# Black scabs on tips of ears



## jjv3189

Baxter always gets these black scabs at the tips of his ears, sometimes they get infected..I was told he was scratching his ears and to put neosporin on them and I do.. It heals them but they always come back. What could this be? Should I just bring him to the vet?


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## glyndwr

I had this prob with my Chi too, but he has hairless ears `Blue` the vet gave me a supply of omega 3 & 6 oils in capsule form, hes been on these 2 months now and its cleared up and his skin is lovely, 
Hope this helps..


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## 2Cheese

Could be dry due to the weather. Mia had this happen one winter. I havent had the problem since supplementing with an Omega 3 like the previous poster stated.


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## ExoticChis

could it be mites? or perhaps fleas?


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## MChis

Maya's ears were extreamely scabby when we brought her home (she was previously owned by a young lady). All it took to clear them up was a change in diet. I don't know for sure what she was fed before but I am 99.9% sure it was a poor quality food filled with corn & other fillers. And we switched her to prey model raw as soon as we brought her home. They cleared up within a month. So I'm going to say it's a possibility your pup has some kind of food allergy.


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## Brodysmom

I would probably have a vet look at him. There is a fungal/yeast infection that can cause black scabby ears. It's common in yorkies. Also mites can cause that symptom as Manda pointed out. As well as food allergies as Heather stated.

If neosporin isn't working, I'd take him to the vet for a skin scraping and diagnosis.


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## Ember

I'd go see the vet about a skin scraping too.
When our rescue, Stottie came to us he had horrid scabby ears that smelled funky and had clumps of black/grey scabs and hair falling off leaving him with sore, pink, bald patches. I got the vet to check them out as we thought it could be either Demodex (skin mites) or Ear Margin Vasculitis which can be pretty nasty for the poor dog.
Fortunately Stottie's problem turned out to be Ear Margin Dermatosis which cleared up quickly with a daily wash with vet formula tea tree shampoo. 
I now only shampoo his ears with the prescription stuff once a month when he has his usual bath and when it runs out, I'll just buy some pet store tea tree shampoo just to make sure it never comes back.
We never did find the cause of it but i strongly suspect the problem was the poor diet Stottie was on previously. He now eats raw three/four times a week and Orijen kibble the rest of the time.


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