Daisy's Mom
Well-known member
I titled the thread like that because my other option was "Crusty Nipples" and I didn't think that was appropriate!
I made a vet appointment for tomorrow because Daisy has been itching a lot and she has given herself a raw spot in her right armpit. She also often startles and jumps up turning around to bite at her rear end. So, of course, I am worried about SM and I'm planning to talk to him about that.
But in addition to that, 2 of her nipples have turned very black and the area surrounding them is very dry and "crusty" looking. The skin is kind of thickened around the nipple, but I wouldn't say there are any lumps (thank goodness). There is also a small black dot directly above each nipple. They almost look like seed ticks, but I'm afraid to pull them off in case they are part of her. And they are exactly the same size in exactly the same place above each nipple. Weird.
The darkened nipples have been coming on a while, but it has now gotten to where I definitely think it needs to be looked at. I actually asked the vet about them probably 2 years ago because they were slowly getting darker and kind of dotted-looking and he looked at me like I was crazy. At the time, I had removed a tick from near one of her nipples and I was afraid that the head was still embedded there, but he said "That is her nipple!" in kind of a surprised voice and I felt stupid and never mentioned it again. They have continued to grow darker since then, but the crusty appearance is new.
That does not seem normal to me for a 3 1/2 year old dog who was spayed at 8 months. My other dogs who were all spayed had such tiny nipples that you really couldn't even see them. I looked online (of course), and the major thing I could find consistent with this is an excess of estrogen, which could only be happening if the vet who spayed her accidentally left in one of her ovaries. The website said that if this happens, the chance of an ovarian tumor is quite high, higher than if she was never spayed.
Anyone else's Cavalier have large, very dark, dry nipples? (She's a Blenheim if that makes any difference.)
I made a vet appointment for tomorrow because Daisy has been itching a lot and she has given herself a raw spot in her right armpit. She also often startles and jumps up turning around to bite at her rear end. So, of course, I am worried about SM and I'm planning to talk to him about that.
But in addition to that, 2 of her nipples have turned very black and the area surrounding them is very dry and "crusty" looking. The skin is kind of thickened around the nipple, but I wouldn't say there are any lumps (thank goodness). There is also a small black dot directly above each nipple. They almost look like seed ticks, but I'm afraid to pull them off in case they are part of her. And they are exactly the same size in exactly the same place above each nipple. Weird.
The darkened nipples have been coming on a while, but it has now gotten to where I definitely think it needs to be looked at. I actually asked the vet about them probably 2 years ago because they were slowly getting darker and kind of dotted-looking and he looked at me like I was crazy. At the time, I had removed a tick from near one of her nipples and I was afraid that the head was still embedded there, but he said "That is her nipple!" in kind of a surprised voice and I felt stupid and never mentioned it again. They have continued to grow darker since then, but the crusty appearance is new.
That does not seem normal to me for a 3 1/2 year old dog who was spayed at 8 months. My other dogs who were all spayed had such tiny nipples that you really couldn't even see them. I looked online (of course), and the major thing I could find consistent with this is an excess of estrogen, which could only be happening if the vet who spayed her accidentally left in one of her ovaries. The website said that if this happens, the chance of an ovarian tumor is quite high, higher than if she was never spayed.
Anyone else's Cavalier have large, very dark, dry nipples? (She's a Blenheim if that makes any difference.)