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My dog has bumps and scabs on his head, what should I do next?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 9 months and 30 days old | 40 lbs

My dog has bumps and scabs on his head

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 22nd, 2017

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern! Poor Dip! It looks quite uncomfortable for the little guy. I would recommend having this looked at by a veterinarian. It appears to be what we call Demodex, which is a skin mite. This mite is typically picked up from the mom when they are puppies and because their immune system is not fully developed at this point, it can be difficult to keep these mites (which normally do not cause disease in an animal with a healthy and strong immune system) under control. Your vet will need to scrape the skin with an instrument or blade and look at the sample under the microscope to help confirm if this is from mites or not. The other possibility is that this could be a bacterial skin infection that needs an antibiotic and topical medications for treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns!

5Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on July 28th, 2018
This may be a bad hair follicle or seborrheic gland abscess or a tumor. I suggest you make an apointment with your vet who will examine your dog, remove the scab and clean the area and then be able to see what is causing this skin problem. If it is a seborrheic cyst or gland abscess or a tumor it may need to be removed surgically.
13Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on April 7th, 2018
Poor guy! This sounds and looks like it could be either an allergy or a skin parasite. Scabies is the skin parasite I'd worry about. And allergies to food or the environment (like human hay fever) are both possible. I would recommend starting with a "skin scrap" by your vet to look for parasites, and then talking about diagnosis and treatment of allergies. Good luck!!
3Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on May 26th, 2019
Unfortunately there is not much we can tell you from looking at photos. Many skin diseases present similarly with the same clinical signs. Here are some ideas of what it could be:

* mange ( very common in younger animals) - a skin scraping can help diagnose
* bacterial pyoderma ( can take weeks to months of antibiotics to clear up )
* fungal infection
* alabama rot
* auto immune disease - like pemphigus
* severe allergies
* etc.....

More testing is going to be needed to figure this out. You can't just keep trying different medications to see if anything will work. You need a diagnosis and then you will know how to treat appropriately.

I would do a skin scraping to start - if negative then I would do a skin biopsy.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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Related Questions

My dog has small red bumps, scabs, or pimples on skin. What is it?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can definitely see the small red bumps your are referring to, and agree that they appear scabbed over. This can be caused by a localized skin infection, an infestation with mites or fleas, or even an allergic reaction. It is likely that these conditions may be causing Hump to be itchy, and she may be having these scabs from scratching. A vet can perform some tests including blood work, and taking some samples from Hump's skin to figure out what is going on and prescribe an appropriate treatment plan. I hope this helps!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Why is my dog's head itchy with bumps, scabs, and hair falling out?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear Zeus is having skin issues. It does appear from the pictures that he has open sores on the top of his head. There are a variety of causes for this, such as trauma, infection (bacterial or fungal), an immune disease or a type of skin cancer. I would recommend Zeus be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his skin lesions, and start any treatment (antibiotics, anti-itch medication, anti-inflammatory) that he may need to resolve it. Good luck!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Food & Nutrition

Why does my dog have a red scabby bump on his head after new food?

Hello, and thank you for your question. The lesion in the photos may be due to a bacterial infection (abscess), fungal infection (ringworm), parasites, an underlying allergy, or a tumour if it feels like a lump underneath. Because of the multiple possible causes, I would recommend getting Moose seen by a vet within the next few days. They may recommend testing such as a skin scraping, cytology, fungal culture, or a fine needle aspirate to narrow down the diagnosis. At minimum, they can prescribe antibiotics for secondary infection, or allergy medication if he is itchy. In the meantime, I would put an e-collar (cone) on his head to prevent any further trauma. I hope this helps, and that Moose gets better soon!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

My dog has hard brown bumps on his head, but they don't bother him?

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). 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.

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My dog is losing hair and has bumps. What's wrong with his skin?

Scrappy needs to go to your veterinarian for an exam and skin scraping to determine the cause of this skin condition. It looks like a bacterial infection but he also could have mites, a fungal infection or it could be an autoimmune disease or tumors. If it's a severe bacterial infection with antibiotics and medicated baths this should improve. The longer he has these lesions the more likely the skin can become damaged and his fur may not grow back in. In addition to the skin scraping they may recommend a thyroid level test and perhaps a blood panel to check for other underlying disease. Scrappy will feel better once they get a diagnosis and the proper treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Scrappy.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Why is my puppy's skin itchy, scaly, with hair loss and bumps?

That is an understandable concern. It appears he has a very bad case of folliculitis, which can be caused by several things including a Demodexx mite infestation, a contact allergy, environmental allergy or flea allergy. He needs to first go on a good flea preventative (Nexgard, Bravecto, etc) and then have a skin scrape/cytology done to look for possible mites. He definitely needs a short course of antibiotics to treat for his current skin infection and then medication depending on the results of his skin scrape/cytology. The vet should be able to get him on the right track if the skin testing is done. I hope this helps and best wishes with Trump moving forward. I hope his skin problems resolve very soon.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Why does my dog have black, scabby bumps and hair loss on his head?

Hello and thank you for your post! From what you are describing, it sounds as if Frankie may be dealing with a skin infection. There are multiple treatments for a skin infection. I would have your vet examine Frankie in order to determine which treatments are best for him. Frankie will most likely need a course of oral antibiotics and topical treatments to resolve this. This may also be a condition known as seborrheic dermatitis. This can lead to secondary skin infections as well. A different topical treatment is needed to treat this. Again, I would have your vet examine Frankie to determine what this is in order to start the most appropriate treatment. If you are unable to get to your vet to have him seen, you can at least start a shampoo called duoxo chlorhexidine PS combination and bathe him twice weekly until the infection resolves. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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