Scaly and Black Dog Skin Bumps

Our dog is a 6yr old cocker spanial and just in the last 6 months he started to get these bumps all over his body. At first they are kind of sticky and then they get dry and scaley. He doesn't really lose his hair from this.

We have had him to 3 different vets and nothing seems to help. He had a ear infection but have that cleared up. We are at witts end and do not have the money to keep going to vets.


Vet Suggestion Scaly and Black Dog Skin Bumps


Hi,

I’m afraid the list of potential diseases that cause symptoms like you describe is very long, and, as you have unfortunately found out, coming to a definitive diagnosis can be difficult. If your dog were my patient, I would start the diagnostic process with a physical exam, and then, unless the answer was obvious (e.g., fleas), I’d move on to a skin scraping to look for mites, skin cytology to check for infection, and then a fungal culture for ringworm.

The test for ringworm can take two or three weeks to complete, so while we were waiting for those results I would treat for anything that I diagnosed with the other tests, perhaps prescribe a broad spectrum parasiticide like Revolution to deal with some of the mites that can be hard to find on skin scrapings, and pursue any other leads that I might have.

If the fungal culture came back negative and your dog was still not better, we’d have to consider additional diagnostic tests like skin biopsies, a hypoallergenic food trial, or environmental allergy testing. If you are not getting the answers you need from general practice veterinarians, an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist may be the quickest, and in the end least expensive, way to go.



Good luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM