A Retriever's Recurring Scabby Neck Rash

Reader Question

Our 4 year old flat-coated retriever has an ongoing problem with an irritating skin condition. It comes and goes and sometimes starts as red raised spots which scab and then result in brown flakes which are easily pulled off. Sometimes the scabs are large and take a whil to drop off. This condition does seem to cause him to scratch the area and can lead to the skin becoming hot and red, which we try to avoid at all costs. He has been seen by the vet who claims not to have seen this isolated to this area before and has been treated with antibiotics and a steroid, which seems to do the trick. However I do not want to have to keep using this treatment so we try to avoid the recurrence as much as possible. It is confined to his neck area and at first we thought it could be caused by wearing his nylon type collars, made from the same standard material that leads are made from, with the plastic type clip fastener. He does not however wear a collar now, only to go out for walks and we mostly use a chain link one instead. We are wondering if it is caused when the area is wet or after swimming in the sea, and will flare up periodically even though we check his neck regularly and try to keep the area clean and dry. We have changed his food to a hypoallergenic salmon formula after doing some research which seems to suit him fine except he is hungrier yet has not solved the skin condition. We only give him a carrot daily and a few hypoallergenic dog biscuits.

Could this be a form of eczema? Any other suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. We are currently cleansing the area with an antiseptic wash but am reluctant to keep wetting the area too much. We are taking him to have a thorough grooming next week with use of a medicated shampoo and have requested the groomer cut the fur shorter around his neck area.

Many thanks for your kind assistance.

Answer from Our Team