# Tiny lil scabs all over his body



## Mike Schoonbrood

When Yasko had the issue with his spine, because I was feeling around his back so much, I noticed lots and lots of very noticeable tiny bumps all over his shoulders. Upon further investigation, they were all over his back and sides too. I mean, these things were everywhere. They were tiny lil scabs that were good size bumps you could feel if you ran your fingers tightly over his body. His shoulders were terrible!

So I hit the Google and figured maybe its fleas because sometimes I forget the FrontLine Combo. So he got bathed in flea shampoo, FrontLine Plus'd and given a good once over with the Furminator to pull out all the loose hair. I mean, he had tufts of hair all over him that were glued in place by crusts of dried blood.

After furmination and bathing he was good as new. I just went out there to check him out again, and while there's no mine-field of prominent bumps, there are a ton of tufts of hair glued in place by dried up blood, his entire back is covered in flakes of the stuff, and there's a TON of larger crusts attached to loose hairs all over his body. I mean, I can pick any random place on his back,sides, shoulders etc and within 2" of that spot I will find some type of evidence of this and/or a tuft of loose hair I can pluck out wtih crusty blood attached to it.

He doesn't scratch or itch so I don't think it's fleas. I am really bad at using FrontLine monthly so I don't think it's a reaction to the product either.

Is there some type of allergy or bug or mite or something that could cause this reaction? I haven't checked Tiko out thoroughly, but I am pretty sure this is a Yasko-specific issue. Today I noticed the heaviest concentration to be on his spine around 2/3 of the way back toward his tail. There was a ton of loose hair to pluck out right there with crusts of blood.

Thoughts????


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## Connie Sutherland

With zero itching, I'll make a wild stab at folliculitis.

You could make a vet appointment (for a skin scraping - really usually kind of a lifting of skin cells with something like scotch tape) but meanwhile bathe in dandruff shampoo. 

Selsun, probably.

Folliculitis on my dog looked like loose hair with whitish roots, and the hairs pulled right off. My first observation was crusty ear-flap-edges.

It can also look like small, red, pus-filled bumps at the roots of the hairs.


P.S. Dandruff shampoo is not a good everyday dog shampoo, BTW (for other readers).


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## Chris Michalek

I'm not vet but it sounds like pyotraumatic dermatitis.


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## Connie Sutherland

Chris Michalek said:


> I'm not vet but it sounds like pyotraumatic dermatitis.



But the dog isn't itchy.


Mike, is it moist and inflamed? Like a "hot spot"?


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## Mike Schoonbrood

Actually its very dry and flakey, not wet at all and doesn't really look inflamed far as I can tell through his thick coat.

It also looks like his entire skin on his back is covered in lil brown dots at the base of all his hairs. Dont know if thats his normal skin color, but I am pretty sure (will check again later) that his skin is pure white in other areas.


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## Connie Sutherland

Mike Schoonbrood said:


> Actually its very dry and flakey, not wet at all and doesn't really look inflamed far as I can tell through his thick coat.
> 
> It also looks like his entire skin on his back is covered in lil brown dots at the base of all his hairs. Dont know if thats his normal skin color, but I am pretty sure (will check again later) that his skin is pure white in other areas.


Scabs or freckle-like?


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## Mike Schoonbrood

I need to take a closer look later. I looked at Tiko when I just crated him and confirmed that his skin is white-as-white-can-be. Perfect, so its definitely a Yasko-thing.

I want to say the lil brown dots at the hair follicles are freckle-like, but will have to check for sure later.


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## Mo Earle

I have worked as a vet tech, but I am NOT a DVM....I have 13 dogs, so it is always something.. I don't want to be a pest to my DVM, so I usually will try home remedies on non-emergency stuff first....one thing I have used in the past for skin ailments...has been Dial liquid hand soap(it is drying...but works great) and I have used selsun for hotspots....but first... I have shaved down their coats-it grows back (I have mals and gsd's), and I only use the soap for a couple of days....surprisingly we would see results pretty quickly.... but if after a few days, things didn't look like they are improving...then call the vet to come visit...we are lucky our vet comes out out to us....not saying this works for everything...but until you can get to the vet...it probably won't hurt....and may help your dog feel better. good luck. Mo


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## Selena van Leeuwen

allergic for the kibble you use currently?


