Scabs on back - not one but two sheepies
I'm taking both london and tony to the vet tonight but am wondering if anyone had similar issues because we cant figure out if it's the food, the environment or parasites... ahhhh to sum up --- we all moved to oakland (california) from new york few months ago - we live in a loft but often take the guys to the park to mingle with other dogs.. well for about a month or so both london and tony has been itching and chewing on their back - gnawing on scabs - making it bigger and deep.. we thought it was maybe a scrape from using my parents' doggie door back in july and treated it with nesporin type of medication... it went away for few weeks but then it reappeared (different location maybe). last night i noticed they keep itching more and more and the fact it's not just one but two dogs going through the same thing had me worried.. so jeff and i shaved their back to see what was wrong and to my amazement - they were covered with red bumps and both tiny and big scabs... only on their backs - nowhere else (face, underneath, armpits all look fine) their coat underneath has lost its color (brownish grey). so im verry worried. we feed them on canidae so i highly doubt it's food allergies - they were fine on it for years and both have it? seems unlikely. so my question is - has anyone ever had parasites on their dogs - if so where do they get it from? i always think of the worst case possible - what if they have mange? has anyone experienced this also? any advice will be appreciated - i just want to be prepared before going to the vet and spend thousands:) |
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| First thought is flea bite allergy. Dogs moving from a cold climate to one where there's not a deep freeze and where resident flea population is higher are often not ready to handle the onslaught. A little flea now and then allows them to develop resistance, an onslaught overwhelms the immune system. Dogs who are allergic develop small bumps, the bumps itch, they scratch, the bumps become red and oozing, etc. Eventually seborrhea sets in, later staph dermatitis (pyoderma), etc. Also is if the dog is allergic to something else, say corn or wheat, the reaction to fleas is worse. Second thought is where you were heading, sarcoptic mange caused by mites. Very contaggious from dog to dog. Funny tho the mites prefer less hairy spots like arm pits, not the fluffy back. Reddish pimples, often with yellowish crusties. Vet takes tissue scrapings, but it's hard. Repeated scrapings often necessary, so don't give up. |
| Sorry to hear that your pups are having skin issues. Could be any number of things, but the first thing I thought of was environmental allergies. My SIL moved from Chicago to California, and immediately started up with sinus infections, bronchitis, etc., things she never experienced in Illinois. Turns out that she had environmental allergies to things that didn't grow well in the Midwest, or grew for shorter periods of time and died off in winter. Your move from NY to CA might have caused a similar issue with your dogs. The red bumps on your dogs might be a staph infection that took hold as the skin was broken by scratching. Your vet should be able to tell, and might want to do a skin scraping just to be sure. (Oscar has these, oh, about every other week!  ) Anyway, I am hopeful that it is nothing serious or contagious, and your vet should be able to sort things out quickly.Laurie and Oscar |
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