# Scabs on head and neck...but no scratching



## BearsMom

The past two days I've noticed a couple of scabs on Bear's head and neck. He hasn't been scratching a lot though so I have no idea where scabs would have come from. He is also up to date with flea/ tick meds....there seem to be a couple more scabs tonight than this morning.

Since I'm paranoid about his health, it's off to the vet tomorrow for a Sunday visit. Anyone have any ideas about this though? 

He eats Blue puppy food which has no fillers or wheat and gets filtered water (and yes, some table food). 

I'm perplexed.... And worried :/


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## Tom King

He has a flea or two. Some fleas this time of year have become immune to the flea stuff. If you bathe him, and soak him good in a bin of soapy water, you'll find a dead flea in the water. They stay around the head to get moisture from the eyes, so soap his head up good with baby shampoo or something tearless. Soap will kill the flea.


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## TilliesMom

Hello! 

When I read your post, seriously, I had to do a double take... pretty sure I wrote this exact post about a year and a half ago.
Here's our 'story'...

In late April (2011) I noticed Tillie had what looked like maybe a scratch. I thought perhaps one of the cats had gotten her or something. I trimmed around it and put neosporin on it. It healed up! yay! Then I noticed another one about a week later. There was no explanation and within 3 weeks, the backs of her ear flaps were crusted over with these weird scab things... she had them all over her chest and the top of her head. She never scratched any of them. Some people suggested it might be a flea allergy though, although no flea/s were ever found even though I was bathing her every few days at that point, in case... My (stupid) DH didn't want me to take her in, but of course I did. He thought it was something that would just 'go away' on it's own... So, I took her in, the vet did scrappings of the sores on her ear flaps to see if it was mange, mites or some other parasite. Nothing showed up. At this point he estimated she had well over 100 of these sores. So, his next step was to do blood work. His theory at the time was that it was allergies to what she was eating (Taste of the Wild Prairie formula). He said that her body was pushing out the 'toxins' much like a teenager does who has acne. The scabs were what he called "pustules". So he drew blood (a.lot. and Tillie is WHITE. they had to ask me to leave the room. lol) and sent it in for allergy testing.
The result? Massive food allergies. Tillie was discovered to be allergic to Chicken, duck, turkey, apples, carrots, berries, all fish except Salmon, oats, barley, eggs, and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head. Tillie was 9 months old.

So, the Dr actually gave her a prescription for something (do not remember what it was) that helped the sores heal up without getting infected and the allergy test results came back a week later. He was the one that started me homecooking with his recipie and then I went through Sabine who has been highly recommended many times here on the forum and she tweaked the recipie here and there and we found something that works long term for her. I have been home cooking for a year and a 1/2 now. I have 2 school age kids and a job, yet I make the time to do what is best for Tillie.  

I COULD have chosen to keep her on a kibble that she WAS able to eat, but I figured it would be better for Tillie and actually cheaper in the long run to home cook. I DO have a bag of kibble she CAN have in the pantry and I give it to her about once a week for 1 meal, so just in case something ever happens and I am unable to cook for her, she will still be able to eat. 

Hope my story gave you some hope and I hope the vet can help you figure out what is going on with your sweet baby and that he is on the mend SOON!


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## BearsMom

Tammy, I did end up seeing your post last night right after I posted this! Talk about coincidences. I'm really not sure what to make of it yet. Bear doesn't sound like he has nearly as many scabs as Tillie did but that could be because this is just the beginning of it. I probably would have thought that it was a flea bite but he really hasn't been scratching...esp. not at his head. He had a bath Friday night, with the same gentle puppy shampoo that I've used since I got him (with no other reactions) so I'll mention that to the vet as well. 
I'll keep you posted! visit is in an hour 

-Dana


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## TilliesMom

so, how did it go??
Ya, Tillie didn't have many scabs in the begining, it was over a 3-6 week period that it went from one to LOTS... 
Hoping for good news!!


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## BearsMom

Well....I think it went ok....I'm not 100% sure though. They looked at his scabs and we discussed Bear's habits (not scratching a lot, up to date on flea meds, heartworm meds, etc). The doctor really thought, that he either scratched himself too harshly or maybe on one of his many walks in the woods (with my mother) he got caught on something. He did point out, that the scabs go in a straight line, which is something that I didn't notice. They told me to keep an eye on them, but then while we were there, we discussed the fact that Bear has been sneezing and has some eye discharge (which I thought was fairly normal for him) so he wanted to rule out mild bronchitis and put him on an anti-biotic and gave him a steroid shot. So....what I went in concerned about took a back seat to the bronchitis. They did tell me that if the scabs don't heal or I notice more, to bring him back in. Now I'm hoping that he doesn't react poorly to the anti-biotic!


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## TilliesMom

interesting! well, hopefully the antibiotics clear it up and he doesn't have any more issues!


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## BearsMom

Well, I've decided to get a second opinion. Poor Bear, his scabs are still there and he is itching more than before :/
I bathed him this evening using an anti itch shampoo and it still didn't help....then when he was drying, he was biting at his paw and I noticed that he had bit open a small area. That was my final straw....the appt is already made for tomorrow at 3....I hope this dr listens to my input more closely than the last!


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## TilliesMom

oh man, I am so sorry to read this! Poor bear!! I hope that your vet can help him today!!


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## BearsMom

Thanks Tammy! This 2nd vet seemed much more thorough with listening to my concerns and checking Bear out. He also believes that Bear never even had bronchitis at all. He read Bear's records and did a head to toe check over on him. I immediately felt a little better when he said that he looks very happy and healthy. He looked at the scabs and actually saw a little raised area on his belly and explained that he believes it is a bacterial infection. He said it's common in puppies because their immune systems aren't where they need to be yet, but it's not so common in adult dogs. Bear is now on a 20 day anti biotic and specialized shampoo. I also VERY much liked that the vet tech was AWESOME with Bear and he didn't seem scared at all. The last place he was shaking and hiding behind me. So I am now trying the new medicine and hopefully this will be in the past. The dr. also said that he would be calling me on Wed. to follow up and check on Bear's progress w/ the meds. 
I really liked the doctor so I hope his diagnosis is correct. Again, time will tell.


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## Tom King

Great news!


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