My dog has bumps on her neck and ear. What could be causing them?

It could be a pyoderma (skin infection). See your veterinarian for an exam. He or she may diagnose bacterial or fungal skin infection and can prescribe the appropriate medication afterwards. Treatment may be topical, systemic or a combination. Consider adding an essential fatty acid supplement, such as DermCaps or EicosaCaps, to her diet to promote healthy skin and coat. Place an e-collar (cone) on your dog if she is licking or chewing excessively.

This does not sound like a normal thing to happen in dogs, and I recommend that Binky see a vet for her skin issue. Your vet may do a skin scrape to look for mites, skin cytology to look for bacteria or yeast under a microscope, or bacterial or fungal cultures may be needed. Possible causes for bumps include fleas, mange, lice, infections (bacterial or yeast), ringworm, allergies, among others. I would recommend that Binky be on year-round flea prevention. While you await for your appointment, you can try a medicated shampoo like Dechra MalAcetic Ultra Shampoo, but be careful not to get it into her eyes. Also, think of any changes that have happened in the last few weeks, like changes in food, treats, medications, supplements, or household cleaners that could have had an effect on her skin.

It looks like Pokki has a superficial infection on the skin of her neck. If she frequently wears a collar, this area can be prone to infection if the collar is not kept clean and dry. Rarely, pets can be allergic to the nylon material but this is very uncommon. It's generally more related to the collar being dirty/oily or getting wet. Sometimes parasites can also cause this type of rash as well. At home you can try washing the area with an antibacterial hand soap and rinse well. You can then apply a dab of coconut oil to the reddened bumps. Rub it in well. If this does not help within a week, make an appointment with your vet. That being said, if you wish to go ahead and have her seen, the doctor will provide medications that will clear it up faster. I hope this is helpful. Please feel free to post any additional questions!

This lump on Johnstamos (LOVE his name!) could be a cyst, a benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. Because it has tripled in size, that does make it concerning. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. As for the scabby and crusty ears, those could be due to an ear infection or allergies. Give his vet a call to make him an appointment to have both these things checked out. I hope this helps!

This is likely to be due to a folliculitis secondary to superficial bacterial infection of the skin.A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking/scratching (if any). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Athena. I do recommend that she sees her veterinarian. The skin may be infected. In the meantime, you can try bathing her with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner such as an oatmeal or fatty acid based formula to soothe the skin. Puppies are susceptible to ringworm, mites and bacterial skin infections. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to allergies for example though other possibilities like mange cannot be ruled out. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!