My dog has severe dry skin, hair loss, and smells. Is it mange?

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!

This could indeed be mange, an allergy or a bacterial or fungal skin infection. Sarcoptic mange and a fungal infection are contagious to people so I strongly suggest you make an appointment with your vet for a skin exam. Your vet will do a skin scrape and look at it under the microscope, hopefully finding a mange mite. He may also take a brush sample to try and grow a fungus in a test tube. Please make an appointment today.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. From the pictures that you provided my primary suspicions would be a skin infection. There are some things that you can do at home if you are unable to get to a vet right away. I would suggest starting with a shampoo that is medicated such as Duoxo chlorhexidine PS combination and bathe him twice weekly until the infection is resolved. I would also suggest starting welactin omega-3 fish oil and essential 6 Spot On by dermoscent. If there is no improvement then I would see your vet for further testing and treatments. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I am also available via phone or text base consultation if needed

Since there is a smell, severe pruritus (itch), and hair loss this is very suspicious for sarcoptic mange, especially since both your dogs are affected. You will need to take them to your vet for a skin scrape to verify that it is indeed mange. Mange is relatively easy to treat with an injection of an avermectin. Sometimes a second injection is needed. Unfortunately sarcoptic mange is contagious and if you have other pets (dogs, cats) they should all be treated. You will also need to watch out for itchy skin conditions as humans can also be affected.

The spot on the cheek looks like a "hot spot". The rest looks like a flea allergy. Mange is not impossible in a dog her age but really unlikely unless she is immunocompromised. The hot spot on the cheek is basically a bacterial skin infection. She probably compromised the skin in that area due to scratching at the ears if she has an ear infection. You really need to get her to a vet to get everything she has going on under control. She needs an anti-inflammatory injection to the get the scratching under control, she needs to have oral antibiotics to clear up the hot spot, if there is an ear infection that needs to be treated and of course, the fleas need to get under control with a GOOD flea medication that she stays on continuously. A flea bath is very temporary and is not going to fix the problem. An ear infection will not clear up with over the counter ear cleaners - she needs an actual medication to clear it up. Please get her to your vet as soon as you can. Some things cannot be fixed with home treatment once they become too advanced. Best wishes.

Poor Angel! It could be mange but the thickness on her ears looks like yeast and bacteria could also be involved. If she didn't get worse on the prednisone, this make mange less likely but not impossible. With her sores being so bad on her nose, I would strongly recommend to have it biopsied and also cultured to get a quicker diagnosis so she can be treated properly quicker. The quicker we can get her started on the proper meds the quicker she will start to heal. I hope this helps!

It's possible your pet is experiencing symptoms of a bacterial infection due to mange mite infestation. You'll want to be sure to visit your local Veterinarian as soon as possible and request a skin scraping examination. This will allow your doctor to identify the underlying cause of your pets discomfort. You're doctor may prescribe an antibiotic to help stop the infection and mite/mange treatment if needed.