What causes my dog's ear sores, scabs, and dry skin patches?

Skin lesions can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. I recommend making an appointment to have Opehli seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the lesions you’ve noticed and to make sure they are treated appropriately. The vet will likely want to shave the area and look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine if there is an infection and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. In the meantime, you can bathe Opehli in hypoallergenic shampoo for dogs to clean the area, and put an e-collar (cone) on Opehli to help reduce the risk of licking/scratching at the area, but this will likely not resolve the lesions. The lesion in the picture looks like it could be a "hot spot" , and will not heal if she is able to lick or scratch at it. See the link below for more information: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952981

Poor guy. I would recommend having Baxer seen by your vet for something like this. He may have an underying skin condition such as demodexx mites or a staph infection that is causing these skin lesions. His skin needs to be tested and possibly cultured to determine the underlying condition so that he receives proper treatment. I hope that your pet Baxter gets well soon. Best wishes and take care.

Although a picture of the lesions would help to determine the underlying cause, this is probably due to an allergy, but it could also be due to an infection or mites. Old age itself is unlikely to cause anything like you described. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, 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). 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.

This appears to be some sort of topical dermatitis. It can be caused by an underlying allergy, a bacterial infection or a fungal infection. You will most likely need to put a topical medication on the sores to help them clear up. You can try some triple antibiotic ointment at home and see if that helps. If not, you will need to take Chico to see your veterinarian. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Lesions in the picture have several potential causes including mange, a skin infection or allergies. Bathing Mojah may be helpful; however, if the lesions are caused by mange or a skin infection he will likely need additional treatment. If the lesions are not improving, are becoming worse or if Mojah is not feeling well, he should be seen by a veterinarian. They may perform a skin scraping and or cytology of the skin to get a better idea of what is causing the lesions.

Daisy may be having an allergic reaction. Allergies can be to contact with a substance, fleas, food or environmental. Sometimes dogs can get a random infection. I would search her closely for fleas. Topical flea products can still allow fleas to live long enough to cause a reaction. Oral flea products are much better because the fleas die faster. Otherwise, I would take her into the vet for treatment (since it sounds like she has many lesions). Likely these are bacterial in nature but they are circular so ringworm (which humans can get) is always a potential. Once treatment is completed, watch Daisy for reoccurrence. If it comes back, then you start looking more closely at allergies. I hope this helps.

It's hard to know the cause of those marks without a physical exam to look for other clues. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having him wear an elizabethan collar at all times if he is trying to scratch or rub the area. If they do not start improving after 1 week or if they start getting worse, have him examined by the veterinarian. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.