donuT has lost a rim of hair around his right ear.. and a little patch on the actual ear itself.
Any suggestions on what it could be and treatment?
I originally thought it was mud or dirt crusted on his ear, but it didn't wash off. Now all the fur is gone around the rim? Only on the one ear though???
Sam has no hair on either of his ears. If I remember correctly it's called eather ears. I talked to my vet about it and she wasn't too concerned. The only thing she did suggest was to put children's suntan lotion on them during the Summer; Sam doesn't mind it too much, but hates being fussed over. What concerned me more was his going out in the Winter cold, but Sam isn't one to stay out long in cold weather. I did look for a pattern to knit him a hat with ear flaps, but he won't even wear a sweater let alone a hat.
If it is just hair loss, I'm not sure. But if it is a scab, this might be what it is - we dealt with this with Penny. It started on both of her ears hair loss and scabs on the ends - one got better but the other one got a lot worse. She had seen the vet a number of times and he said to leave it alone and the scab would come off. It was a pretty big scab. He told us we could soak it with mineral oil and it would soften. It did soften and come off but it took a sliver of her ear with it. It did not heal and keept bleeding and looking raw. He told us to put a liquid cauter on it to stop the bleeding but it didn't really work.
My husband and I decided to go to a Specialist - Veterinary Dermatologist. Go figure, I never knew there was such a thing! The bottom line with her ear was what is called
Vasculitis. Here is the definition: Vasculitis is inflammation of blood vessels. In individuals with vasculitis, inflammation damages the lining of affected blood vessels, causing narrowing, the formation of blood clots (thrombosis), and/or blockage. As a result, there may be restriction of oxygenated blood supply to certain tissues (ischemia), potentially resulting in pain, tissue damage. Vasculitis may affect veins and arteries of any type or size; may involve a single organ or many organs and tissues of the body; and may be a primary disease process or occur due to or in association with a number of different underlying disorders. Therefore, the range and severity of symptoms and findings associated with vasculitis may vary greatly. The specific underlying cause of vasculitis is not fully understood. However, in most cases, it is thought to be due to disturbances of the body’s immune system.
This is common for Dachshunds. We decided to try the therapeutic method fist which was giving her a prescription called Pentoxifylline. This medication softens the red blood cells and helps them to get to the area of the ear that is having the problem. If this doesn't work then they will do a biopsy to further analyze the ear and possibly have to take a small piece of the ear off. It can take up to 3 or 4 weeks for the prescription to fully take affect. Fortunately, the prescription worked great for her and the vasculitis is gone.
Not sure this is what you are dealing with, but thought I would pass the information along.