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## Connie Sutherland

Remember that an allergy that manifests on the dog's skin will itch.

I don't mean that all dog allergies itch. 

I do mean that if it presents as skin problems, it will almost certainly itch --- as a primary factor.






P.S.
Sensitivities, not necessarily.


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## Maren Bell Jones

Any way you could post pictures? We just covered fungal and staph infections (Staphylococcus intermedius is a common cause of pyoderma in dogs) in Bacteriology, which are not cool or fun to treat.


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## Mike Schoonbrood

I will try, but kinda hard to take good pics of tiny things between thick fur 

Edit: OK that sounds really really wrong... I so totally didn't mean it to come out like that!!


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## Connie Sutherland

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Any way you could post pictures? We just covered fungal and staph infections (Staphylococcus intermedius is a common cause of pyoderma in dogs) in Bacteriology, which are not cool or fun to treat.



Clean white un-inflamed un-itchy skin with tiny scabs at the base of the hairs ..... sounds SO not like hot spots, fungus, atopy, or bacteria.......

You're right, Maren; photos will be great.


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## Maren Bell Jones

Apparently quite a few of the fungal infections are not especially pruritic, but others do like Malasezzia pachydermatis, which is the most common fungus in otitis externa ear infections...I wonder if this was related to that other thread on "elephant skin." Fungal infections are also most common in desert areas around recently disturbed soil or real moist swampy areas. I have no idea of the climate of Belgium... :-k We have a bacteriology practical on Tuesday and we have to photo ID bacterial and fungal skin infections, so yes, please feel free to post pictures! :grin:


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## Connie Sutherland

Fungal infections (whether they present with pruritis or not) are pretty likely to itch and/or smell, I think.

My money is on folliculitis (or clogged pores at the base of the hairs).

I haven't seen it yet, though, so c'mon, Mike: PICTURES! :lol:


Maren, I would REALLY appreciate any new info you get in your classes on fungal overgrowth (skin and other). 8)


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## Mike Schoonbrood

Have you ever seen Yasko? I am lucky if he stays still for 6 seconds so I can LOOK at his back let alone have him hold still while I part his hair and snap a picture LOL.

I will work on it today.


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## Mike Schoonbrood

OK I clobbered him with a baseball bat so he was still for a minute or two while I took some pics.

Can't really see clearly on the pics because my good camera doesn't have a macro lens and my compact camera doesn't let me adjust focus on what I want it to focus on, so most pics seemed to be excellent shots of my fingers 

Taking skin pics is apparently really difficult! But this is the best I could do. I also took a short video showing me plucking 2 random tufts of hair that were attached to dried up blood, but it wasnt a particularly interesting video so I won't post it  You can see the tufts in some of the pics too.

I have larger original pics uploaded too but I figured the smaller ones are easier for people to oversee. If you want the larger ones I'll post links to those.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/2603918990_01ba4cdfb2_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/2603089459_7b9de4feb7_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/2603090089_b9eaea8a24_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3090/2603090401_83528e751f_b.jpg

(this one shows kinda clearly the brown specs all over his skin)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2603090973_1201d01819_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/2603921480_b41cf391f4_b.jpg


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## Dan Long

our cat had a similar problem. We changed his food and it went away.


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## Kristen Cabe

I wish _*I *_ had such nicely manicured nails, Mike!! :lol:

I have seen this before with cats (not my own, so I don't know what the problem was), but I've never seen it on a dog before. I wouldn't _think_ it would be food related, unless maybe he's not getting enough OFA's? His skin doesn't look inflamed or anything, so that's a good sign, but I don't really have anything constructive to offer. I really just wanted to comment on your nails. :mrgreen:


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## Mike Schoonbrood

Apparently my camera is awesome. It makes my nails look great! :lol: They are terrible.

Figures... I have one dog that looked like a kitten when she was a puppy, and another dog with some feline skin disease :lol:


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## Connie Sutherland

When you have a tuft in your hand, does it feel dry and a little stiff? Do they pull out easily even if not already detached?


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## Connie Sutherland

I'd make a vet appointment.

Not because it looks pruritic or anything but because the things I would use on it, I don't know how to say in that country.

