Campo danger for canines

A word of warning...

It was around ten days ago when we first noticed something wrong with the pup, when he was out one morning we noticed that one side of his face was slightly swollen. Eight hours later the swelling had grown around five times its original size and was looking very bad indeed. My immediate thought was infection/allergy but the dog was fine the night before so we came to the assumption that something had got to him overnight.

Now the nearest vet is 45 minutes away but this was a Sunday and even had it not been he was on holiday anyway so we called a friend of a friend who is a vet but more for livestock.

When she turned up a wound/hole had formed about the size of a 5 cent piece and was looking very angry, the swelling had moved from the top of the face and head to below the jaw line and the pup although still quite alert just wasnt himself. The wound was cleaned with iodine and he was given an anti inflamitory injection and put on anti biotics for a week.

The swelling went after a couple of days but nearlt two weeks later he still has a scar above his eye where the original wound (or bite) was. Glad to say he is now fine. So what was it? Well the vet was stumped saying she had seen nothing like it on a dog before but she did suggest two of the most likely possibilities...

1) Foxtails - found in abundance around the campo during summer, they look like darts and come from the heads of certain grasses. They are barbed so once in dont come out unless they are scratched out leaving behind the point which will cause infection.

2) The European Brown Recluse Spider - a nasty piece of work that you will rarely see (hence the name) this is the most likely cause given the nature of the wound left behind and speed of the swelling. If bitten a family pet or family member will need to see the vet/GP especialy if a reaction occurs.