Chloe had a insect bite or spider bite that was making her ill and looked really bad. Antibiotics and pain relievers helped her to feel better! Check out a better diet for your pet at dogdishdiet.com
Thanks so much for your videos. I have a shih tzu and a Lhasa apso. My shih tzu has experienced some difficulties in her 9 months. Your videos have helped guide me in which directions to take.
Dr. Martinez, We see a lot of spider bites in our office. I live in a rural, mtn. area here in Upper Northern Calif... The brown recluse is alive and well here in Calif. they seek cover & dark places, it would not surprise me that one was hiding between sheets of plywood or fencing material. Black widows have the same behavior, however what leads me to believe Chloe was bitten by a brown recluse is the necrotic area it left on her tail. Black widow bites normally do not present this way. Both spiders generally turn into a raging staph infection and all we can do is supportive care. Just as you did w/ Chloe. :o) To me, her tail looked good and will more than likely heal just fine. Her appetite will return to normal, given time for meds to kick in. As we both know, antibiotics can cause digestive upsets, often times some plain yogurt mixed with her kibble will help soothe her tummy. Karmah's Law comment is also correct, I've seen laser treatments done at CE classes I have taken. I give my Bernese Mtn Dogs the rattlesnake vaccine and we suggest it to our clients as well. If Chloe was bit by a snake, it would have been MUCH bigger, and A LOT of swelling just as KL wrote. I haven't seen necrosis clear up with many snake bites. We generally have to crop the tail if it is. We see a lot of snake bites as well. Even a non-poisonous gardner snake will have some necrosis to it. Anyway, this is my thoughts w/ Chloe. I hope she is doing much better. :o)
I wish I could share pictures my dog got bit by a brown recluse spider a couple days ago and the sore on her tail looks just like that we just got back from the vet we live in Kansas. :-(
Off topic but my dog hurt her leg jumping off the couch now she doesnt seem to want to jump or go on her hind legs. She yelped when she jumped on the bed. She still put weight on her leg when walks and seems to walk fine. It's just when she goes to jump on the couch. Any thoughts?
Snakebites can cause necrosis, but usually is accompanied by a lot of swelling. However, laser treatment seems to be quite successful with all sorts of bites. Please share with us when/if you find out what happened to Chloe.
Doc, looks like a widow bite. Since I believe you’re in Gilroy I’d say a black widow. A recluse bite would be much more ulcerative. Were there any kind of neuro deficits such as ALOC or lethargy? Widow venom has a significant neuro toxin component. Widow bites will also cause rigidity in the large muscle masses such as abdominal muscles or larger leg muscles.
The brown recluse is rare or nonexistent in California, so I would think staph or some other skin infection to be more likely. See spiders.ucr.edu/necrotic.html
Thanks, I'm always surprised how such a small wound can make an animal feel so ill. I don't usually see that in other staph infections, and more with a bite.
Hobo bite maybe? Mixed with staph, it could possibly turn black. This is an extreme case, but shows what can happen when a dog gets bit near the mammary gland while nursing pups. www.camelotbordeaux.com/SpiderBite.htm Sure makes me want to put more sticky traps out for the buggers.
