# What is this on my dogs skin?



## hot cheetos (Nov 4, 2014)

My dog has these weird callus type rough growths on his heels. They are lumpy and thick. It used to be just one on his left heel then a few more smaller ones started appearing. Then his right heel started with tiny ones and they have spread a bit. What's going on? Any help is appreciated.


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## hot cheetos (Nov 4, 2014)

The left heel.

In the first picture you can also see some greening on his hairs and possibly skin under the little bumps.


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## hot cheetos (Nov 4, 2014)

No one? 

I plan a trip to the dermatologist but i thought i'd get some insight from experienced owners before coughing up hundreds.

I should also mention that he has had this for over about a month now. At first i thought they were scabs from this weird thing that he does...he goes down a flight of 3 steps every time i open the door at night from my backdoor into my backyard and barks around in certain places looking for a mouse that we have around our yard. He goes down so crazily that hes bound to scrap his heels on the edges of the steps which could cause scrapes and what not. For a long while i just figured the scabs arent healing because he just wounds them again but ive managed to stop him from doing this crazy behavior for a couple weeks now and there is no improvements on his heels.


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## Chai (Dec 11, 2014)

Maybe leave it on here for a couple of days before seeing a dermatologist? I'm sure members on here have had experience with it but you'll need to give it time as many only get to check the forum intermittently. Good luck!


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## Big Brown Eyes (Jan 11, 2015)

Try cleaning with hydrogen peroxide, and applying some 
Betamethasone 0.1% w/w (as betamethasone valerate) + Clioquinol 3% w/w


If you can not get the above,you can use just Betamethasone dipropionate cream, 0.05% (augmented)


Both are available OTC.



This cream is almost a panacea for small skin related problems for dogs and most mammals (humans included).



Also, ensure the dog has it's frontline plus (or what ever you use) applied.


The above 2 should resolve the problem, if it doesn't then go to a vet if the problem area is expanding. Take some pictures to keep a visual record.


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## SkoobyDoo (Oct 7, 2014)

Don't treat it with medicine before a diagnosis. 
I really have no idea but a vet should.


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## Big Brown Eyes (Jan 11, 2015)

A skin ailment does not necessarily need a doctor's attention. When your kid scrapes his knee in a fall, you don't rush to the ER.

It has been a month that he has had the problem, so obviously it is not "urgent". 

Trying to fix a problem with relatively safe and proven methods not only saves time, money, but also gives confidence to the owner. Not to mention, it eases the dog faster.

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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

Oh lovely. Seems that now we're qualified to be giving out medical treatment advice if you've been to the gynecologist before..

If he is doing repetitive behaviors that are causing him to use his heels like you've mentioned, than it would appear to me that its just callused over. But if its growing and you're concerned, I would check with a vet first and maybe see if they want to do a skin scraping to check for skin parasites or fungal infection before treating with any OTC remedy.


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Hopefully the vet can give you an answer, let us know what they say please


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

....
**** I've got so much but it's just so not appropriate.

Shiggs has something similar on her heal, it's a callus, the vet checked her over. It's been there since buying her from rescue. Has not grown or changed.
I'd check with a derm though just to be on the safe side-


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## SkoobyDoo (Oct 7, 2014)

Betamethasone is a steroid and theya doctor would never use a steroid to treat a fungal infection.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

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## hot cheetos (Nov 4, 2014)

Thanks for the replies everyone. It doesn't seem to bother him at all. He has sniffed it a few times when I start checking his heel, but other than that doesn't pay any attention to it. He has done the behavior I mentioned where he could possibly scrape his heels while going down steps all crazily about 30 times I would guess, but I figured it would take more than that to form a callus. I did pick at one of them a while back, thinking it was a scab, and it bled slightly with no discomfort to the dog. 

When I googled this, all the results were articles about skin cancer. That really gave me a scare, shook me up a bit. I'm glad no one has mentioned any possibility of a serious disease of some sort, puts me a bit at ease. He has a few shots coming up at the vet, I'll bring it to their attention and see what they say. I'll report back.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

How often do his paws remain wet after he goes outside? 
Could be fungal.


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