Lumps around the ear

I have just noticed some lumps by Wrigley's ears. He has been in a kennel for the past 10 days and I collected him this morning. At first I thought it was just where his fur was matted, but now I can feel a lump below each ear. It feels a little bit firm, and is round and fairly flat. Almost as if he has a coin stuck in the fur. I haven't noticed it before. Is this normal?

That sounds odd. I wonder if some of his glands are up. I am not sure what shape they are in dogs. Does he seem well?

He seems well. My husband thought it was just matted fur and on second glance, I think it might be. He won't sit still long enough for me to have a good look. I will try brushing him to see if it comes out.

They often matt pretty badly in that area and sounds like that's what it is, if they are on both ears. If he hasn't had that area carefully brushed then combed out, they can get like hard coins amazingly fast! If I don't do the dogs for a week or so this always happens and it can be really hard to tell where matt ends and skin begins.

I find the best tool for getting those out is to get a small pin brush for a cat -- something with a head only about 2 inches wide. I got one free in a litter box set from Lidl about a year ago and it is the BEST small brush for matts ever! Regular sized pin brushed are too big and combs won;t work well on those tight matts.

It is a good idea to spray large knots with a conditioner before trying to brush them out as well, leave on for about 20-30 minutes to give it a chance to soak into the fur. I love the "Ice on Ice" for this, it helps the knots to "slide" out far more easily!

Thanks for your advice. It has settled my mind that it is nothing more serious than his fur being matted. Apparently, he had a great time in the dog kennels and they were in the process of bathing him when I turned up to collect him. Wrigley is off to the vet next week to be neutered, so fingers crossed all goes well and my little boy isn't too sore afterwards.

I am sure that all will go just fine and you will have more trouble keeping him from jumping around afterwards than anything else!! These little dogs are so very resiliant and bounce back from all sorts!!