Cuts On Shoulder Blades

[sarabz]

Kirby has had scars, cuts & even open sores the size of quarters on his shoulder blades since we adopted him. When he scratches with his hind feet, he catches the top of the shoulder blade and opens up the skin. There are scars there so obviously he's been having this issue for a while and we can just about get them healed before he opens them up again.

 

He manages to open them up even right after his nails have been trimmed short, so it's not a nail length issues.

 

We've been trying to protect them with a tee-shirt but unfortunately sometimes the material gets stuck to the wounds and opens them back up again. He's also managed to occasionally rip open the tee shirt. We're trying a sock on the back feet kept on with vet wrap but he's able to worry it off somehow (even with a muzzle and various "leave it alone" agents on the sock/vet wrap).

 

There's got to be ways of solving this and getting him healed that I'm just not thinking of.

 

Thanks for any creative thoughts.

[GeorgeofNE]

It sounds like he might have allergies; addressing the cause of the scratching versus the healing of the scabs. He could also have a staph infection if you haven't already had them looked at.

[greysmom]

What does the vet say? Have you have the wounds swabbed to see if there's an infection or fungal issue? You might look into a more heavy duty covering than a Tshirt - sweatshirt or cheaper dog coat kind of weight. You can also try keeping baby socks on his back feet.

[cleptogrey]

you mentioned that this occurs right after his nails are cut. hence, sharp edges, right? how about a dremmel, cut then smooth out all of the edges. also, make sure your nail clipper is sharp. i replace mine every 2 years if not before, but i also do cut other dog's nails as well. the sharper the better. also, once the scabs heal liquid vitamin E will help promote hair regrowth. a friend who has shown afghans for decades told me about it. i used it on a big bald spot where felix ripped out hair on his shoulder going thru a dog door. it just wan't growing back ....until i started applying E. also, it helped w/ their stud tail.

[sarabz]

Happens anytime, I was just saying that he's doing it even right after his nails are cut (and edges are dremeled) so it's not the nail length that is causing issues.

 

He takes off socks, even with a muzzle and bitter spray.

 

We've been dealing with so many other issues that we haven't dealt with the vet on this. Next week.

We are starting to test for allergies.

 

The cuts will heal and then he re-opens them so it's not that they are not healing. One is just particularly bad right now because he was without a t-shirt for a couple of days.

Edited August 22, 2016 by sarabz

[XTRAWLD]

Hmmm, what's going on at the shoulders to always cause this. Obviously prevention is best. I'll always remember this from the vet: Kasey had lots of allergies and they often came up around his head and ears and he'd scratch, and sometimes just scratch his shoulder or the neck around his collar. I brought this up to the vet once and he said "you know though, sometimes a dog just wants a good scratch" meaning, it wasn't necessarily an allergy that was bothering him every single time, I had to let him be a dog sometimes too. So I would focus on how often he's scratching his shoulder. Is it once in a while and it catches because the scab is itchy and you get into this cycle because the scab is pulling on fur, or is it a skin issue? Skin allergies are the worst, I totally feel for you.

[sarabz]

Thanks for this post He's not constantly scratching - it's a totally normal dog thing, scratching occasionally during the day. I think more often than not, he's actually trying to scratch his neck but his shoulder blades are so pointy that he catches them. Then yes, the scab gets itchy (we had a couple of days of not putting on ointment as often and the scratching increased) and he scratches there.

[XTRAWLD]

Have you tried to shave the area down so when the scabs crust over there is less fur to grab? I know it might look horrible but.....

[sarabz]

I think that's on tonight's activity list, if only so I can stick a band aid on

[XTRAWLD]

I always wanted to try, thankfully in a way never a chance, but I wonder if that Band-aid "new skin", liquid bandage stuff might work in a situation like this?

[sarabz]

For some of the smaller cuts, yes, works nicely

[Victor]

Maybe fleece booties would stay on better? Here are two options:

 

https://dogbooties.com/shop/fleece-booties/

 

http://www.therapaw.com/cushy-pawslippers.aspx

 

Hope you can find something that works for him!

[Jenbo]

How about a thundershirt?

[cleptogrey]

what flea preventative are you using? just a thought

can you post a picture?

this happens no where else, so if it is an allergy then it's contact. no harness right?

