Reaction to a tick?

I think if she is not acting out of the ordinary and not sick, I would guess it is a scab left by the tick bite. It does look like as you described.

Steph, breath ! ok , when you say the tick was big do you mean because it was engorged, (had blood in it) or a big enough tick to see it?  You need to take her to the vet for a Lymes just to put you mind at ease, then you need to get some frontline asap. the vet needs to look at the red lump. Don't worry for now but she should be checked. You should do a tick check every time you come back in on you and her. It takes about 24 hours for a tick to find a great spot on the body and hook in before that, you are ok. If you do find one pull  ut your finger nails under the whole body and pull straight out slowly, wrap it in a damp paper towel put it in a jar or plastic container and take it to your board of health office as soon as possible, keep the container in the fridge till then  you want it alive. They can tell you right away if it's a tic that carries lymes or a dog tick which usually dosen't.
Hope this helps we have a terrible tick/Lyme problem here.

Oh man, morph ME back to about 2 1/2 months ago.  Sheesh. 
 
Yes, that is exactly what it looks like after a tick has bitten them.  It can cause a local reaction that may go away.  BUT WATCH THIS DOG. 
 
Ticks spread disease when they feed (when they become engorged with blood), so this dog has been exposed.  Don't vaccinate now -- it's too late.  (and if the dog WAS exposed to Lyme and it doesn't *get* Lyme from this, the dog has self-vaccinated). 
 
The best thing to do is watch the dog like a hawk for any sign of tick-borne disease.  Anemia is the first thing you may notice -- lack of color in the gums, lack of energy.
 
DON'T let yourself think "Oh well, it's hot out -- he's probably just hot".  DON'T fall for it. 
 
If you do a search for my posts on Billy over the last four weeks (search for his name -- there are several threads) -- this has led us on a huge merry chase to find what was 'wrong'.  His first tick test for Erlichea (that's local to the southeast US -- every region has a different disease and they overlap) came back *negative* -- and we've done a zillion blood tests. 
 
he WAS anemic -- dangerously so and it happened SO fast.  We had all sorts of things -- immune-mediated-hemolytic-anemia (which is often fatal) and other things we've looked at and treated for.  Me?  I've been have nuts with worry -- and a ton of extra work and vet visits. 
 
My point is -- watch for the anemia and THEN get the test.  We tested at first too early apparently (and I don't think, honestly, it was a very good lab) and the blood parasites didn't show.  But we caught it on the last one thank heavens!
 
One tick doesn't always mean tick disease -- no way.  But for Billy one was all it took.  I DO use Frontline pretty religiously, but ticks are extremely hard to kill. 
 
You are smart to be concerned - but hopefully what's happened with Billy will help you be more informed than I was.  In all my years in tick-ridden Florida I've seen LOTS of ticks, but I've never had a dog get a tick-borne disease.
 
And btw -- these diseases can lie dormant for a long time -- so be vigilant.  Get in the habit of checking your dog's gums EVERY week -- and if they look pale, get a blood test and see if   the dog is anemic.  It's not an expensive test -- and if it comes up bad, you can always then get the tick tests done.

Hi love my dog..The same thing happened to my dog Kayla,...I found a pretty big tick on her neck about 2 weeks ago...she has a small lump where the tick was pulled ...I did a little research and what I read... it says the bump could stay there up to six weeks but in the mean time I am going to listen to Calie and keep an eye on my dogs gums thanks Calie for the advice

A tick bite can leave a nasty irritation and wound.  After you remove a tick, it is helpful to clean the tick bite with an alcohol wipe and touch it up with some bacitracin.  Symptoms of  Lyme don't show up for a couple of weeks after a bite, and erhlichia can show up 2 weeks or two years later.  My vet now screens for Lyme and Erhlichia in the spring and fall, I think it's worth the investment.  

Thanks! I'll be sure to watch her and make sure there is nothing wrong. It just looks like a scab now; but I am guessing the tick had been on a while because it was pretty big...fat, you know. []  Nasty things! So.....to check her gums I should just press them and then they should retain the natural pink color in a few seconds, right? Thanks for the advice.

The other possibility is that the tick head didn't come all the way out and part of it is still stuck in the dog. That can cause an abcess, yucky bump, etc. too. If you just yank the tick out, that can happen pretty easily.