[hugh88]

Hi
As I was saying my dog has something on his side it looks like a nipple but I know its not can any one help me please?

[JudyKayTee]

Is this something new? Has the dog seen a Vet? Has the dog's behavior changed?

[hugh88]

No it started 4weeks ago it was small but today it's a tiny bit bigger not muck though.
No I haven't took him yet as I have had bill to pay but I'm going to take his this Friday for defo.
And no he has not changed one bit
Thanks for you quick reply

[JudyKayTee]

Good that you have an appointment. My dog had something similar once and it was some sort of bug bite. I'm trying to remember if it was a tick.

Is that possible?

[hugh88]

I don't know my girlfriend thinks it's a tick but should'nt there be legs?

[Alty]

The legs would be imbedded in the skin. You wouldn't see them.

The vet really is your only option. If this is a tick then proper removal is important. As I said, the legs are imbedded. If you try to pull it off and the legs are left behind, then the tick regrows.

Not saying it's definitely a tick. The vet really is the only way to diagnose this.

Please keep us posted. Let us know what the vet says.

Good luck. :)

[Lucky098]

Um.. ticks cannot regrow if legs are still in the body. The head, however can continue to live without a body. That is why it is so important to remove the entire tick. Infections can set in, not to mention the icky disease that ticks carry such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Yes you do need to go to the vet, even if ticks aren't involved. If it is a lump that is obviously bothering your dog, take them in. If it happens to be a skin tag, dogs can lick them until they are raw and irritated and create an infectious, bloody mess. Not to mention uncomfortable to the animal and unsightly for the owner. Skin tags can be removed surgically.

[paleophlatus]

First, ticks do not have a head as such. And their legs never become buried in the skin, or any part of a tick for that matter. They do have fairly prominent mouth parts which they use to attach to the host. Pull a tick off and see a tag of skin still attached to the tick. A tick bite will leave a raised spot, that weeps with a clear to amber colored discharge and crust. It is simply a reaction to the bite.

As to what your dog may have, it could be what is called a 'cutaneous horn' which is a keratinized (hardened) sebaceous gland secretion, which may grow from 1/2 to 2 inches out of that spot on the skin and resemble a horn. It can be removed, but is usually so well attached that it needs to be surgically done. No known cause that I am aware of. If your vet has been 'around' for some time, he has undoubtedly seen such a thing several times.

Raised bumps usually on the face of pets, may be a fly larvae, developing from an egg deposited in the entrance to an animal 'den', in hopes of attaching to the resident animal. But, not being overly particular, it will attach to anything that happens to stick a curious nose into the hole. So, if this is on the face, this may be what it is. As it develops, there is a hole that forms so the larvae may breathe, and you can see the thing in there, moving around. (two little black spots on the larvae resemble eyes looking back at you) TMI? Thought so. But don't try to 'remove 'it yourself, that too is a job for the vet.

But, whatever... let your vet decide what it may be, OK?

[paleophlatus]

Sorry... such a fly is called a 'Cuterebra fly'... I got carried away and forgot to mention it.