MS with crusty sore tips on ears

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Stan Lee
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MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Stan Lee »

Hi all, I'm new to this, so please go easy on me. No barking.

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me shed some light on a sore problem that my 11month old mini schnauzer Stanley is having.

For the past month he has developed crusty sores on the tips of his ears. He has been shaking his head a lot and scratching his ears and neck. The strange thing is that they are in exactly the same place on each ear. He's also very quiet and doesn't even bark when someone's at the door. He used to be very vocal.

He's been to the vets and been checked for mites, but nothing there. He's had 2 courses of antibiotics and steroid tablet to stop the scratch and infection. Stanley's had his ears plucked and washed out, but still no improvement.

He has now seen a dermatologist and has had bios of ears and still no explanations in the results. He's had blood tests and should get results in next couple of days.

My only thought is that he could have been allergic to the food he was on. We changed him from Royal Canin sensitive to Burns about 2 months ago, but have now changed him back to RC to see if there is any improvement. Only changed his diet because of cost.

Any fellow schnauzer owners had a food allergy reaction like this before?

Be great to hear your thought.

Thanks
SL
stacyr
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by stacyr »

Yes I've had problems with skin and food. Due to other problems I had to put Ozzie on hills prescription so I out Charlie on it too so it was easier. Charlie developed a severe skin problem but it was on his feet, he would lick them constantly he had steroids and biopsies and nothing cleared it up. I was convinced it was the food so I went raw food and my goodness it has cleared up brilliantly. It's so hard to pinpoint with allergies it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. I hope you get it sorted soon :-)
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by zeta1454 »

If a dog develops allergies, sensitivities or dermatitis type problems it is best to try to minimise chemicals in their environment or in any product you might use on their coat or skin. Food should be as little processed as possible and many people do find these kind of issues clear when moving a dog to a raw diet.

Check out the All About Dog Food website for detailed information on the quality and content of hundreds of different types of dog food:
http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hopefully the blood tests may shed some light on the problem and it may be worth speaking to Stanley's breeder in case they can offer any advice or information regarding Stanley's family members health.

Genetics, environment and diet can all contribute to the likelihood of allergies and sensitivities in dogs as well as people and it is also known that vaccines can cause allergies in humans and dogs even without a prior genetic problem.:

http://www.smartvax.com/index.php?optio ... icle&id=90" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck and I hope you can resolve Stanley's problem very soon :)
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by BeeBee »

I'd say go for the raw feeding option if you suspect allergies and your vets have ruled out other causes like infestation etc. You've nothing really to lose and a lot to gain as with a raw food diet it's simply that: unprocessed food, not full of processed chemicals, denatured foods, additives etc. There are many good quality prepared raw meal options now if you don't want to free-style and make your own.
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Morgana99 »

This can also happen with mange, but as you've been to the vet and had tests done, also as its only on his ears, it would be very unlikely this is Stanley's problem. However, I'll mention it, just in case. We lived in Italy at one time in a built up area that was rife with urban foxes. Both our poor dogs at the time developed sarcoptic mange & I remember they had sore, crusty places all around the rims of their ears (& other places). We had to regularly bathe them with a vile smelling shampoo. It is a horrible condition & I believe it still occurs in UK in areas frequented by foxes.
How is Stanley? Are you making any progress?
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Stan Lee
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Stan Lee »

Thanks everyone for the replies.
Stanley's blood test came back AOK. The vet wants to take a small biopsy of his ear tip, but we are going to wait on this as we still think it's an allergy to the food we changed him to. They told me that it can take 3 months for the food to get out of his system. I don't want to keep putting him through anymore prodding and pocking just yet. They tested for mange and that was negative. Fingers and paws crossed we get to the bottom of this soon.

Thanks
SL.
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Morgana99 »

Stan Lee wrote:Thanks everyone for the replies.
Stanley's blood test came back AOK. The vet wants to take a small biopsy of his ear tip, but we are going to wait on this as we still think it's an allergy to the food we changed him to. They told me that it can take 3 months for the food to get out of his system. I don't want to keep putting him through anymore prodding and pocking just yet. They tested for mange and that was negative. Fingers and paws crossed we get to the bottom of this soon.

Thanks
SL.
Good luck and do post an update when you have one :-bd
Horace, Bearded Collie X, rescued 1984, left us 1993, aged 15 approx
Eric, Bearded Collie, left us 2002, aged 15.5
Elsie (Vowchurch Belinda Black), Beardie, rescued 1988, left us 2000, aged 13.5
Monty, Patterdale Terrier X, rescued 2003, left us 2012, aged 12 approx
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Stan Lee
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Stan Lee »

Update on Stanley. His ears are still crusty but slightly better. Bad thing is that he has now lost the hair around his neck on both sides and I've also noticed a patch developing on the top of his head. The other day I was looking him over and a clump of his hair came out on his neck. There's no infection there. At the end of the hair follicles there is a white crusting. We took him back to the vets and they still ruled out mange, I'm still not convinced. Time to try another vets.

