pimple type "things" - itching
Submitted by mackNme on March 10, 2011 - 6:39pmHello!
My name is Cait and I just recently (a week and a half ago) purchased a male English bulldog pup (12 weeks old) who we named Mack.
I would first like to admit that I show/breed Persians and Himalayans. We have battled ringworm off and on for a year and a half but with the help of my vet, we have worked on a treatment plan to keep things under control. The "culprit" we feel is a stud cat I purchased from Nevada (who infact brought the ringworm here). Despite my best efforts, his immune system is very poor and so I am having him neutered and attempting to find him an only pet house hold to go to. My vet and I both feel that after he leaves, we will likely be able to eradicate the ringworm for good. Currently, we appear "clear" but with ringworm you just never know when it will pop up. I have only one of our cats (the stud cat) on oral medication and bath the rest weekly with antifungal shampoo.
So, now back to my question about Mack. When he arrived I noticed scabs on his cheeks and I did confront the breeder who said without hesitation that it was due to his siblings playing with him. I was not completely convinced so asked him right out if they had any history with fungus, fleas or mites. His answer was no. I also noticed that the hair behind his ears was thinned out and he had a few tiny scabs there as well as "scratch" scabs on a few places on his body (as if he had cut himself with his nails, which I guessed was truly due to him playing with his litter mates). He also had some red pimple type things on his abdomen. I brought Mack home and immediately gave him a bath with Health Guard Shampo and deep cleaning shampoo as he stunk pretty bad. I applied Imaverol to the scabs on his cheeks. His scabs (after bath number two) went away completely. I applied Revolution and checked his ears for mites (no evidence of mites). I slowly switched his food from Iams Puppy to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Formula for the omega fatty acids (and incase he maybe had an allergy of some sort to his food). He has been eating the Taste of the Wild for a week now.
He seems to be getting pimple type things (raised "bumps" - pink in colour) that become itchy. They are quite hard. He scratches them, which results in them scabbing up. Of course, the first thing I suspect is ringworm (despite the fact that he has only been here for 10 days and I have treated him topically for this). However, I don't recall the cats having any pimples forming before developing lesions. Plus, normally the area is completely void of hair whereas with Mack, there is only not hair directly over the "pimple".
I am hoping that some one may be able to shed some light ont he situation. I thought that maybe this issue is more common then I think?
Thanks so much!
Cait
Some Thoughts
They do get scabbys and such on their face from the other puppies chewing on them. If he was stinky then I'm guessing he was not kept clean and he may have a slight staph infection. Staph can manifest itself as little pimply bumps. You could have a pimple scraped and cultured to determine for sure.
I would also watch for possible demodex mange. If you notice the hair coming out or being very easy to pull out then you may want to have him scraped and tested.
Then there is a possibility the Salmon is not agreeing with him. It could be too high in protein as well. I have a dog that got horrible staph from TOTW Salmon.
I would definitely not give his Rabies at 16 weeks.
I would boost his immune system with some supplements.
I would hold off before starting antiobiotics to see if his system can manage without them.
Sometimes I think we over medicate and don't allow the system to do what it is intended to do.
Agree
totally with Deb. I was thinking staph or possibly demodex. Wanted to add that you should definitely wait until he is healthy before you neuter him.
pipmlw type things
I have been battling this with my five. They look like hives that come out on their belly, ther are hard lumps, then they bliser and open and then become crusty. Mine are now on hypoallergenic food, no treats, antibiotics, and I am bathing them three times a week. My vet just told me to make a mixture of three tablespoons of bleach and 6 tablesppons of white vinegar in a gallon of water rinse the dogs in theis three times a week for a month. One of the dogs was put on prenisone because she had such terrible lesions on her face. They cleared up fine in two days and she lloks great. I don't know what htis is but you aren't the only one. It's got ot be something environmental that's bothering them.