Yikes about Bitty!
Interesting that it happens more with age – I feel like I only started noticing them last year. It's all part of her dermal profile. She had really crusty ear rims when she first came to us, and I don't know why... I actually thought that's just how her ears were, like dry skin. After a while, I found that I could gently flake away that crusty stuff, revealing perfectly clean and furry ear tips underneath the scabby layer. Later she got a scrape on one ear and that left some scarring which has remained quite dark and dirty-looking, though I do wash her ears out with Nolvasan Otic. Maybe I need to look at other cleaners.
She does also have a larger marble-sized cyst on her back which the vet has examined before, but that seems unrelated to the blackheads and whiteheads. As long as her lumps don't get any bigger or become painful, I leave them be. She eats a very healthy diet of grain-free kibble and raw. Her coat is super soft, which is why it's all the more noticeable when I find those bumps.
Bowpi is embarrassed that I've publicized her imperfections for the whole forum to see. ;)
