Hello,
I am a forum virgin so sorry if I get this wrong. I have been reading this site for a few weeks and like the advice given so I thought that I would give it a go...

My 2 year old border collie gets scabby spots on his back every so often. Just wondered if anybody else had experienced this?

Firstly the background. He did not have the best start in life with several life threatening gut infections when he was a pup and just when we got over that he was attacked by another dog. He has fully recoved now and is very good with other dogs. He still had digestive problems until last summer when he got very ill again and our vet suggested a DAP diffuser. What a result!! He improved dramatically.  We continued with the DAP and fed him lots of food (he was quite underweight).

In November the fireworks started. He is usually quite good and was fine until one went off very close to him when it was still light and he freaked (I don't blame him!!). We had a nightmare time, with a petrified dog until we made him a den and that seemed to cheer him up. (Note: we still had DAP going constantly.)  However, he developed scabs on his back. I didn't think much of it as somebody said it was probably stress spots and would clear. They did clear quite quickly and I thought nothing of it. Then in December our DAP diffuser ran out and I did not notice. He got the scabs on his back again. This time I took him to the vet but the vet did no know what i was. He had no fleas. The vet put him on a high dose of antibiotics for 2 weeks (which actually extended to 3 because he cut his foot quite badly) and gave us Malaseb to bath him with. The vet had said the only way to find out is to do samples which I thought was a bit severe so I left it. The scabs dissapeared.

We had no other ocurences until a few weeks ago when yet again (stupid me!!) his DAP ran out. Note to manufacturers: please add an alarm for when they run out!! I think that I caught it early as this time I felt little lumps under his skin. On closer inspection one burst and puss oosed out (just like a teenage zit ). The next day all of the lumps were scabs. This time I did not visit the vet as i am quite certain that they are caused by stress and the DAP running out. The scabs disapeared within 4-5 days (the same amount of time as when he had antibiotics and malaseb).

I not too worried about him as I am almost 100% certain that the DAP running out causes it and I don't mind paying out for DAP forever if that is what it takes. The only other possibilities that could cause scabs are: he is a show dog so gets more baths than most dogs or that he goes swimming in our local lake alot.

I should mention that the scabs don't bother him at all. He is a very healthy happy dog who loves lots of excercise and plenty of playing. I just can't understand why he is so stressed. He is my best friend, my little baby and I would like some advice. Has anybody else experienced this?

Geeky Girl

Hi

There are lots of possible things which could be causing the scabs.  From an allergy to, say, the washing powder you wash his bedding with, to a food allergy towards a particular ingredient in his food, they could be stress spots as you say, or he could be reacting to an ingredient in the shampoo you wash him with.  Really you should go back to the vet and demand that he be quite thorough, because the general treatment of ABs hasn't helped and you want an answer for it.  To eliminate food allergies, you can ask your vet to take a blood sample and send it off to York Labs for analysis.  This will give you a report of any foods which your dog is allergic to or intollerant of and you can then find a food which doesn't contain them.

The other thing I would say is that DAPs are great and an excellent idea, but they are supposed to be used ideally alongside training or behavioural treatment to remedy whatever the anxiety is caused by.  They're not supposed to be used forever, which would be quite prohibitively expensive, costwise!!!  Basically, if his anxiety needs a DAP to keep it under control and it resurfaces when the DAP stops working, then the anxiety is still there somewhere and still needs to be fixed in a more permanent way, so don't be DAP-dependent!  Of course, the stress spots could be nothing to do with the DAP running out and it could all be a coincidence....

I know it is very presumptive but I thought as this only occurred when the DAP had run out and that at all other times he is perfectly fine that I could rule out food and washing powder etc.
Or, are you saying that the DAP runs out so he gets stressed and his body becomes more sensitive??

Blood test sounds good. The vet had suggested putting him under anaesthetic and taking a biopsy but I thought it was a bit over the top for some scabs that don't bother him. Do you think it would be worth getting these tests??

Would I have to remove the DAP before getting any tests done? I don't want to cause him unnecessary stress.

Geeky Girl??? Strange woman! :D

Morning Malakai!! Good to see you were up nice and earlly walking the dogs. I'm still in bed .

Not fair!!!

You should start to wean him off the DAP slowly and keep a close eye on him.

Ringcraft Friday? and remind me to tell you about the embarrassing Staffie incident :rolleyes: