# scabs on tips of dogs ears



## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

hi guys 
i got new dog today and have noticed that he has little scabs on the tips of his ears what can this be ? i have an appointment booked for monday at the vets but might change it to tommorow


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## Kinjilabs (Apr 15, 2009)

Dont know what it is but one of my Labs had it and they came away with just a bit of help, she was on steroids tho and I put it down to them


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

he seems fine in himself just thought it was abit strange


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## Bearpaw (Dec 10, 2009)

How old is he? could he have been play fighting with other dogs? Are the rest of the ears clean looking?
It could be an allergy but you will have to keep an eye on it over time and see if it worsens with food/pollen etc.


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

i was told he is one , no he hasnt been play fighting with other dogs , ok thankyou i will keep an eye on it . i have the vets monday morning anyway so will ask then .


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## Bearpaw (Dec 10, 2009)

Ah,not a pup then.If you have any aloe vera gel to hand,try rubbing some of that onto the scabs,itll help clear them.Just a clean up with hibiscrub may help too.
Hopefully itll be better soon.
Congrats on your new dog


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

i will pick up some aloe vera gel tommorow and get the vet to check his ears monday just incase , i was scared incase he had mites or mange or scabies 

thankyou bearpaw


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Fleas, maybe? If they're little scabs, that would be my initial guess. Fleas love Ragnar's ears and he gets little crunchy scabs, along with flea dirt on them--it's the first sign he's got the nasty devils. Of course, if they're big scabs, I take it all back


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Does it appear to be itchy or do you get a response if you touch it. Ears and muzzle are often the first place for mites because its often first point of contact with an affected dog or area.


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## carebear (Jun 10, 2009)

just bath them in warm salt water it will help the scabs to come away when they are ready.


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

dagny0823 said:


> Fleas, maybe? If they're little scabs, that would be my initial guess. Fleas love Ragnar's ears and he gets little crunchy scabs, along with flea dirt on them--it's the first sign he's got the nasty devils. Of course, if they're big scabs, I take it all back


i was thinking fleas im gonna get some frontline tommorow anyway


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

Sled dog hotel said:


> Does it appear to be itchy or do you get a response if you touch it. Ears and muzzle are often the first place for mites because its often first point of contact with an affected dog or area.


no response when i touch it , i read online to gentle rub it and if his legs go then its scabies ( dunno how true it is but i thought i would try it )


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

carebear said:


> just bath them in warm salt water it will help the scabs to come away when they are ready.


will do and i will get his nails trimmed at the vets too as they are abit long , some people amaze me why they get dogs a he aint even had his jabs poor man and he is one years old  so he is having hs first one monday


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

If you gently rub your thumb and finger over the edge of his ear and his back leg starts making scratching motions then it is most probably sarcoptic mange. My dog had it from 17 weeks old till he was over 18 months old and he had scabs on the edges of his ears. Also his ears were a lot thicker than they should have been. It's easily treated with Stronghold though so don't worry if it is.

He had it for so long because two different vets failed to diagnose it and said it was food allergies. Finally after pleading with the vet to try something else he decided to do an ear scrape and blood test. He found nothing on the ear scrape but two weeks later they phoned to say he had tested positive for sarcoptic mange. They just gave me a box of 3 Stronghold and told me to treat him every two weeks with it and if he was still scratching at the end of the 6 weeks to get some more and carry on treating him for a further few weeks.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

zacknzena said:


> i was thinking fleas im gonna get some frontline tommorow anyway


I think if you get the over the counter front line that you get in pets at home it just does fleas and ticks, as your taking him to the vet monday I think you said? I would hold fire. If it does turn out to be either skin or fur mites Then you wont be able to use the vet prescription ones like strong hold and I think advocate that you would need to do mites as well if you have just put on front line.
To check if he has fleas if you groom him out over a white sheet or old towel and you see any black specks fall off and put a drop of water of them if its flea dirts they should turn a brownish red. I might even then still wait just to be on the safe side.


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

Jazzy said:


> If you gently rub you thumb and finger over the edge of his ear and his back leg starts making scratching motions then it is most probably sarcoptic mange. My dog had it from 17 weeks old till he was over 18 months old and he had scabs on the edges of his ears. Also his ears were a lot thicker than they should have been. It's easily treated with Stronghold though so don't worry if it is.
> 
> He had it for so long because two different vets failed to diagnose it and said it was food allergies. Finally after pleading with the vet to try something else he decided to do an ear scrape and blood test. He found nothing on the ear scrape but two weeks later they phoned to say he had tested positive for sarcoptic mange. They just gave me a box of 3 Stronghold and told me to treat him every two weeks with it and if he was still scratching at the end of the 6 weeks to get some more and carry on treating him for a further few weeks.


thanks for reply  i did that and there was no response he just lay there looking at me legs didnt move  i will keep an eye on it over the weekend im glad it is easily treatable though if it is . when you look it up online it looks like such a horrible thing for a dog to have


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

Sled dog hotel said:


> I think if you get the over the counter front line that you get in pets at home it just does fleas and ticks, as your taking him to the vet monday I think you said? I would hold fire. If it does turn out to be either skin or fur mites Then you wont be able to use the vet prescription ones like strong hold and I think advocate that you would need to do mites as well if you have just put on front line.
> To check if he has fleas if you groom him out over a white sheet or old towel and you see any black specks fall off and put a drop of water of them if its flea dirts they should turn a brownish red. I might even then still wait just to be on the safe side.


ok i will hold out on the frontline then till been to vets just incase  yes he is at the vets monday morning .


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

You could ask the vet for Stronghold instead of Frontline because it treats fleas and a few other things too. I wish we had tried Stronghold instead of being at the vet every few weeks. He was so bad that we even considered having him put to sleep. He was spending 24 hrs a day every day in a buster collar towards the end because he would scratch his ears to bits. He was on steroids and antibiotics every few weeks for a condition that is so easily treated.


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

Jazzy said:


> You could ask the vet for Stronghold instead of Frontline because it treats fleas and a few other things too. I wish we had tried Stronghold instead of being at the vet every few weeks. He was so bad that we even considered having him put to sleep. He was spending 24 hrs a day every day in a buster collar towards the end because he would scratch his ears to bits. He was on steroids and antibiotics every few weeks for a condition that is so easily treated.


aww bless him  , i will ask about the stronghold on monday . thankyou


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

zacknzena said:


> aww bless him  , i will ask about the stronghold on monday . thankyou


It is easy to treat now should it be mange or some other type of mite. My first dog was a samoyed and he got it, long before days of spot on. Then you had to bath them in the most evil smelling stuff then had to leave it on and let it dry naturally and it stunk the house out for weeks. Because he had such long thick fur I had to dip him like a sheep. By the time I finished there was no danger of me getting it I was soaked from head to toe as well.


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## zacknzena (Jan 2, 2010)

Sled dog hotel said:


> It is easy to treat now should it be mange or some other type of mite. My first dog was a samoyed and he got it, long before days of spot on. Then you had to bath them in the most evil smelling stuff then had to leave it on and let it dry naturally and it stunk the house out for weeks. Because he had such long thick fur I had to dip him like a sheep. By the time I finished there was no danger of me getting it I was soaked from head to toe as well.


thanks for reply guess i will know more on monday when i take him to the vets


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

You should get it sorted then and know one way or the other. Let us know how you get on.


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## GoldenShadow (Jun 15, 2009)

Rupert had little scabs on the very edge of his ears a few months ago. You could pull them off and little clumps of fur came with them. I never did anything with them and they never bugged him, I just removed them and put it down to moulting


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