My dog's tick bite bump has pus and a hole. When should I see a vet?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Baby! You can continue to clean the area and apply the ointment through the weekend. It will take several days for the bump to go down. If there is no significant decrease in swelling or redness in 3 days he should be seen for oral antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. Keep him indoors until healed and keep flies off him. Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend having this treated sooner rather than later and get in as soon as you can to have this taken care of. This appears to be an abscess and has ruptured. This needs to be drained and flushed out with an antiseptic solution as well as having him placed on oral antibiotics. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

I don't think this is a serious issue at this point. It looks like a pustule/pimple which may be from an ingrown hair or she may have had an insect bite. You can use these medicated pads on the affected area once a day. If for some reason it does not appear to be going away, or if she gets more lesions, then I would say a vet visit would be warranted. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=117958

With that amount of discharge and that size hike I would worry about a cyst that ruptured or a wound from trauma (bite) that was trying to heal and can't because it is infected. It does need to be seen for medication or surgery if needed but not as an enegenxy. You can clean it with soap and water and keep neosporin on it until you can you get seen this week

I am sorry that Millie is experiencing this bump on her skin. Thank you for providing a picture. I do notice the small hole on top. From what I am observing at this moment I am not overly concerned. It is most likely an insect bite. I would continue to monitor at home and place a cool compress over it to help it recede. You might also try a dose of benadryl https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-human-medications-that-are-sometimes-safe-for-sick-pets/ If the bump does not go away after 48 hours, you notice bleeding, swelling, redness, discharge or foul odor I would advise posting a further question here or taking Millie to her veterinarian.

Hello, thank you for your question about Mia. It is possible that Mia has a skin infection or infected hair gland that is leading to the bump and the pus-like discharge you are seeing. If the discharge is more clear in nature it is possible that Mia has a sebaceous cyst or fluid accumulation associated with one of the sweat glands in the skin. If Mia is bothered by this lesion or if the discharge truly is pus, I would recommend having her evaluated by your veterinarian so that they can examine the lesion and potentially collect a sample of the discharge for evaluation. They can then discuss the need for further treatments such as antibiotics. If the discharge is clear or Mia is not bothered by the lesion you could continue to monitor it for the next few days for signs of improvement. Hope this helps, good luck!

That could be a bug bite or perhaps an inflamed or infected follicle. You should be fine to watch it for a few days and see if the body naturally resolves it. If it is getting worse at any point or is not better in 5-7 days, have Travis seen by his veterinarian. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.