My dog has bald spots. Could it be mange or allergies? What can I do?

Allergies and mange would be at the top of my list. A vet can easily check for intestinal parasites (mange) and then figure out a treatment plan for allergies if you don't have any parasites. There are many many different way to treat allergies, depending on how much you want to spend on medications/testing.

Poor guy. There are really only 2 types of mites that we see in veterinary medicine- Scabies and Demodexx mites. Scabies (a type ofmite) is infectious to people so if you yourself are not itching then you can kind of rule that one out. The other mite, Demodexx isn't infectious to people or other pets, and nowadays it can be treated with oral flea preventatives such as Bravecto, Nexgard or Simparica + a medicated topical shampoo through your vet. I would recommend just starting Baileys' on one of these to cover any kind of mite issue. Then I would suggest getting Bailey on an oral antibiotic to clear up the skin infection that is present. The ears look to be infected as well. This will require a topical ear medication and cleaner from your vet to resolve. Skin allergy testing is not commoonly used anymore due to the poor overall response to allergy immunotherapy shots. THe most common allergy medication used nowadays is Apoquel. I would ask your vet about this as well, especially if mites are not the underlying problem, which can be easily confirmed or denied with a simple skin scraping test done through your vet. I hope that you can get Bailey's skin issue resolved soon. Best wishes and take care!

Those spots on Mala could be several things including allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Mala wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Mites are just one possible cause of itching and hair loss, however they wouldn't necessarily cause "lumped up" spots on the skin. You may be seeing hives, which are due to some type of an allergic reaction. The first thing to do would be to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. Discuss allergy testing, hydrolyzed diets, food elimination trials, parasite control and antihistamine use with the vet. Any potential treatment will depend on the underlying cause. In the meantime, place an e-collar (cone) on Axel to prevent excessive licking or chewing. You can also treat for fleas using a topical preventive (Frontline, Advantix, etc.) or an oral preventive (CapStar, Comfortis, Bravecto, Credelio, etc.). Vacuum everywhere indoors and dispose of the bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately afterwards. Wash all bedding in the hottest water allowable by fabric and dry in a dryer. Use an area treatment, such as Indorex or Knockout ES, to prevent or treat any flea infestation.

Those spots on Lily could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash her whole body, just those spots). You can also give an anti-histamine (call your veterinarian for selection and dosing instructions). Protect the areas from licking or scratching and she may need to wear an Elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesions don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have her examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

That spot on Elma could be several things including allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection, ringworm (which humans can get) or endocrine disease. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not her whole body, just the lesion). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion does not start improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have her examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Even though mange cannot be ruled out, this pattern would be more consistent with allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!