Hi there, I have a 1 and a half year old St Bernard. Recently we noticed she had a few scabs show up on her nose. They have been healing fine, but now she has two scans one above each eye and one on the corner of her mouth on her lips. She hasn't been itchy or anything I'm not sure what could be causing this? I recently switched her food about two months or so ago to a better grain free food not sure of that could be it.
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Hi, I'm Dr. Johnson. Thanks for using Petcoach!
Skin issues can be so frustrating and sadly a lot of different skin conditions look the same! Which is equally frustrating for us!
Possible causes for the scabs: skin infection (bacterial or even yeast), demodex (a non-contagious mite), or ring worm. Another possibility, because of the location around her eyes, mouth and nose is an immune condition. Any of the above can be itchy or non itchy!
As for the recent diet change-grain free is great but just because it is grain free doesn't mean it is hypoallergenic. Animals, if they have a food allergy, are actually more allergic to the protein (the meat) with chicken being the most common allergen. It is possible that the food change could have triggered a skin infection. Allergies tend to develop around Gracie's age, either to food proteins or environmental allergens.
If the scabs do not resolve or spread I recommend seeing your Veterinarian. They may do a skin scrape to look for demodex, a cytology to look for yeast or bacteria, or a fungal culture for ringworm. Sometimes if it looks like a skin infection they just prescribe a course of antibiotics.
I hope Gracie's skin issues resolve!
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