bug bite?

[missy]

I noticed a weird mark on my dog this morining. It is a red dot with a red circle around it. It is between his penus and leg. It does not seem to be bothering him. I called the vet and the receptionist said to keep an eye on it but did not seem concerned.
I can't help worrying about it.
We live in Richmond VA in a fairly wooded area. We use frontline monthly but I have found tics on him in the past. There are always bugs, snakes and lizards around but we are always with my dog when he goes out. By the way he is a male shih tzu, almost three years old.
Any ideas on what it could be?
Thanks.

[Dawn]

It is possible that he was bitten by a tick carrying lyme disease. What you described is the marking associated with that. There have been an awfully lot of ticks in that area as of late. If I were you I would go ahead and take him to the vet. He can go ahead and put him on antibiotics now as a precaution.