Dog's ears have dark crusts, fur loss, no itching. What's wrong?

Question

So we recently got a dog and she had this dark crust on the outside of her ears (I've only seen it on her ears) , I removed it and the fur where it was came off too. She is not itching at all, and she did have some fleas and ticks but those have been treated (recently). She is about a year old and it doesn't seem to hurt her or have any effect on her pain or sense wise. Please if you have any ideas i'd love to hear it. Pics attached. Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 1 month old | 61 lbs

Lauren Jones VMD · Accepted Answer

I'm glad to hear that Cleo does not seem to be bothered by the lesions on her ears. There are several possibilities that could be causing these changes, including allergies (to fleas, food or the environment), vasculitis (an immune system response to a variety of stimuli), hypothyroidism (unlikely given her young age), ringworm or mange. I also see some redness and scabbing that could also indicate the presence of a skin infection in addition to or instead of the conditions listed above. At this point, I think your best bet is to take Cleo to her vet for an exam. The vet will be able to perform skin scrapings (to rule out mites causing mange), fungal culture (to rule out ringworm) and cytology of the skin (to look for an overgrowth of bacteria on the skin). From there, your vet will be able to determine the best course of treatment. There may be a degree of trial and error involved, depending upon what shows on the initial diagnostics. In the meantime, keep Cleo on flea/tick prevention (Nexgard, Bravecto or Advantix are my preferences!). I hope that all goes well!

Dog's ears have dark crusts, fur loss, no itching. What's wrong?

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