# ears ... scabby or a little crusty?



## reedgrl1 (Oct 3, 2005)

Okay, I tried to do a search before I asked this but all I came up with is piercing and pig ears, lol! 
Max has what look to be scabby spots or areas on the inside top part of his ears. My daughter noticed it yesterday and I took note today. Not way down in his ear cavity but on the top. Anyone know what this could be? We've had foster dogs before who have been recovering from infections or who have had mites down inside their ears but we've had Max awhile and his ears have never been an issue. He's been to the vet recently and the ears were never mentioned.
Any ideas?
Also do you guys bathe your dogs? Max has never smelled before but suddenly smells tiny bit big doggy .... is it bath time??
Thanks!
Tamara


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

The ear thing could possibly be mites? I know that I have heard that crusty ears can be a sign. 

As for bathing yes some people feel a need to bathe their chis more often than others. If you feel a need to bathe then it should be fine as long as you use some sort of oatmeal shampoo or something that wont dry out their skin. I usually use bath cloths myself and you can get these and dry shampoo products at most any pet place. Hope this helps :wave:


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## PB&J'sMom (Jul 19, 2005)

Im not trying to scare you...the tops of ears being crusty can actually come from vaccines...I forget which one...But it has something to do with the circulation. If it doesnt go away with topical treatment....you may want to ask your vet about it.


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## Chico's Mama (May 22, 2005)

Chico has tiny little scabby parts on the very tip top of his ears on the inside. The last time we were at the vet, I asked her to take a look at it, and she said he was fine. He doesnt have mites or anything and it doesn't seem to be bothering him and he's had it for as long as I can remember.


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

Yes I have read about the vaccine reaction to ears and I also know about the mite causing crusty ears. Yoshis ears have been crusty looking on the outside tips of his ears for months and the vet said he had no mites and it was nothing as well? I noticed it after his first and only bath and I thought it could possibly be just sensitive ears and dry skin


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## Roxys Mom (Apr 13, 2005)

The problem could stem from the rabies vaccine. It took me over 2 years to find a vet who knew what the problem was. Roxy has this problem and was given a topical medication that did not work for her. She was them put on a medication called pentoxyfilene (sp?) and it took about 6 months of twice daily dosages to fix the problem in her ears. She had scabs on the upper part of the pinnae and crusting/flaking on the edges of the ears. The hair was falling out around the edges too. She has since be taken off the meds and only has scarring on her ears. The medication did not help the area of hair loss where the vaccine was given it's been about a year since her last rabies and the hair is just now starting to grow back in. My vet will not be giving her the rabies vac again. PB&J's mom is right, the problem is due to lack of circulation. The blood vessels constrict and oxygen isn't flowing to the upper area of the ears since those vessels are sooo small. The medication will help the red blood cells become pliable so they can work their way through the constricted vessels and deliver the oxygen. I would definitely have a vet check to make sure it isn't mites first. I first noticed this problem with Roxy about 6 months after her rabies vac and we started treating her for allergies, then she received her booster (before we knew what was causing the problem). About 30 days after her booster, which was the 3 year rabies, the problem presented itself again. Hope this helps!


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## reedgrl1 (Oct 3, 2005)

Max did have a rabies vac when he went in to be neutered a few weeks ago. I've never heard of this allergy ... can someone explain more to me? I called the vet a little while ago but they were out to lunch so I'll try later and hopefully get him in today. It is way worse today then it was a few days ago. Also, one of his ears just flops over instead of standing up and that's new too ... kind of weird :!: 
Thanks,
Tamara


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## Roxys Mom (Apr 13, 2005)

Do you have pictures that you can post? I can look and see if the problem is like Roxys.


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## reedgrl1 (Oct 3, 2005)

I lost my digital camera last week at Fleet Week  
It's strange though ... one side is now like a scab that's been picked and is a little raw ... the other looks like little blisters under the thin ear skin. Scratching irritates it ... I did put neosporin on it but I think at this point he absolutely has to see the vet!


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## Roxys Mom (Apr 13, 2005)

I agree. What part of N. Cal are you in? I can give you the name of the vet that diagnosed Roxy if you want.


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## TuckersMom (Jun 29, 2004)

Tucker was losing the hair along the edges of his ears several months ago. I took him to the vet who said that it was called "Ear Margin Dermatosis." Neosprin was the prescribed treatment, but Tucker doesn't let us fool with his ears --- well, he doesn't let us fool with them if we've got any thoguhts about medicating them! :shock: So I just left them alone. It got worse before it got better over a period of months, but then it seemed that overnight it was resolved and all the hair was back.  Of course I did pray for my little buddy's ears every day till they were well, too. :wink:


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## reedgrl1 (Oct 3, 2005)

Hi Roxy's mom ... I'm about 50 min south of you if you're in Sacramento.
Did Roxy sleep a lot and feel gross when you discovered the problem, or when it first cropped up? Max feels lousy ... I can tell. Our vet isn't in until wed this week  so he has to wait to see her.


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## Roxys Mom (Apr 13, 2005)

No. Roxy didn't act any differently. No itching, scratching or anything that would lead you to believe that this was anything more than allergy related. Her hair loss started at the vaccination site and when she started to lose the hair around the rim of her ear we started her on Benedryl every 6 hours thinking it was just allergies but when she started to get these scabs on the tips of her ears I really got worried and we started to look at the problem more aggressively. Apparently the problem Roxy had is new in the small dog breed and not alot of vets are familiar with it. I have been trying to remember the clinical name they gave it but for the life of me I can't. But not to worry, if it ends up being the same thing it is easily treatable and not life threatening. Good Luck!


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## ittychichilover (Feb 10, 2013)

This is exactly what happened to my chi, Ziggy! It is called margin vasculitis and the vet got him pentoxifylline in the dosage appropriate for his weight. The problem went away after he took the meds! She said it is very common in chi's and another small breed that I can't remember. Good luck!


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

We get that a lot here in Oz during summer from fly bites, but that wouldn't be it because you guys are in winter.


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## KittyD (Apr 2, 2010)

Oh! this happened to my Poodle years ago, I attributed it to his scratching he had floppy ears and in the summer they would bother him, so we always kept the wool pulled out of them.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

We had a girl who came to us with the same scabby/crusty ear tips. Hers was 100% allergy related. A couple months on raw & she was cleared right up.


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