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It's scary. Last night when I was rumpling the fur on his back I found this long growth. He is a Pomeranian and the fur is long so you wouldn't notice by sight. This growth is about 3/4" long and is shiny gray and shaped kind of like a claw only a lot bigger and straighter.
Then, this morning as I was rubbing his ears I found another one, smaller, at the base of one ear.
We had just taken him to have his summer trimming and they only did the underneath area so they wouldn't have found this. He had a bath three days ago and we didn't notice anything. He has been scratching horrible lately though around his belly--that's why we brought him in for the grooming earlier than usual.
Anyone have any knowledge of what this could be? I hardly dare to look for more--I may find some.
Could they be warts or skin tags? How old is your dog? I've had two Bichons who got what the vet said were warts which came with some age. i think both were about 10 or 11 when they showed up. There was nothing to do about them except be diligent for bleeding after a groomer might nick them.
Also just this weekend I discovered 3 ticks on Lucy only 2 hours after a $50 grooming. At first I thought they were those "Old Lady Bumps" (warts) but when I dug thru her white long fur I realized they were engorged ticks. Actually I was at the vet getting her heartworm blood test when I discovered them. Vet pulled them off, said they were dead. I was confused cause just 4 days prior I applied her flea and tick med. I thought this med repelled bugs, not killed them after they were on her. So I'm worried she might have gotten them at the groomers.
Back to your doggie growths. Somewhere recently was a discussion of skin tags. Keep an eye out for more and take doggie to vet if it is really worrying you.
The dog is about 7 1/2 years old, we've had him for nine months now. The thing on his back is hard to describe and I get grossed out by things like this. It's a tall thing and it's about 1/4" in diameter at the base but then tapers to a point at the top. It curves back a little bit like the shape of a dog claw only not so curved.
Now he's biting at it--or trying to. The only strange thing lately is that we had an invasion of house flies a few days ago. They must have hatched ? at the change of seasons and we just found out they were coming in through the cellar window. We were swatting them and doggie was trying to catch them. Maybe some got into his fur? They were not a biting kind though and they are gone now. This WOULD happen on a weekend when everything is closed.
I'll have my husband take another look when he gets home--it takes one to hold the dog and one to look.
whatever it is, it is not an emergency which needs to be seen right away. So don't fret about that. Have you never seen ticks? Here they are black, never saw one gray like you are describing. Skin tags and warts , as stated in the article I posted the link to, sometimes have cauliflower or weird shapes.
Does you dog get regular flea and tick rx applied every month?
As a groomer, I see these on occasion and I would not worry - usually on older dogs. They do indeed look like an actual claw growing right out of the skin - very freaky. I have found them on tails, and all kinds of random strange places. I would guess i have even seen one as recently as 2 weeks ago. I cannot remember the name, but I believe it has something to do with keratin growth - or the name has "keratin" in it. Call your vet for more info.
To know for sure take the dog to a vet. We took Caesar in for a growth on his back and it
was a wart but we were told to watch for signs of change or other growths.....
As a groomer, I see these on occasion and I would not worry - usually on older dogs. They do indeed look like an actual claw growing right out of the skin - very freaky. I have found them on tails, and all kinds of random strange places. I would guess i have even seen one as recently as 2 weeks ago. I cannot remember the name, but I believe it has something to do with keratin growth - or the name has "keratin" in it. Call your vet for more info.
Thank you. It sounds like you know what I'm talking about. Yes, like a giant claw growing right out of the dog's back! I'll call the vet on Tuesday when they open.
Also, my husband just came home and found that the thing by his ear is a tick. It fell off and he killed it. We haven't used any tick repellent yet this year--it seems like winter just ended and now it's tick season already. We didn't have the dog last summer so we didn't know tick season started this early here. We know now.
Glad I could help. If you can find a pair of hemostats, just clamp off the ticks at the mouth and pop them off. If you have bouts of rainy weather, check them when they come in the house. Rain can trigger a lot of ticks to emerge. We do not use chemicals on our dogs, so hub does a quick tick check each time they come inside if they have been out running in brush or weeds. In the meantime, don't panic about the mutant claws
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