[sarabz]

No harness and using bravecto.

[tbhounds]

I would bath him-sometimes removing the topical allergens can really of benefit. I have an allergy dog-his fav place to scratch was his neck and shoulders. He is under a derm vets care now (had the intradermal testing etc) and she said the best thing I could do is bath him weekly -even bi-weekly. I have to say it has really helped. I use Hylyt shampoo-soap free/omega 3 -zero drying of the skin.

So, I guess my point is maybe address the itching and it will give the wounds time to heal.

[sarabz]

Thanks all. Will post pics tomorrow.

[sarabz]

Pardon the cruddy cell phone pictures - out of focus (!) - I was rushing and juggling Kirby who didn't want to stand still and the toddler who wanted to "help"....

 

Right shoulder - hasn't ever been this bad but a couple of days that I was not around and he didn't have a t-shirt on.

 

Left shoulder currently - some scar tissue, minor cuts

 

Overhead shot

 

Right shoulder again

[claudiav]

i put Cortizone 10 creme on those kind of wounds, and within a couple of days, they are all healed... i used that S*!@ on everything

[XTRAWLD]

I dunno about putting Cortizone on it (isn't that an irritant on an open wound?)

 

Do you have any CS? I would spray that liberally a couple times a day to get them healed up, but again, the source and reason as to why it's happening needs to be addressed. That can't be much fun, gentle skritches.

[Burpdog]

What are all the collars? Regular martingale, tag collar(?) and ? Does he wear those all the time?

[sarabz]

Tag collar, martingale collar, DAP collar (we're trying to manage some SA). He wears the DAP collar all the time but has only been wearing it a few days so not related to the scratching. The other two are off unless we are going on walks.

 

We're also trying to manage soft stools so have been changing foods around and limiting treats - the itchiness has not increased/decreased based on the food (different protein sources, grain free, chicken & rice, etc).

 

The big issue here is that I think the cuts start to heal and itch as they heal, so he scratches and opens them up again. Trying to find a way to get him to stop opening them up so that they can finally heal. He seems to be leaving his socked foot alone and that is helping since it limits his ability to catch the skin with his nails.

 

He LOVES having his neck and butt scritched but no more or less than Bella does. They both do happy wiggly dances if you give butt scritches and give nudges when you stop scritching their necks (along with making some really funny faces when getting either end scritched).

 

I gave him a bath with oatmeal-based soothing shampoo a couple of days ago and it didn't seem to make a difference but may try again this weekend with another blend.

i put Cortizone 10 creme on those kind of wounds, and within a couple of days, they are all healed... i used that S*!@ on everything

I dunno about putting Cortizone on it (isn't that an irritant on an open wound?)

 

Do you have any CS? I would spray that liberally a couple times a day to get them healed up, but again, the source and reason as to why it's happening needs to be addressed. That can't be much fun, gentle skritches.

 

What is CS? Edited to add - is this colloidal silver? No, but happy to try anything! Will get some tonight.

Edited August 23, 2016 by sarabz

[cleptogrey]

 

Quick scraping to make sure it's not demodex mange. I will say felix had a really weird bald spot,red skin underneath it looked like a scraped knee. The area wasv2x4"on his loin*side)I thought my other dog tried to bite him. I ended up using old fashioned goodwinol ointment on it. It took 6 weeks to heal. My vet scraped it but that was negative. This ointment is benign,it's even sold on amazon.

Edited August 23, 2016 by cleptogrey

[XTRAWLD]

Good call on testing for mange. At least rule it out. Vet did that with Kasey (well for scabies too) before we diagnosed his skin allergy. Yes CS is collodial silver. It should get rid of any bacteria and speed up healing although I'm not sure scabs would be any better. I used it rather religiously with Kasey. Feels nice and cool just like a spritz of water so might give quick relief short lived relief.

[cleptogrey]

have you looked up adverse reactions to the DAP collar? how about using some of their plug in diffusers? i don't know if they really work,the home felix came from used them, so i initially used it. and how about reducing to one soft simple collar for a while. i know my crazy male scratches himself like mad if he feels a collar. that's why he generally wears a thinner collar.