We have a 10yr old lhasa apso with a very bad skin problem. There are
large (1-2 inch) soft lumps under her skin. These lumps burst after a
month or so, oozing blood and puss and become open sores that take
weeks to heal. They don't seem to bother her until just before they
burst. This dog is groomed and bathed on a regular basis and has never
had fleas. We have changed her food many times without any results. The
vet she goes to said this is normal(we're taking her to another
vet).She also has a few small wart like bumps but they seem to dry and
fall off eventually. Has anyone ever seen or heard of this condition?
Any help would be appreciated.

otiss12 wrote:
We have a 10yr old lhasa apso with a very bad skin problem. There are
large (1-2 inch) soft lumps under her skin. These lumps burst after a
month or so, oozing blood and puss and become open sores that take
weeks to heal. They don't seem to bother her until just before they
burst. This dog is groomed and bathed on a regular basis and has never
had fleas. We have changed her food many times without any results.
The vet she goes to said this is normal(we're taking her to another
vet).She also has a few small wart like bumps but they seem to dry and
fall off eventually. Has anyone ever seen or heard of this condition?
Any help would be appreciated.

These sound like common kinds of cysts that many dogs get as they age. They
often happen around the collar area, but occur elsewhere as well. It's my
understanding--and experience--that they often just remain there for a long
time without causing any discomfort or problems. Sometimes they burst, and
sometimes become infected, and it sounds like that's what's happening with
your dog. They can be drained by the vet using a syringe, but they may or
may not fill up with fluid again. I don't think that they have anything to
do with cleanliness or food.

I had a dog that had two of these. The first time it appeared, the vet
aspirated it and checked to make sure it wasn't a malignancy. After that, we
just let them be except in the case of one that got infected and presented
the way you describe. In that case, he shaved the area right around it (It
was in the ruff under his neck), and--IIRC--we put some topical stuff on it
and he possibly had some antibiotics (Or possibly not--it's been a number of
years, and I don't recall. It wasn't a significant infection.) The same dog
also got two little wart-like things that were sort of congealed drainage
from littler cysts on his back. Again, no big deal.

You can certainly get a second opinion, but it sounds to me as if your
regular vet is perfectly correct.

You mention grooming and bathing regularly. How often is regular for your
dog? Could it be that the skin irritation is being aggravated by too much
bathing and the products used?

Celeste


"otiss12" wrote in message
oups.com...
We have a 10yr old lhasa apso with a very bad skin problem. There are
large (1-2 inch) soft lumps under her skin. These lumps burst after a
month or so, oozing blood and puss and become open sores that take
weeks to heal. They don't seem to bother her until just before they
burst. This dog is groomed and bathed on a regular basis and has never
had fleas. We have changed her food many times without any results. The
vet she goes to said this is normal(we're taking her to another
vet).She also has a few small wart like bumps but they seem to dry and
fall off eventually. Has anyone ever seen or heard of this condition?
Any help would be appreciated.

Spot wrote:
You mention grooming and bathing regularly. How often is regular for your
dog? Could it be that the skin irritation is being aggravated by too much
bathing and the products used?

Celeste


She's bathed once a week and groomed daily. We've tried the oatmeal shampoo and also shampoo containing tea tree oil . Is there something else we could try?
TIA

Thanks for the info. I'm glad to know she isn't the only dog that is
afflicted with this.

otiss12 wrote:
Spot wrote:
You mention grooming and bathing regularly. How often is regular
for your
dog? Could it be that the skin irritation is being aggravated by
too much
bathing and the products used?

Celeste


She's bathed once a week and groomed daily. We've tried the oatmeal
shampoo and also shampoo containing tea tree oil . Is there
something else we could try? TIA

That seems like an awful lot of bathing to me, unless you are showing her.
(Which I assume you are not.) But if it's the same thing my dog had, I doubt
that this is caused by bathing. Although certainly over-exposure to grooming
products might not help.

The best line of dog shampoo/conditioner I've ever used is Duurstede. The
coat is wonderful afterwards. It's expensive, though.

I recently took my golden to a "bathe him yourself" place, and he had a bit
of a skin reaction--I'm assuming to the shampoo or creme rinse. This has
never happened before. IIRC, it contained eucalyptus and/or tea trea oil.
Luckily the irritation went away in about a week, but the next time I go
there I'm bringing my own shampoo.

I recently took my golden to a "bathe him yourself" place, and he had a
bit of a skin reaction--I'm assuming to the shampoo or creme rinse. This
has never happened before. IIRC, it contained eucalyptus and/or tea trea
oil. Luckily the irritation went away in about a week, but the next time I
go there I'm bringing my own shampoo.

Tea tree oil has good uses, but never on open or heavily irritated skin.
It's kind of like putting Scope on a cut.

-Sharon

Bathing once a week seems excessive for a companion dog. My last dogs were
bathed every 4 months and that was mostly done to help eliminate the
undercoat. They rarely every got bathed due to body odor because they
rarely got into anything that could make them stink. On the occasion that
one would get a bit of odor I would wipe them down with a dish cloth soaked
in vinegar to neutralize any odors.

I just had a guy over the 4th comment on my current dogs coat stating "Boy
she must be bathed a lot, her fur is so soft & she smells good" I just
laughed and said "Nope, the last bath she got was March 28th two days before
she got spayed. She's due for a bath in about a week though." She got a
bath two days later and won't get her next one until late October.

I see nothing wrong with a daily brushing it's good for the circulation but
the bathing this often may be only aggravating things. I'd try skipping the
bathing for a bit or if you really have to bath her then just rinse her with
water and use no soaps.

Celeste





"otiss12" wrote in message
oups.com...
Spot wrote:
You mention grooming and bathing regularly. How often is regular for
your
dog? Could it be that the skin irritation is being aggravated by too
much
bathing and the products used?

Celeste


She's bathed once a week and groomed daily. We've tried the oatmeal
shampoo and also shampoo containing tea tree oil . Is there something else
we could try?
TIA

I like the vinegar tip. I'll have to try that.