I could swear that this appeared almost overnight, as I would have noticed it had it been around sooner. The dog is a chihuahua/terrier mix, called a rat terrier and he's about a year old. Any idea what this could be?
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How did you get to see your dog's skin on a microscope? – Cedric H. Aug 28 '14 at 20:30
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Took her to a vet and he looked and showed me under the microscope. @Moby I suggest getting your dog right away to the vet before things could get any worse. – Blender Warrior Aug 28 '14 at 20:34
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I can't name anything particularly unique that my dog did yesterday. Played in the grass, ran around with other dogs, etc. – Snowman Aug 28 '14 at 21:29
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Hm... well not knowing whats in the grass and/or dogs is not a good thing. Especially taking into consideration that some people don't give their dogs the shots from a veterinarian before taking the dogs and any other animal to the park. – Blender Warrior Aug 28 '14 at 21:46
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1To me, it looks like a "hot spot" that he chewed into himself. From his head position, it looks like he can reach it with his teeth, but possibly just barely. I'd need confirmation. – JoshDM Aug 29 '14 at 18:16
It's not uncommon for dogs to scratch (or chew) off hair if they have something bothering their skin that won't go away with a single scratch. They don't have the self-restraint we do in knowing that they need to ignore the itch in order for it to heal better.
It's possibly that it started as a bug bite, or he came into contact with something he's allergic to, and he scratched it to the point where you see it now. The important thing you'll need to do now, is make sure that he doesn't keep scratching it, otherwise it won't heal.
If he can bite it, which it looks like he can, I'd suggest looking into a cone of shame. I think they're pretty inexpensive and you can find them at your local pet store.
The antibiotics should hopefully help keep the itching down, so that he won't scratch at it. There are some anti-itch sprays that you could use, but I'm not sure how well they would work in use with the antibiotics. If after you use the antibiotics you still catch him itching, it might be worth asking your vet if you can use an anti-itch treatment with the antibiotics they prescribed.
answered Aug 29 '14 at 21:00
So the vet assumed it was some kind of infection, though she seemed a bit clueless. In any case, she gave me two kinds of antibiotics. Will post updates when/if he gets better.
