Pulled something unusual out of my dogs skin

[Megan Houston]

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Pulled this out of my dogs skin today under his fur, didn't cause him any discomfort when doing it. Can anyone advise what this might be? Thanks in advance

Megan

 

[JoanneF]

Where from his skin?

 

[Megan Houston]

It was around his shoulder/neck area, this is also currently on his neck. We have never noticed anything like this on him before

 

[excuseme]

Was this actually inside and under his skin. It is so difficult to see, has it left any sort of a hole?
What type of dog do you have, has he been doing any hunting in undergrowth?

 

[JoanneF]

Sorry I really can't see whether it's a piece of stick or plastic or a worm type thing.

 

[arealhuman]

No idea - could you take it into your local vets and ask them?

 

[Megan Houston]

Was this actually inside and under his skin. It is so difficult to see, has it left any sort of a hole?
What type of dog do you have, has he been doing any hunting in undergrowth?

The thing in the second picture is attached to his skin at the moment, I thought it was some sort of skin tag at first but after finding the thing in the first picture I'm not so sure it's a skin tag? It has left no hole and it didn't cause any discomfort to him and touching the one on his neck doesn't cause him any discomfort or agitation. He is an Alaskan Malamute and he frequently does get off lead but he tends to stay away from long grass himself for some reason. Really at a loss to what it is and I've tried to get better photos of them but that is the best I can get it looks in person exactly how it looks in the photos

 

[JoanneF]

Pets at Home have vets that work shop hours (so not an expensive out of hours appointment) if you wanted to get the vet to look at it. But if there is no sign of irritation or infection you might want to keep an eye on it. Do you have any Hibiscrub you could wash it with?

 

[Megan Houston]

Sorry I really can't see whether it's a piece of stick or plastic or a worm type thing.

I thought it looked like a type of worm or something but the long thing wasn't inside his skin it was just sort of attached and my Husband twisted it and it fell off?

 

[merlina]

Just wondering if you've used something like frontline on him- and that this is a tic that was killed by it and has withered away?

 

[JoanneF]

Could it be at all possible that it's his hair twisted and somehow hardened a little?

 

[Megan Houston]

Just wondering if you've used something like frontline on him- and that this is a tic that was killed by it and has withered away?

No we haven't used any products on him, tics are the first thing that came to mind but I have never seen one before and all images I looked at of tics were nothing like this. Really at a loss

 

[Megan Houston]

Could it be at all possible that it's his hair twisted and somehow hardened a little?

Definitely not his hair if I had to describe it like anything it would be like a bit of dry skin, I can't think of any other way to describe it

 

[Megan Houston]

Pets at Home have vets that work shop hours (so not an expensive out of hours appointment) if you wanted to get the vet to look at it. But if there is no sign of irritation or infection you might want to keep an eye on it. Do you have any Hibiscrub you could wash it with?

It isn't causing him any bother at all and he is otherwise overall healthy, and I looked at Hibiscrub and it says only for use on humans? Is there another one that's particularly for dogs?

 

[merlina]

I've used Hibiscrub on dogs and ponies. Obviously not on an open wound because I'd guess it stings. Mine came from a vet so should be OK, I'd think.

 

[JoanneF]

It isn't causing him any bother at all and he is otherwise overall healthy, and I looked at Hibiscrub and it says only for use on humans? Is there another one that's particularly for dogs?

I wasn't aware there was a human one! But if you don't have any you could just try antiseptic, it's just to try and avoid infection.

 

[Megan Houston]

I wasn't aware there was a human one! But if you don't have any you could just try antiseptic, it's just to try and avoid infection.

It doesn't look like a wound or anything, can't find any images that look even remotely similar to this so I think we will have to keep an eye on it

 

[JoanneF]

If you ever find out what it was please tell us!

 

[JudyN]

It looks like a moth cocoon, though I can't find any mention of moths parasitising dogs (tip: don't do a google image search for dog skin parasites while eating lunch). If you dissected it, you might be able to see if there's a larva inside it, which would narrow down your search.

 

[Megan Houston]

Here is a much clearer picture of the one on his neck used from a different phone, I've tried to isolate it from the hair as much as possible but as I said, he's a malamute so there's a lot of hair to claw through lol