I agree with Becky and Connie that a vet visit is in order, as it could be an infection. I've had Dobes for a long time and they are prone to something similar, especially when they're young. I can't tell what breed your dog is from the pictures, but he does appear to have a short, close coat, like a Dobe.

I'm really testing my memory here, and I just can't recall if I have ever had to use medication. Honestly, I've never had a case that looks as bad as your dog's, and have almost never seen them on the upper lips and muzzle, just on the chin. (I've actually heard them referred to as "chinples" or "chimples.")

Usually all it took to clear up the mild cases I had, and what your vet may recommend for after-care, would be to keep the area clean and dry. Keep clean towels handy to wash and dry his muzzle after any meal or drinking water.

Also, if you are using plastic dishes to feed him, I would recommend changing to either stainless steel or heavy glass/ceramic. The plastic dishes are known to degrade over time and accumulate microscopic scratches and pits in the surface that can harbor bacteria, not to mention some of them can give off toxic substances.

Also, make sure you wash the dishes thoroughly after each and every use. (Seems obvious, but I've known of people who feed dry food and don't wash the dishes very frequently because they don't look dirty.)

I stopped using plastic, and I don't think I've seen a chin pimple since. In my case, I can't stand the noise that stainless steel makes, so I settled on CorningWare French White, lol. Figured if it's made for humans, it's safe and doesn't contain lead or other toxins that can be found in some ceramic glazes.

I've also heard from many golden retriever owners that plastic bowls can cause a dog to lose the black pigment from its nose. I don't know the science behind that, but I find it interesting and another reason to avoid plastic.

Thanks for the info. We use stainless dishes, water and food. Food washed after each use and water daily. He is a Corso. Yes short, close coat hair. Vet appt. at 4 today. As far as the color, it wasn't a choice based on color nor was the breeding.

Well back from the vet. Staph infection. He also asked about the food/water bowls. Said could have picked it up from alot of things. Hopefully it isn't a reoccurring problem. He also said he has seen it a lot in bulldogs, pits, etc. also did a mite scraping, that was negative. Got antibiotics, along with some spray for the affected area and then need to wash the area daily.

My dogs with recurring skin staph has it less often now, with frequent bathing (his isn't on the face, so your equivalent would be washing) and also a fairly new product (new in the vet world, but has been use in the people derm world for a while) that I've been applying once a week or so.

http://www.douxo.us/documents/DOUXO-SEBORRHOEA-SPOT-ON.pdf

It's a pipette that is squeezed on.

I don't know about facial use, so I'm just posting it here as something you may want to ask your vet about.

When I received a vet-news email newsletter about it and mentioned it to my vet, she didn't yet know about it and had to order it, so your vet may have to check it out first.

And again, I don't know about facial use.

The medicated baths and these pipettes have cut down the infections on my susceptible dog. He still gets them, but maybe half as often.

I can vouch for the effectiveness of the medication Connie linked to. I used something similar (or maybe the same thing, if it was available 4 years ago) on Mercy, the dog in my sig, because of her severe scarring that resulted in severe hair loss. Her skin was super sensitive and that stuff helped a lot, especially during summer. We never got to try it out during a cold, dry winter.

 Quote: SamanthaTopper

I can vouch for the effectiveness of the medication Connie linked to. I used something similar (or maybe the same thing, if it was available 4 years ago) on Mercy, the dog in my sig, because of her severe scarring that resulted in severe hair loss. Her skin was super sensitive and that stuff helped a lot, especially during summer. We never got to try it out during a cold, dry winter.

It could well have been the same thing, because even when it was mainly used by people dermatologists for damaged skin and seborrhea, vets were using it off-label. (Or at least, this is what I have read.)

And maybe it was available as a vet product 4 years ago, too. It has only recently become known in the GP-vet community for atopy and other derm issues, I think (based on the newsletter I received just a few months ago).

So far so good, for my own staph-vulnerable dog.



We (at last) have my allergic dog's atopy pretty well controlled (different dog) .... if not, I'd be discussing using it on him as well.

Good luck, Mychal. Glad you got a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Hoping it will go away soon and never come back!

Thanks! I will look into the stuff Connie and Samantha mentioned. You said you use it once a week...is that even with no outbreak? Is it used as a preventative maintenance type thing?


As of this evening, they have gone down a lot!! Vet expects it to be gone by the weekend. we have an appt for monday just in case, but he said if its cleared up, just let him know and domt bother coming in. Hopefully this won't be an ongoing issue. Sure would be nice to know what triggered it though...

"As of this evening, they have gone down a lot!! Vet expects it to be gone by the weekend. we have an appt for monday just in case, but he said if its cleared up, just let him know and domt bother coming in. "


Excellent!

The stuff I mentioned .... I started using it because of recurring outbreaks as a preventive measure.

How's the outbreak, Mychal?