Why isn't my dog's dry, scabby skin and hair loss improving?

It looks like he has mange. What you are doing for treatment won't hurt but it won't help either if mange is the diagnosis. I cannot diagnosis him from a photo. I suggest you ask your vet about the possibility of mange and get testing/treatment for that.

I can see that Benji has a few small areas of hair loss with yellow crusting, and these lesions could be due to ringworm, mange, or a skin infection. In order to accurately diagnose these lesions, a vet should perform a skin scraping and fungal culture/Wood's lamp exam. Both ringworm and Sarcoptic mange (scabies) can be transmitted to other dogs and humans, so it is certainly worth having the lesions evaluated. I hope that Benji is on the mend soon!

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!

Hello. It looks like Sam has some pretty significant dermatitis going on, most likely caused by a staph infection in his skin. But allergies, auto-immune disease & even some hormonal imbalances/diseases can cause skin symptoms like this. He really needs to be seen by a veterinarian, preferably one with a specialty in dermatology, if possible. In the meantime, I would be bathing him in an antibacterial shampoo, one with benzoyl peroxide, or 2-4% chlorhexidine. Most pet retailers carry something. Soap him up for 10 minutes before sensing thoroughly, & repeat the bath every few days, or at least twice a week. It may take 4-6 weeks to see results, but if you can have this looked at first hand, that would be best. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Dry skin does not generally progress to hair loss and shedding. I would be more concerned that Kane is dealing with an infection in his skin. Demodex mites and ringworm (which humans can get) both can have this appearance. I would recommend to take him into the vet to have an exam and a skin scrape to test for mites. Both of these conditions respond well to treatment. I hope this helps and please post again with any further questions!

Poor Sisi! I'm sorry to hear that she's having this problem. The most common conditions we see in dogs that cause hair loss and scaling would include allergies, bacterial or fungal skin infections, or skin mites (mange). If she has been treated for these conditions and has not improved, then I would agree that it sounds like something else may be wrong. Less common causes of these symptoms could include a systemic illness like Cushing's diseases or hypothyroidism (not very common in young dogs, but possible), or an autoimmune disease such as lupus or pemphigus foliaceus. I'm not sure what specific blood work has been done on Sisi, but you could certainly talk to your veterinarian about whether testing for these illnesses has been done. If lab work shows no abnormalities, then a skin biopsy would likely be the next recommended step to try and get a diagnosis.

It's probably not mange. It looks like chronic skin allergies (could be from food or the environment or atopy) with secondary bacterial and yeast infections. The thickening and darkening of the skin tells me that this isn't going to be a simple case to fix. As far as I am aware, specialists are still open in the US, but with some modifications. Most often they have a decreased appointment load and you will be asked to wait in the car. I would recommend that you make an appointment with the specialist, since this is a case that will not resolve with short courses of antibiotics and cytopoint injections.