Is this normal for a sheepie to do/get?!
Here is my dilemma.. last night I was rubbing him behind his ears and I found scabs on both sides! It looks like he scratched himself until he was bleeding and the hair dried on top of the cut. I totally freaked out but I dont know what to do! He had his nails cut a couple days ago so they are pretty sharp and I'm thinking thats how he could have cut himself. He doesnt seem to be in pain... it IS just a scab. But I am a worried mommy and am wondering if I should take him to the vet for this or just let it heal and fall off? Has this ever happened to anyone else? Should I put a cone on him while he's alone?! Please help. Thank you!!! |
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| How are his ears - does he have any gunk in them? Do they smell? If his ears are fine and he isn't scratching all the time - I would take a wait and see attitude. If he seems to be fussing at them and they smell or are gunky I would go to the vet and have him/her teach me how to make sure they are clean. |
| Welcome! |
I am obsessive about cleaning his ears! I even have the drying powder and hemostat to pluck them myself because I wasn't satisfied with the way the groomer was doing it. 
His ears don't smell at all and they are cleaned every other day so I don't think he has an infection... he was probably just scratching his ears as he normally would but didnt realize his sharp nails? Does grinding the nails name them smoother? |
| Yes grinding makes them smoother - in fact when my dogs jump on m and the nails are sharp it reminds me they need to be ground down a bit!
Just a thought - if you over fuss with his ears they may be a little sore and that could cause the scratching - just a thought. |
| Ohhh I never thought about that. So you think cleaning them every other day is too much?? |
| If he hasn't got a problem it might be- but I am more forgetful about cleaning ears. the dogs that don't have issues only get them cleaned when bathed. even the two with issues tend not to get them done more than once a week or two - unless they are having an issue. Most cleaning stuff is very drying and can be aggrevating to the dog |
Welcome to the forum 
Every other day might be a bit much but it depends on the dog. I have one dog who needs them done every week and another who always has clean ears and not much hair grows inside so I only do it when I bath her, which is about 4 times a year. |
| Thanks for the tips!!! I will cut down to once every week or so and see how he reacts to that! |
| regarding the ear cleaning, I used to clean Violet's ear every other day because she had chronic ear infections. It seemed we where at the Vet's a lot. Anyway, I decided to only clean her ears when she had her weekly bath and I stopped having the hair pulled out of her ears. She rarely has any ear problems now. I was talking to my Vet (who is new to us) about the fact I don't have the hair pulled out of Violet's ears anymore and why. He said that it seems to be the new thinking about not pulling the hair out. He also said that Violet's ear where in good shape.
Just another sheepie life experience. |
| Helen? You bathe your baby every week? You ARE a great mom! |
| I got rid of the hemostat for pulling hair as I find if I pull a few every few days, it keeps the total number manageable. It's just one or two plucks so the dogs don't get anxious. I'm trying to keep the massive hair plugs away, that's all, not a perfectly hair free ear canal.
Also the dogs vary in ear canal size. Jack's is so large you could drive a semitruck down it, whereas Fox (a giant Great Pyrenees) and Crumpet (an OES) had narrow ear canals that were a constant problem. As a result, ear procedures were designed to fit the dog. One answer does not fit all. You don't want to dry those ear canals to where they might let bacteria into the skin. There's a happy medium between gunky and painfully dry. |
| it could be allergies. This time of year my Tonks gets REALLY itchy and scratches and chews herself. Is it just behind the ears that you see her scratching? |
| Sheepies are allergy prone so it may be a skin allergy. I'm on my 3rd OES and thy've all had skin allergies. If it gets too bad ask your vet about benedryl or another allergy med., use a oatmeal shampoo as I found this is more soothing to the skin.
Congrats on your dog and welcome to the forum. |
myhannahgirl wrote: Sheepies are allergy prone so it may be a skin allergy. I'm on my 3rd OES and thy've all had skin allergies. If it gets too bad ask your vet about benedryl or another allergy med., use a oatmeal shampoo as I found this is more soothing to the skin.
Not meaning to hijack this post but 3 out of 3 with skin allergies is shocking. I have three and have re-homed many more, and none of them have any skin allergies. Are yours all related? Or possibly there is some unique environmental factor that hasn't been identified yet? Strange to have such a run of allergies! |
| None related. My male was actually a rescue and he came to me when he was 2 and he had allergies so bad he would dig and get hot spots. We even had him "allergy tested" at the vets. He passed away in 1999 and my current sheepie was a Christmas present in 2006. She"gnaws" on her paws and the vet said she has skin allergies. I keep frontline plus on her on a regular basis and have her groomed monthly. I notice she does it more when my husband cuts the grass and she is out in the yard. What do you think???? |
myhannahgirl wrote: None related. My male was actually a resue and he came to me when he was 2 and he had allergies so bad he would dig and get hot spots. We even had him "allergy tested" at the vets. He passed away in 1999 and my current sheepie was a Christmas present in 2006. She"gnaws" on her paws and the vet said she has skin allergies. I keep frontline plus on her on a regular basis and have her groomed monthly. I notices whe does it more when my husband cuts the grass and she is out in the yard. What do you think????
I don't know, I just have never known there to be as much of a propensity for skin allergies in the breed as you experience. Seems very odd to me. |
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