We are slowly introducing him to a raw diet as a lot of people have mentioned the allergy problems with some food. The vet wasn't keen on us doing this.

I've been in contact with breeder and there's nothing similar that has happened from the other litter.

I'm at a loss of what to do next, poor fella.

Thanks
SL
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Susan H »

I agree totally with Alison' s earlier comment re Fox mange. My old dog Bertie had similar symptoms as your dog and mange was also ruled out, it was only when I took him back again and the vet looked at his skin again under microscope and then referred to one of his books he said it was definitely a mange that foxes get. Like Alison we also had to sponge him down fully working it into his skin (not bath him) daily in what I can only describe as "sheep dip" obviously I am not a farmer and in fact have never been near a sheep :D but that's the only way I can describe it. It absolutely stank :ymsick: but within a couple of days it started to heal very very rapidly and it had completely gone by the end of 2 weeks. Not saying that this is what your little chap has got but my vet who is very experienced said that this fox mange does not show up in most of the tests for the more common dog mange, so perhaps worth mentioning to your vet just in case. Hope he improves soon.
Toby, Standard Poodle 1983 - 1999, Bertie, Cocker Spaniel 1999 - 2012, Dorothy BS Mini Schnauzer Sept 2012
Birk
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Birk »

Stan Lee how is your dog doing? I have a 8 month old Giant Schnauzer and she has the same issue as your dog. I am thinking of changing the diet but want to know what was your out come. Thanks
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by jacdales »

I had an airedale many years ago that showed similar symptoms the vets tested (biopsies) several times. He ended up looking so moth eaten people would pick their dogs up and cross the road when they saw us. The vet said it was more luck if the actually found the mites in a biopsy as they could be anywhere. We had to pint the solution all over him ( he was given a very short hair cut) He did eventually get better and out other dog was perfectly fine during the same period. I have had huge issues with Elle our welsh terrier and she was put on a single protein exclusion diet for 4 weeks to see if it was food. She could have duck or venison and sweet potato. I found natures choice did a venison and potato in frozen cubes so it was easy to portion out. She is a lot better but we have to avoid fish and chicken and a lot of the fillers found in dried food. I now get Bella and Duke delivered once a month. It's frozen and I can choose what proteins to give her.
I hope you get to the root of the problem .
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Doverbird »

Ted, 8yrs Old has exactly the same problem as Stanley!
Vets are stumped and don’t seem to want to address the problem...
Can I ask, does he also have, or does anyone else have a similar sort of crustyness around his thick whisker hair right beneath his k9’s ( or however you spell it) on lower jaw? Ted shows the same crustyness on identical sidehis mouth as on his ears!
The ears thing is again identical like a butterfly!
My stupid vet suggested that it was his diamanté collar when shaking his head that does it !!!
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by zeta1454 »

Doverbird wrote:Ted, 8yrs Old has exactly the same problem as Stanley!
Vets are stumped and don’t seem to want to address the problem...
Can I ask, does he also have, or does anyone else have a similar sort of crustyness around his thick whisker hair right beneath his k9’s ( or however you spell it) on lower jaw? Ted shows the same crustyness on identical sidehis mouth as on his ears!
The ears thing is again identical like a butterfly!
My stupid vet suggested that it was his diamanté collar when shaking his head that does it !!!
I have no experience of these symptoms with any of our dogs but as a general rule, if you have no definite diagnosis from the vet, I would look at minimising or preferably eliminating Ted's exposure to chemicals that damage the immune system (flea / worming treatments / vaccines) and moving to a minimally processed or raw diet. You could also take Ted for a consultation with a holistic / homeopathic vet who will have a broader look at the issues involved and a different approach to tackling them.

As suggested in previous posts above, mange is a definite possibility with this kind of skin problem and thyroid issues are another possible cause of hair loss and skin sores. However, if you trust your vet to have carried out the relevant tests to rule out these kind of problems, reducing Ted's exposure to potential allergens or substances that can damage the immune system may be helpful.

Good luck and let us know if you do find a cause / cure :)
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by jacdales »

There is an excellent homeopathic /skin specialist vet in Saffron Waldon I took Elle there. I also have Elle on Apoquel just to get her through the itch phase originally and had intended to wean her of it but every time I stop she gets significantly worse. She is 12 and had skin issues for nearly all her life. Raw diet and the pills seem to be working and she is almost normal.
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Re: MS with crusty sore tips on ears

Post by Michlynnh »

I was so happy to find someone else who’s dog has dealt with these matching scabby sores on their ears. I have done so much searching.

Has anyone found a solution?

Mine has been on antibiotics, ointments, and anti fungal foam, and has not gotten any better. I would love to find a solution for my little man.

Thank you!


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