Skin Lesion~ Anyone seen this?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Starlit had a hard knot since late fall.  To me it was just the standard Lab knots that they all get.  I thought she was a little young ( 1 year old) to already be getting fatty tumors but thought nothing after that.   I noticed it changing a little and tried to get  a better look thinking it might be a tick or burr but in the end what I did was aggravate the lump.  (should have listened and left it alone)

Overnight the hard knot became a soft huge mass. From pea size to golf ball size.   We saw the vet and she took all her antibiotics.

It was hard to see under her coat, she clearly was uncomfortable so at the time~  just antibiotics.  There really wasn't much to see.

 

So I need a second ( or 50 more opinions) What do my DK friends think.  

She has lost all her hair around the area~~ way beyond where the wound was.   The surrounding skin is scaly.   The skin has a funny color.  Hard to describe and I certainly do not have a camera that will allow you the best view.   If you can see in close it is black shade around the hole.  Just tissue damage or something else?? 

 

What I am left with is a oozing hole.  Slow oozing but still........   I use Topical antibiotics now.  

Yeah, I know, go to the vet.  I did.  Okay.  But I want your opinion.  Ever seen this on a dog? Those of you in tick areas, does this look familiar?  Any ideas or is it just a bump gone bad? If your dog had a sebaceous cyst does this look familiar?

SCALY SKIN that goes way beyond the wound.   Also, where the heck is the hair?  It is all falling out

This is what I get out before I put the topical antibiotics on.  

UPDATE:

After that last day we saw 100% improvement.  It has healed over, still looks ugly but not active.  The scaling and hair loss is due to the fact that it killed or damage all the hair follicles around the area.  The scaling is going and there is pink skin only.  Raised area around the site is also gone and closed.   The day I posted this must have been the worst of the worst.  Figures!  I am really patient, it went on for a long time, finally post and..................  It gets better from then on.

COMMON is furry dogs, found in poodles, and expect more.  YES, we have several more going on.

As for that bald spot, well we can just glue some hair on for pictures if it does not grow back.  She has plenty.

 

[BG and Gavin]

Gee Joanne, I don't know anything about this, but it certainly looks pretty substantial.  Especially like you said for a young dog.  Sorry I can't be of help, but I hope you find answers and Starlit heals up fast.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Thanks BG. Letting me know you have never seen a hole like this means something too.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have not seen this before, but poor little Starlit!  It looks painful to me. Taquito has had something somewhat similar but it has gone away without any medicine - I think it was just where a tick had been (and I removed it).

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Thanks Allyson ( btw~~ how is the house?)  Thinking of you.

Okay, I really was leaning to a tick also.  Even though she gets her monthly preventative there are no guarantees for full protection.    If this is true, good grief they can do a lot of damage! 

[Camilla and Darwin]

I haven't seen anything like that before so I have no experience/advice. But I hope Starlit gets better soon...

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Camilla, you are lucky then... kind of gross..huh?  LOL

[Lynn D.]

Joanne, how long has this wound been open for? Is Starlit aggravating it at all (licking, rubbing, itching)?

In the 3rd photo, I see a bloody blob, is there something else in the blood- puss, tissue?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

It was closed all winter.  Then I aggravated one night and the next day it was huge.  It had been a tiny pin-hole for about a month after that.      She took a 10-day dose of antibiotics and there no longer is swelling or a huge mass.  I'm left with a much larger hole but no longer raised. 

I swear I saw something in there too. Almost looked like fatty tissue until I gently pressed on the side and this came out.  I left it ALONE after that. 

 She is NOT scratching or itching!  Today she smelled it and turned her head.

[Lynn D.]

So, IMO, it's probably a cyst. It sounds like you poped the cyst when you messed with it. Time and antibiotics took care of the resulting swelling.

All told, how long has the wound been open for? Has the opening gotten larger?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Poor girl!! Joanne, is this a site where Starlit had a vaccination? In particular rabies? A relative's dog had a reaction to a rabies shot that caused swelling and hair loss like this but I don't remember whether or not it had the big oozing issue. Tara's rabies shots always result in a hard knot like you are describing at first but it slowly dissipates

 Tara has a sebaceous cyst but it is small and just looks like a pea under the skin right now (kind of how you described the one on Starlit in the beginning).  But I know that these cysts can get really huge and fill with all kinds of nasty stuff on people (it is hard to know if they cause hair loss on people or not though:) 

My suggestion is a second opinion from a different vet. This has really been going on a long time. As you said, there could be a burr or something in there that needs to be removed. Hugs and keep us posted!!!

 

[Sharon & Monty]

Ticks can leave behind a messy looking wound, but in my experience I've never used more than peroxide on them.  Now spider bites they can be NASTY.  They can remain infected for a long time.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Joanne, did your vet do a swab to culture to see, what if any, bacteria it is growing? If not I would get that done as they can also do a sensitivity maybe it was not sensitive to the antibiotic she was on. It definitley looks like something that needs attention. Hope you find an answer. We have seen a major increase in abcesses in children that turn out to be mrsa positive, I was wondering if there was something similar in dogs but I don't have time to do the searching right now.