Bumps on puppy's back?

[Lawrence Chow]

We are getting a puppy soon and went to visit the breeder. We picked one that we liked, but it had a number of rough small bumps (0.5cm) on its back, about 5-7 in total. They didn't seem to bother the pup and the breeder seemed confident that this was due to other puppies nipping at each other and will go away in a few days. I checked all the other puppies, but none of the others had them. Wondering if anyone else has had experience with this and if it's something I should worry about? Thank you!

[elbrant]

Did you take pictures by any chance?

[Lawrence Chow]

Unfortunately I didn't, but I can describe them. They are superficial with a rough surface with no surrounding redness. They do not seem painful or itchy to the puppy.

[elbrant]

@lawrence-chow No idea what that could be from... even with pictures we would be guessing. 'sorry!

[Zande]

That these occur on only one puppy could be a cause for concern. I have certainly never had sibling nips come up in this way in any litter I have bred.

It is of course possible that your breeder has the right of it, but I would want a vet to check for allergies -

[tanza]

@lawrence-chow - I agree with Zande, only on one pup? That would be a concern to me. How many pups are in the litter? How old is the pup? Agree also that in the litters I have bred, never had this? My response would be I would want the Vet to do a skin scraping just to be sure. Interesting that the breeder let you pick the pup you wanted. Most breeders make the choice of the best suited pup for a new family. Sometimes could be a choice between 2, but in the end the breeder makes the choice.

[senjisilly]

Glad to see you ask the "bumps" question here in the Forums. Reddit isn't where you find help from Basenji breeders as you do here (yeah, I commented on your post there). Both Zande & Tanza are long time Basenji breeders. Their opinions and help are invaluable.

[joan duszka]

Well.....were it me, i would either select another puppy and go directly to a vet. How old is puppy? If it is under 12 weeks, I would go directly home empty handed. Does the breeder seem to be brushing you off, have they volunteered to take puppy to vet. Are they charging you under 1000? If you can answer any of these questions yes no yes. Go home without a puppy. You are risking up to 17 years of your life . It could be an allergy, so you could count on a few thousand,dollars,and a life of unhappiness. It,could be an infestation of some,sort of bug, it could be just a momentary skin condition or somethin g it will have for the rest f its life. Private message one of,the breeders you have queried on this board and tell them the name of the breeder. Perhaps they have info on the seller. dont let your,heart make the decision for you. Good luck

[DonC]

I'm more sanguine, which doesn't mean complacent. Might be an allergic reaction to a shot, or the pup may have gotten into some ticks. Usually bites just scab over but they could turn into abscesses. Would not be a rare event.

But I'm assuming you'll get another chance to check out your pup? If so then if the breeder is correct they should be gone.

[Lawrence Chow]

Thanks for the responses everyone. The puppy is currently 9 weeks old. We will have another chance to see the puppy this weekend when we plan to pick it up. We like that puppies temperment and coloring, so yes we feel a bit attached, but all the points are well taken. We will re-inspect it then. We expect that each puppy may have their own health concern, we just want to make sure we're not dealing with something major that will turn into something bigger down the road. I was looking for reassurance from others, particularly breeders, that this was something common, but from what i've heard, it doesn't seem like this is a normal occurence. We will be bringing the puppy to the vet the day after we plan to take it home, so hopefully will get mor answers there and we will discuss with the breeder about the what-ifs. Any other advice is greatly welcome, thank you!

[Shawna]

Reaction to flea bites? Took my dog to the vet when he was 8 months old due to weird bumps. Found it was a reaction to flea bites. Vet put him on antibiotic and monthly flea stuff and will cleared up. Hopefully your pup has something easy to resolve.💕

[Zande]

@shawna But why just one pup in the litter ?

[Lawrence Chow]

As an update, I spoke with the breeder again and she agreed to bring the pup to a vet this week and get a "health certificate". She said the bumps are mostly gone now. We will get to see the pup again on the weekend when we go pick her up. Hopefully all goes well.

[Lawrence Chow]

We got the health certificate, the note from the vet is that it looked like healing excoriations (scratches) with some flaking. We will pick her up tomorrow! Definitely was worth the price tag for the reassurance.

[Zande]

@lawrence-chow But surely the breeder paid for the vet to make sure he/she was selling a healthy puppy ?

Good news and a completely new one on me, that just one puppy in a litter should be so affected.