. He probably should be taken for Emergency Examination today rather than waiting for morning.
Let us know how it goes. The runny eyes could be coincidental but the lethargy concerns me. It could even be a pygmy rattler that got him.
Lillie1441
17 years ago
Something else about the lethargy and the eyes.That is an early symptom of Parvo and there is a lot of that going around.If you found this puppy you don't know if it has ever had any immunizations.If it is parvo,the sooner you catch it the better and even caught early the prognosis is not usually good.I hope your pup is OK and it isn't anything that serious........Lillie
craftyc
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you all for your advice and information. We took the pup to the vet and he did a scraping of the spot where the fur had started to come off and said that it was consistant with cells from a venomous spider bite...either a black widow or a brown recluse. Have panalog/animax cream to put on it and hope that the venom doesn't continue to eat away at the area...as a brown recluse bite sometimes tends to do. Poor little guy....
thanks again for your responses! It is always good to get experienced opinions from this forum.
yborgal
17 years ago
Thank goodness you got an answer. We have a chihuahua mix,too, and she's always nosing around and investigating in the yard. She nearly stepped into a huge bed of fire ants but I saw her in time to snatch her up. That would have been awful!!
Let us know how the healing progresses.
craftyc
Original Author
17 years ago
The cream seems to be helping....thank goodness no more fur has come off and there doesn't seem to be raw spots on the ear. I hope the hair grows back, he's such a sweet handsome little guy...I'll love him no matter what though!!! a puppy is definately 180 degrees from the greyhounds though!!
WHEW !!!!!

hard spot on puppy's ear

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hard spot on puppy's ear

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