It does look just like when I had a dog with folliculitis on the ear flaps, and the little hairs on the edge could be pulled off in tufts. I thought he had yogurt on his ear (he was black but the affected hairs had lost color) and was scraping it off when the tufts pulled off (easily).

Anyway, even folliculitis can get worse, triggering wider skin infection.

And of course, it might not be that at all. I'd call the vet.


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## Mike Schoonbrood

Great. Another frikkin vet appointment. I think I have crossed the line of sounding like an obsessive dog owner :roll:

And yes, the tufts pull out very easily. I assumed that they were already loose and that the resistance I felt was the hairs being stuck to the other hairs -- but its entirely possible that they weren't loose hairs.


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## Connie Sutherland

Well, you could first do a very thorough but gentle (not opening scabs) raking and then Selsun wash, getting it down to the skin and leaving it for a minute and rinsing thoroughly.


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## Mike Schoonbrood

Selsun wash?? 

OK OK fine ill contact the vet LOL.


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## Connie Sutherland

Mike Schoonbrood said:


> Selsun wash??
> 
> OK OK fine ill contact the vet LOL.


I meant wash with Selsun.

What I did with Oliver was crush cheap aspirins (acetylsalicylic acid) into water and apply the paste. I had read somewhere that this was an acceptable and non-toxic substitute for medicated dandruff shampoo.

In your case, though, I wouldn't. Oliver couldn't lick at his ears, and I would hate the dog to be licking at an aspirin paste.


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## Connie Sutherland

Mike Schoonbrood said:


> Great. Another frikkin vet appointment. I think I have crossed the line of sounding like an obsessive dog owner :roll:


Well, you have a few dozen dogs. It's not like all these visits are for one dog. :lol:


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## Connie Sutherland

P.S. Those photos don't look like any alopecia I have seen, BTW. That's why I mentioned going and not just talking on the phone, because I suspect that a vet might think alopecia first.


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## susan tuck

I've been following thsi thread. Wow, my Tiekerhook dog used to break out exactly like that. Every once in a while he would have a sort of a "patch". I didn't worry because it always went away, never got weepy or turned into a hot spot, didn't itch or seem to bother him at all. I know that if he had broken out all over, as your dog has, I would have been much more concerned. I will be interested to find out what it is.


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## Connie Sutherland

susan tuck said:


> I've been following thsi thread. Wow, my Tiekerhook dog used to break out exactly like that. Every once in a while he would have a sort of a "patch". I didn't worry because it always went away, never got weepy or turned into a hot spot, didn't itch or seem to bother him at all. I know that if he had broken out all over, as your dog has, I would have been much more concerned. I will be interested to find out what it is.


And did the hairs pull out easily in tufts?

No itching, no visible inflammation, etc.?


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## susan tuck

Exactly. It felt like they were little scabs that I was pulling the hairs out of, if that makes any sense. A slight tug and there was a little clump of hair in your hand, hardly any resistance. In my dogs case, it wasn't enough to leave a really visible bald patch, which is probably why it didn't alarm me.

Also in my dogs case, the hairs were not stiff or weird and it was the undercoat, not the longer coat.


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## Connie Sutherland

susan tuck said:


> Exactly. It felt like they were little scabs that I was pulling the hairs out of, if that makes any sense. A slight tug and there was a little clump of hair in your hand, hardly any resistance. In my dogs case, it wasn't enough to leave a really visible bald patch, which is probably why it didn't alarm me.
> 
> Also in my dogs case, the hairs were not stiff or weird and it was the undercoat, not the longer coat.


Well, if this was folliculitis, mild cases can resolve on their own in a couple of weeks.

Mild antibacterial soaps, the dandruff shampoo mentioned earlier, or mild vinegar rinses can all help.

What it is, is the follicle having an infection. The hair itself dies, and there might be lil scabs where the infection came to a head and the healed.

This might be something else entirely, of course, but Mike's pics look exactly like the folliculitis my Oliver had when I got him.

When the vet felt along the base of the hairs, she pulled off some tufts and looked at them and just said "Looks like clogged pores or folliculitis, either one of which will probably respond to dandruff shampoo."

She said that shaving can trigger it (obviously not the case on my dog's ears), but also just oil glands, creme rinses left on, sweat and oil, rubbing of a harness or collar, and so on.

But since it could be other things, I still vote for the vet to look at it.


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