Missing hair spots on her ear - what could they be?

[jaggirl47]

My neighbor's dog had sarcoptic like this for 3 months until I finally talked her into taking the dog for a skin scrape. Somehow it never spread, but it was 100% sarcoptic under microscope.

[Lotus99]

Hmmm... I'd like to think it's related to the spay of two months ago, but that would mean hormone therapy? Yikes! Or like the other poster said, some weird seasonal thing hopefully.

She's on Salmon Oil daily, it doesn't have the same supplements I take it as this Evening Primrose oil?

The odd thing is if this article's correct, How to Identify Mange on Dogs: 5 steps - wikiHow, the do it at home test of scratching the ear should be 95% accurate, and she doesn't exhibit any symptoms when I scratch her ear. Plus, sarcoptic mange it says causes intense itching. As I've said, she does it a few times an hour maybe.

I guess the only way to know for sure is have a vet check it out... If I do, I'll post back for sure. I'll post an update anyway in a while if we don't go.

[jaggirl47]

n cases of hairloss like this, it is always better to get a skin scrape than to guess and take different suppliments. Sarcoptic mange is itchy because the females burrow into the skin to lay their eggs. If your dog is scratching several times an hour, you need to get it checked.

[jaggirl47]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

The odd thing is if this article's correct, How to Identify Mange on Dogs: 5 steps - wikiHow, the do it at home test of scratching the ear should be 95% accurate, and she doesn't exhibit any symptoms when I scratch her ear. Plus, sarcoptic mange it says causes intense itching. As I've said, she does it a few times an hour maybe.

I'm sorry, but that is one of the most laughable things. Can a dog try to itch it's ears if you rub them? Yes. However, mine do that when I clean their ears out as well. I honestly do not see how that has a 95% accuracy when all dogs are completely different. I would trust this about as much as I trust my mother in law.

[GatorBytes]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Hmmm... I'd like to think it's related to the spay of two months ago, but that would mean hormone therapy? Yikes! Or like the other poster said, some weird seasonal thing hopefully.

She's on Salmon Oil daily, it doesn't have the same supplements I take it as this Evening Primrose oil?

May just mean she is out of balance right now...suppliments can bring back into balance, as well, season changes affect hormones, so may only need to be considered as season change "approaches"...there are many EFA's...you just hear about 3 (mostly),6,9.

Borage oil is another.

You can apply some Raw cold pressed organic coconut oil to the backs of the ears, will sooth dryness and prevent bacterial infection. Can also use to treat the inside (clean with) to treat yeasts, bacteria and smother ear mites. This may also be a mild case of yeast infection, so if the vet is going to do a scrape, then insist on a yeast smear too. Yeast is also related to hormonal imbalance. You may also consider giving the coconut oil in her feed...1 tsp/10lbs of body weight...but not all at once...work up over a month. This will help from the inside out

[GatorBytes]

Originally Posted by jaggirl47

I'm sorry, but that is one of the most laughable things. Can a dog try to itch it's ears if you rub them? Yes. However, mine do that when I clean their ears out as well. I honestly do not see how that has a 95% accuracy when all dogs are completely different. I would trust this about as much as I trust my mother in law.

It's the exact test my once conventional vet used 30+ yrs in the business...he was the owner of the practice (and a drug promoter) and determined no mites based on it...he wanted to use steroids...I refused.

[jaggirl47]

Originally Posted by GatorBytes

May just mean she is out of balance right now...suppliments can bring back into balance, as well, season changes affect hormones, so may only need to be considered as season change "approaches"...there are many EFA's...you just hear about 3 (mostly),6,9.

Borage oil is another.

You can apply some Raw cold pressed organic coconut oil to the backs of the ears, will sooth dryness and prevent bacterial infection. Can also use to treat the inside (clean with) to treat yeasts, bacteria and smother ear mites. This may also be a mild case of yeast infection, so if the vet is going to do a scrape, then insist on a yeast smear too. Yeast is also related to hormonal imbalance. You may also consider giving the coconut oil in her feed...1 tsp/10lbs of body weight...but not all at once...work up over a month. This will help from the inside out

I'm sorry, but the OP needs to take his dog to the vet to get a diagnosis. If this dog actually has something contagious to humans and instead of treating it properly he is doing at home hormone therapy, that puts both the dog and owner in jeopardy.

[jaggirl47]

Originally Posted by GatorBytes

It's the exact test my once conventional vet used 30+ yrs in the business...he was the owner of the practice (and a drug promoter) and determined no mites based on it...he wanted to use steroids...I refused.

I never said it couldn't work, but I would not trust it for an at home diagnostic tool. Like I said, my dogs scratch when I clean their ears out. That doesn't mean they have mange, it means they are scratching at the ear I am cleaning.

[GatorBytes]

Originally Posted by jaggirl47

I'm sorry, but the OP needs to take his dog to the vet to get a diagnosis. If this dog actually has something contagious to humans and instead of treating it properly he is doing at home hormone therapy, that puts both the dog and owner in jeopardy.

The op can do noted as well and on top of...once they go to the vet. they need to determine a cause for treatment course.

Dog is scratching, may have scratched off the mites, they won't be found and the vet may suggest doing ivermectin treatment "just in case" which is wrong. Steroids would be wrong as they do not treat the cause and will exacerbate the issue.

And canine mites are self limiting on humans - about two weeks, they don't reproduce and spread...a soak in goldenseal tea will take care of the itch (in humans)...oh, OP...that would also help the itchy ears...1 bag per cup boiling water, bring to room temp and cleanse with that, then put on coconut oil

[Lotus99]

So we took her into the vet, and strangely enough, she didn't know what it was... She took quite a few scrapings of her ear, and two other spots we discovered issues with (which I'll explain below), and looked under the microscope there, but didn't see anything strange.

Before going in, while washing her with a medicated Shampoo (Hexadene by Virbac), I felt a rough spot on her ski, on her back, like 6 inches away from her tail. When looking closer, the hair was coming off in clumps, and the skin was sort of old and yellow and mushy, like a scab that's sitting in water for an hour... It is about an inch wide and two inches long. In the days since all the hair fell out and we washed it, the skin has gone a dark brown colour.

And on top of that, we noticed a few dried up blood clots on her head, as if she was bitten by some huge mosquito. They weren't just surface scabs - they were raised like pimples.

The vet initially suspected ringworm for the back, but the initial microscope viewing in her office didn't show it, so now the samples have been sent it to grow cultures to see if anything shows up, and if not, apparently, the next step is to do a skin biopsy...

So $400 in at this point, and we still know nothing... We're treating it by rubbing Tinactin on the spots and spraying Vetericyn and adding DMG immune booster liquid in her food.

At least it's not expanding to other parts of her body at this point and is localized, though seems like 3 different issues (ears, head and patch on back).

Would anyone get a second opinion or have ideas what each could be?
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