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My dog has bumps and scabs on his head, what should I do next?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 9 months and 30 days old | 40 lbs

My dog has bumps and scabs on his head

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 22nd, 2017

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern! Poor Dip! It looks quite uncomfortable for the little guy. I would recommend having this looked at by a veterinarian. It appears to be what we call Demodex, which is a skin mite. This mite is typically picked up from the mom when they are puppies and because their immune system is not fully developed at this point, it can be difficult to keep these mites (which normally do not cause disease in an animal with a healthy and strong immune system) under control. Your vet will need to scrape the skin with an instrument or blade and look at the sample under the microscope to help confirm if this is from mites or not. The other possibility is that this could be a bacterial skin infection that needs an antibiotic and topical medications for treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns!

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