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Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Female | unspayed | 3 years and 9 months old | 75 lbs
Sparkles has been bitten by a Brown Recluse spider. The bite is on the top of her head. It is now the size of a silver dollar. We can’t afford to pay for her to go to a vet. Is there anything we can do here.
2 Answers

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS
Veterinarian
Published on September 21st, 2019
Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM
Veterinarian
How do you know that is a spider bite? It is very uncommon for spiders to bite dogs. I'm not saying it's impossible but it does not look like a bite. Bites from spiders usually cause local death of the skin around the bite - so, the skin turns purple/black and then sloughs off. This does not look like that. At this point all you can do is treat it with some topical antibiotic ointment like Neosporin. If you treat it for about a 7-10 days and it is only minimal improved or it looks worse then she needs to see a vet. A simple infection from a spider bite or a localized skin infection should clear up easily in that time frame. If it doesn't, something else is going on.
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