sores under the chin

[boxerz_32]

My 3 year old Boxer, Patton, had been experiencing some very dry skin causing him to constantly itch his cheeks and the area around his nose. Also, he has some open sores underneath his chin (under the folds of his cheeks). These sores are always damp (because of the location under the folds of the cheeks). When I saw our vet in the grocery store-I quickly mentioned to her the problem that we were experiencing with the dry skin. She asked what kind of food he ate (which was Purina Dog Chow) and told me to try a more premium dog food. We switched him to Science Diet Sensitive Skin Formula and it seems to have cleared up the itching of the face. Orginally, I had thought that the sores were cause by the dry skin. However, they are still not healed and probably not going to because they are always damp. I really don't think that they bother him (he never itches or fusses over them) but I would like to see them healed up. Have any of you ever been in this situation? Any suggestions on how to heal them up?
Thanks!!!!

 

[ZeusMamma]

Hmmm could be allergies or puppy acne. Do you feed your pup in plastic or ceramic or metal? Try to avoid plastic. Also, wash his face 3x a day and try and keep that area clean as it heals. There's not a terribly lot you can do about it other than keep the area clean and make sure that he doesn't develop a 2ndary bacterial infection from it. Good luck!

 

[Dakodas Mom]

Sores under chin---

Maybe your dog is allergic to malassezia.. It is a normal yeast that is found on the skin of dogs.. Especially around the face, ears and neck area. I have this problem with my baby. You could try washing her with a shampoo called Malaseb. I use this on my baby and it helps a great deal. You can get it off the computer at 1800petmeds.com or you could ask your vet to run an allergy test for malassezia... Hope all works out

 

[tootsie]

I don't know what kind of food bowls you use.....but they should either be ceramic or metal. Plastic bowls have a tendency to hold bacteria and could be the cause of the sores on his chin. As I write this , I am noticing that ZeusMamma already came up with this! Oh well, she beat me to it!
Good Luck!