Spider Bite

About a week and a half ago we noticed a bump on River's chin. Bump? Lump? Growth? About the size of a pea and fiercely red. It seemed to be hardish to the touch and was not bothering the dog. We did some looking around online and from what we read there it could be anything from an allergic reaction to the plastic wearing out in her food bowl to cancer. We decided to monitor the situation for a few days before resorting to taking her into the vet.

The next day most of the redness was gone, but the size remained the same and now we could see what looked like a tiny blood blister forming. So we lanced it with a sterilized stick pin. It bled a bit and a little puss came out too, but it really didn't reduce the size any. The fur on the area that was swelled up fell out.

In the next couple of days the size shrunk considerably and the redness was gone. So we figured whatever the problem was had sorted itself out. Then Tuesday when I went to pick River up from DH's work I noticed that it was bleeding again. Time for the vet. And ours even has evening hours so I was able to get River in that same night.

The verdict? Most likely a spider bite. The cold weather means more of them are inside and the vet had seen several spider bites recently, all presenting in the same manner. We got some antiseptic wash to keep it clean and instructions to put warm compresses on the area twice daily, should clear up in a few weeks.