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Black Fly Bites

Black fly bites

Don't be alarmed! It's not chicken pox!

Every spring/early summer, Delmar Animal Hospital gets a few visits from owners with dogs who come in with red bites on their bellies. Sometimes people mistake them for target lesions from tick bites, or even chicken pox! Most often, though, these are black fly bites, which may look alarming, but are most often just harmless bites that don't really cause your dog much discomfort. Sometimes you will see the bites in your dog's ears as well. If there is any sign of infection (puss/swelling), or excessive itching, by all means bring your dog in for us to have a look.  Otherwise, just keep the area clean and dry, and soon enough the black flies will be gone! (We typically see these cases in May and early June.)