I found some small bumps on my dogs skin and I was wondering if anyone can tell me what they might be. They area about a millimeter in diameter and have brown crust on the top of them. He has quite a few. Some around his neck, some down his back and some around the hind legs. They are not entirely clustered. Some are surrounded by others and some are single. My gut feeling is that something may be biting him - but what? If not, what else could it be?

-- Tiffani (cappello@alltel.net), January 01, 2002

Answers

What breed of dog do you have? Sounds like the same type of bumps that our mini schnauzer gets. They've never seemed to bother her but some will be more boil like and actually puss and open up. I put hydrogen peroxide on them. The vet said that mini schanuzers are prone to these bumps and that they are not harmful. If they seem to bother your dog I would have them looked at by a vet or someone well experienced.

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), January 01, 2002.

Some other terrier breeds also get that skin condition as well...can't remember what the official name for it is, but it rather looks like blackheads under the skin. If you force the gunk out with your thumbnails, it's thick and black. Washing the affected area (most usually seen down the spine and on the top of the tail) with a benzoyl peroxide shampoo is supposed to help as well.

Then there are skin papillomas, which vary in size and are sort of like a little cauliflower-like wart on top of the skin. These bleed readily too if bumped into, or sometimes just seem to develop crusty tops on their own too. They are a benign skin condition, unsightly more than injurious, although ones that get very large may be best surgically removed as they can bleed quite profusely if bumped.

I have also seen some odd, slightly raised brownish bumps on the skin of white haired dogs that scrape off with a nail too that later vanish all on their own.

Lots of strange little mystery bumps that they can get.

-- julie f (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), January 02, 2002.

goose bumbs?

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 02, 2002.

Is he itching? Sounds like scabbies, sarcoptic mange. Paramite dip is for this, a dip every 2 weeks for 6 times. Or Revelution, the drops on the neck, twice will clear it up. If he is older than 3 months, you can use Happy Jack dip also, and it'll get rid of it. Paramite you have to get from the vet, Happy Jack you can find at feed stores or TSC.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), January 02, 2002.

Tiffani, try adding a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder to his feed for a month and see if that helps. The garlic will repel biting insects and also acts as a healing agent for the skin and coat from the sulfur compounds it contains.

It also could be a food allergy, try feeding a diet that is completely free of corn products (including corn gluten meal) for a month as well, read the labels thoroughly at a larger pet store ( Pet Supplies Plus carries several) to find a food without corn in it. Corn is a frequent cause of skin and coat reactions in dogs.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 02, 2002.

No,no,no. Stan, it's a dog, not a goose, you silly goose! (Talk about species confusion!)

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), January 02, 2002.

I have noticed the same thing on my dog too. Like little bumps with a brown crust on them. She's itchy too and biting on her belly. I'm thinking it's probably fleas though. I live in town, and she rarely gets outside the fence except for her walks, but, they do get fleas occaisonally. Even though I haven't seen one, I'd bet that's what it could be. I have a plotthound/golden lab mix.

-- Diana (rock_hunter83@hotmail.com), January 03, 2002.

TIFFANI.....WOULD YOU COMPARE THEM TO ALLIGATOR HIDE? BULL TERRIORS SEEM TO GET AN ALLERGIC REACTION FROM FLEAS.THEIR SKIN GETS THESE CONICAL BUMPS.THE VETS TREAT THE DOGS WITH CORTISONE.MAYBE YOUR HUNCH ABOUT SOMETHING BITING HIM IS CORRECT. I`D RECOMMEND YOU TAKE THE DOG TO A VET...THEY WILL TAKE SCRAPINGS FROM THE AREA AND HAVE IT EXAMINED UNDER A MICROSCOPE.

CORDWOODGUY

-- CORDWOODGUY (cordwoodguy@n2teaching.com), January 05, 2002.

Tiffani,

If he is itching himself to death you could very well be looking at Sarcoptic Mange (can be called Scabies in humans), which is contagious to other dogs and humans. Your best bet is to have a Vet do a skinscraping on the area. That will tell you if you are looking at mites, what kind and how to treat. Paramite dip will kill Sarcoptic mites and Revolution will help control it.

Skin problems are a tremendous field in Vet medicine. The problems and treatments are so varied. Good Luck.

-- Deidre Martin (willowfiona!@yahoo.com), January 06, 2002.