[Vinniedoggy]

Yes, the red spot is normal. I always apply some neosporin. This year has been horrible for ticks in the mid-Atlantic region. Even with a monthly application of Frontline, I'm still finding at least one tick on each of my dogs each week. I think because it's not getting cold, they are not dying off like they usually do. One of my dogs is especially prone to getting ticks. We do "tick checks" every night before going to bed now. At least today is really cold here in the DC area, so hopefully we'll now have some colder weather.