dog lump

[Thunderbird+]

I've discovered a small lump behind my dogs ear, its a dark purple in colour, smaller than a pea and roundish, I'm not sure if its a tick or not, as I cant see any other parts to it.
Any advice ? Thanks.

[Amber1571]

Hi Thunderbird,

If it is a tick, you will be able to pull it out with tweezers.

If it isn't a tick, you won't be able to pull it out........

[scubadiver]

If you look in at the base of the lump, you may be able to see legs sticking out, if its a tick. Before attempting to remove it, either soak it and the area around it in alcohol, or cover it in vaseline or similar, both of which will encourage it to loosen its grip before attempting to remove it.
It's important to remove the entire tick, including mouth parts etc, as anything left behind is liable to cause infection. If you are not happy to do this, a quick trip to the vets is called for

[kita1]

If you are so unsure I would NOT attempt to remove it. If it is a tick and you do not get it all out then it will cause an infection and necessitate a course of antibiotics at the very least.

Ring the vet and explain, its possible the vet nurse will deal with it for you, rather than the vet. It will be cheaper in the long run than trying to do it yourself. If you watch what they do carefully if it happens again you may be able to deal with it yourself.

[mandimoo]

a cheap tool, ive seen them at my vets (well my cats vets) http://www.otom.com/

[lankeela]

If you try to get it out yourself, twist the tweezers as you gently pull it out, as the legs will come out then. If you pull out straight you will break the legs off and they will probably set up an infection.

[bubbly girly]

probably a tick. But if you can't tell and it really is a bump, you could hurt him trying to take it out. Take him to the vet.

[rsvp]

My experience has been not to cover a tick with vaseline or similar - it encourages it to disgorge whatever nasties it has into it's host.