dog zits

[northener5]

I have a 9 year old black labrador springer spaniel.  For years she gets deep puss pockets, like zits. These puss pockets come and go. They form on all parts of her body.  Right now she has 4 of them - 2 on her left hind leg, one on her left side near her front leg and one on her head.  When I pop them out they are greyish white in colour and large.  Quite often they are pasty in texture but sometimes they are hard.  They show up as a white lump under her skin.  They do not bother her, except when I squeeze them.
We feed her a mixture of home made dog food and Purina Dog Chow.  Are these common on this type of dog?  I am trying to find out information as to what they might be and what we can do to prevent them.

[Ghilly]

Dogmom, you took the words right out of my mouth.  The first thing I thought of as I read the OP's post was "I'll bet it's from foxtails."  

Foxtails can cause some really nasty abcesses and I've seen dogs almostly completely debilitated because of them.  They're quite nasty and if they grow in your area, you need to either scope out the places where your dog runs and try to get rid of as many of them as you can (sometimes an impossible task depending upon the lay of the land), or find somewhere new to let your dog run.  

Ghilly

[northener5]

Yes, my dog is black and white.
Do these seeds normally appear in regular lawn grass?  If the infection is squeezed open, do you see the seeds?  I do not notice any black spots in the puss that comes out.
I was just wondering because we live in a small town and Pinto does not get into the bush often.  She not only gets these "zits" in the summertime, but in all seasons.
Thank you for your response back.

[dogmom192]

Is it possible a foxtail or tiny sticktit type seed has wedged its way under the skin?  Here in WA we have these tiny little black seeds that stick to the dogs fur, and if they work their way into the skin a little infection can form around it.  If your dog is black it would be very easy to miss.