What causes weeping scabs and raw, itchy skin on my dog's ears?

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. In young dogs like Bowie and based on the description you provided, one common cause can be infection by mites that can live in the hair follicles and lead to hair loss, and secondary bacterial and fungal infections that can develop. I recommend making an appointment to have Bowie 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 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 Bowie in hypoallergenic shampoo for dogs to clean the area, but this will likely not resolve the lesions.

It’s possible Jaxon may have mange or a bacterial skin infection. Oral flea/tick preventatives such as Nexgard, Bravecto or Simparica that you can often get from vaccines clinics such as vippetcare.com or Vetco.com will treat mange. Topical neosporin cream twice daily for 10-14 days may help with bacterial infections although prescription steroid/antibiotic/anti fungal ointment from you vet will likely work much better. If the lesions do not improve within 1-2 weeks of giving Nexgard and applying neosporin twice daily, a trip to your vet for in person assessment /diagnostics is recommended. There is also a possibility that Jaxon may have a fungal skin infection which is transmissible to humans. For this reason and others, if you are able to bring him to the vet for an assessment, it is best! Good luck!

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.

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.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria or fungal). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics or antifungal meds (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection can possibly be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar is useful as well to avoid any scratching (as you have used). 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.

I would recommend doing testing on the ears to find out what is causing the scabs. If your pet is outside a lot, then flea bites are possible and it is recommended to purchase flea bite repellent at your local pet store to start, followed by topical triple antibiotic to get the scabs to heal. If your pet is kept mostly indoors, two common causes of this are demodexx mites or a yeast infection. Also another condition called ear margin vasculitis could be the cause. Ear margin vasculitis is a spontaneous condition where the vessels at the ear tip margin become inflamed creating a scabby appearance to the skin. Since all 3 of these look very similar it is important to get testing done in the form of a skin scrape/cytology and/or skin biopsy because each is treated so differently and it takes out a lot of the guess-work. Therefore scheduling an appointment with your vet is needed for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Poor Wyatt! I'm glad to hear that he's heading to the vet tomorrow. The scabs on his skin could be a result of a bacterial or fungal skin infection (these often occur with underlying allergies), ringworm, or mange. Any of these issues can worsen until necessary medication is started. Allergies can occur to flea bites, food, or environmental sensitivities. Make sure that Wyatt is receiving a high quality flea and tick preventative, such as Nexgard, Bravecto, or K9 Advantix II. Tomorrow, your vet will be able to perform any necessary diagnostic tests, such as a skin cytology (to look for signs of bacterial or yeast overgrowth), skin scrape (to check for mites causing mange), or a fungal culture (to check for ringworm). From there, oral and/or topical medications can be started to help resolve this issue. I hope that all goes well!