Black scabs on dog?

Question

My dog has what look like black scabs on his body. They are not on his belly or legs. Just on his head, ears & back. He does have allergies & I was giving him an antihistimine & steroid but ran out & never had it refilled so he went about 3 weeks without it. I recently started giving him Benedryl again. Took him to the vet but vet has no clue what it is so prescribed him a 500 mg cephalexin (steroid) 3x per day & told to increase the mg of Benydryl & watch him. Vet said steroid may make it heal slower, but should help any discomfort. She said nothing about mange & I've seen pictures of this and it doesn't look like mange. He doesn't have fleas either. Could the allergies cause the skin to get sores & scab? She also said to bathe him in the medicated shampoo we have.

Ahh....okay..thanks for clearing up that he's on an antiobotic! My husband is the one who took him and he told me it was a steroid! LOL The vet said to watch him and see if it clears up over the next few days and if not to take him back in. He doesn't spend a lot of time outdoors. Usually just out to potty and back in. Occasionally he will sit out in the sun with the other dog.

I will continue to monitor him over the next few days though.

Dried blood makes sense. That they look like. They are not round though, they are mostly long and thin. I know it's not from him biting himself though cause some are on his head and ear. He could be scratching himself though. I'm going to give him a bath tonight with medicated shampoo and hopefully some of the scabs will clear off. And with the antibiotic & benedryl he'll hopefully start to heal. He does have very dry skin.

Answer 1

I can't tell what the scabs are without seeing it in person, but I can tell you that Cephalexin is not a steroid, but an antibiotic instead.

Answer 2

Black Scabs On Dog

Answer 3

Cephalexin is an antibiotic, not a steroid. Sounds like a skin infection, secondary to some kind of insult like parasites or allergies. The steroid, usually prednisone, is to stop the itching so the skin can heal. When they scratch at themselves, they damage the skin and it becomes infected--usually a staph infection, which is normally found on skin. Medicated shampoos can help a lot by stripping off the old dead skin and crusts. Leave it on at least 5 minutes, then rinse well. It doesn't sound like mange but the vet should have done a skin scraping just to rule it out anyway. :)

Answer 4

He could be chewing on himself, the scabs are obviously blood. How big are the scabs? if they are the size of a quarter or larger, then your dog is definatly chewing on himself. My dog has skin allergies, but they aren't severe. Keep a close eye on your pooch!! you may have to get an elizabeth colllar for him. The reason your vet didn't mention mange is probably cuz he doesn't have mange.

Answer 5

Could be blood from fleas. posslibly FAD ( Flea allergy dermatitis) which is inflamtion and hair loss of flea bites. I would have him go checked out if this worsens. In the mean time try the confortis flea pill that has worked wonders for my dog. Even though u dont see them they do still bite and might die if youve been treating him. Same things going on with my dog. Put some neosporin on the spots and treat him with the confortis pill and see if that helps. Also, dont try and bath him more than once every 2weeks this will dry out his skin even more and make it more irritated. If you do bath him, bathe him in a good oatmeal shampoo for dogs. Good luck

Answer 6

I'm having the same problem with my two dogs right now, but they are getting bit by flies. Their ears are the worst area with lots of little scabs all over them. It sounds like the same thing. I can't find a product that works for my dogs so I've started putting them inside more.

Answer 7

The best thing a dog owner can do is buy 3 books one

1) on vet med
2) on training
3) on the breed you have

This is your best help.
You will get a lot of wrong answers here-but some are good

Answer 8

Is your dog outside alot? did you ever think of the possibility of flies eating at her? they target that area on a dog, they sell ointments at the pet store for fly bites, go to another vet,

Answer 9

I'd agree with the other person answering, it sounds like a fly infestation to me and I'd most certainly try another vet.

Answer 10

try this, get an orange, take off the pee, chop up the peel ,and mix with some Vaseline rub it on your dog,after you have cleaned the ears ,

black is just dry ed blood,,