# Scabby sores...what could that be?



## stanleywitt (Oct 30, 2008)

Hello all. First time here and it is such a valuable site. 
My 12 year old "baby" Pomeranian has recently developed quite a few (~6) small scabby sores on her body. I first noticed a raised scab on her shoulder, then managed to look at what it is and its a small open sore that is wet and (evidentally) bleeding/oozing pus. Then as days went by, I noticed other sores as well on differing parts of her body. Except for the one on her shoulder, the other sores do not seem to bother her when I look at them.
Two of them I put some "Nu-skin" on it because I originally thought maybe it was a cut or she got into something prickly. She stays indoors unless we are working outside when she wanders around our yard and sometimes just lays in the grass. 
No, she does not have ticks or fleas. 
This has all happened within the last week. She seems like the same old dog otherwise; deaf, half blind, and sleeps most of the day. The sores do not bother her that I can tell, she doesn't scratch or lick at them.
My thinking is that perhaps she laid down in the grass and got bit by ants or some other gnat? The days are still warm and there are loads of bugs around. The prickly bush theory seems unlikely, as the sores seem to be "popping up" as days go by. Do you think this could be some kind of disease? 
Thanks for any information. Maybe somebody out there will recognize what this is. I am currently just keeping an eye on her and since she seems healthy otherwise am monitoring the sores. Today I was going to give her a nice long bath with mild shampoo as well and see if that helps her skin.


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

Oh my, poor baby! Has she seen a vet for this?


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## stanleywitt (Oct 30, 2008)

No, was waiting to see if they healed on their own or got better. I need to give her a bath tonite but the plumber has turned off the water for a few hours so I wanted to wait and see how they looked after I gave her a good soak and shampoo. Like I said, she doesn't even seem to notice them.


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

This does not sound like something that will be fixed by a good bath, in my opinion. I really think she should see a vet for something like this, whether or not they seem to bother her.


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## stanleywitt (Oct 30, 2008)

Yes, thanks, I did intend to take her to the vets if there was no improvement over the weekend. I just wanted to give her a nice bath to help with the "crusties", which I just did. She has been to the vets 3 times in the past 6 months, first for a complete physical & bloodwork ('she is in excellent health for such an old girl' - quote from vet), next to get regular shots, and then just a couple weeks ago because one of the scent glands on her behind got swollen and needed to be drained. I suppose she's just getting older and needs much more care than before. 
It just occurred to me that perhaps she has hives? I wonder if dogs can get hives? We recently adopted a parrot from a bird rescue and of course my baby is jealous, although she still gets plenty of attention! I will take her to the vets this week and let you know what it turns out to be. She just finished a course of antibiotics for her scent gland, so I wouldn't think it would be anything that could be fixed with antibiotics.


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

Yikes, Stanley, you got me. I don't know. Good luck and hope she is doing better soon.


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## stanleywitt (Oct 30, 2008)

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the input. We went to the vets today and she has a skin infection. She will be on antibiotics for 3 weeks. 
This confused me because she was just on antibiotics for 2 weeks for an infected scent gland, and as soon as she finished the doseage, within a week she had the scabby sores on her skin. I figured if it was something that could be fixed with antibiotics it would have done the trick, but the sores didn't happen until AFTER the treatment finished! Very weird, but the vet said that the skin infection needed much MORE antibiotics than the other anyway. 
In the meantime, her arthritis has gotten so much worse that she needed to go on Adequan injections so she can walk better. She has been taking Metacam already for about 2 years for her arthritis, but in the last week it has gotten progressively worse until she lost most of the strength in her back legs, the left in particular. The weakness along with the scabby sores really had me worried, but overall Cookie is very happy and does not seem bothered by any of this, which is the great part! 
Thanks again and anybody with any questions please feel free to email me and I will help any way I can.


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## GroovyGroomer777 (Aug 21, 2008)

Awww, poor kid. Glad you took her to the vet and that they found the problem. Best wishes to Cookie!


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