My dog has facial scabs and hair loss. Why isn't treatment helping?

The only way to definitively diagnose mange (Demodex) is by skin scrapings which should be repeated every 2-3 weeks during treatment until 2 negative skin scrapings are found. Make sure that the flea and tick medication prescribed will also treat mites (milbemycin or moxidectin) and keep in mind that the dosage frequency is different for mite treatment than it is for flea preventative. Treatment needs to continue for 1-2 months after there is a negative skin scraping. Steroids are usually contraindicated in treatment of Demodex. Demodex mites are not contagious to other animals so your other dogs may not be affected.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the pictures and your description, I suspect Mazie may have a bacterial skin infection. I would recommend having this looked at by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. She may need to be placed on an oral antibiotic and topical medications to treat this. I hope this helps and that Mazie's skin improves! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

It’s possible Jaxon may have mange or a bacterial skin infection. Oral flea/tick preventatives such as Nexgard, Bravecto or Simparica that you can often get from vaccines clinics such as vippetcare.com or Vetco.com will treat mange. Topical neosporin cream twice daily for 10-14 days may help with bacterial infections although prescription steroid/antibiotic/anti fungal ointment from you vet will likely work much better. If the lesions do not improve within 1-2 weeks of giving Nexgard and applying neosporin twice daily, a trip to your vet for in person assessment /diagnostics is recommended. There is also a possibility that Jaxon may have a fungal skin infection which is transmissible to humans. For this reason and others, if you are able to bring him to the vet for an assessment, it is best! Good luck!

Skin can be very frustrating. The most common cause of skin irritation is allergies (food, flea or environmental). However skin mites, endocrine and auto immune disease can also cause skin issues. I would recommend applying flea prevention every 30 days year round to make sure the fleas are not an issue. Also if the skin is not resolving Kim might need medications for longer, stronger medications or more testing like a skin scrape for mites or biopsy for auto immune disease. I recommend taking Kim back tot he vet to discuss the skin not resolving and further testing. Hope that helps and thanks for using pet coach

It could be caused by many different things. He could have demodex, ringworm, flea allergy dermatitis, scabies, etc. Since he is constantly itching, he should be examined by a vet to determine the exact cause. Your vet can do a skin scrape, culture, cytology, etc. to help diagnose and then prescribe the best medications to treat. I do not think apple cider vinegar will give him the relief that he needs.

It is hard to say what is causing Bacardi's problems. The third picture you included looks like pus, which would indicate infection and would need antibiotics to treat. Some dogs can be allergic to fleas, and it may only take 1 bite to make them itchy all over. If you are seeing scabs from where you applied a flea medication or flea collar, it may be irritating the skin so I would recommend removing it and bathing with dog shampoo thoroughly. Causes of itching in dogs include fleas or flea allergies, mites, or skin infection. The hair in the second picture looks like normal shedding to me, but if you feel it is weird for Bacardi, it could be caused by inflammation or from the extra itching she is doing right now. You can try a shampoo like Dechra MalAcetic Ultra Shampoo, but if it doesn't respond in a day or two, Bacardi should be seen by a vet as she may need oral medications to control the itching.

That is an understandable concern. It appears he has a very bad case of folliculitis, which can be caused by several things including a Demodexx mite infestation, a contact allergy, environmental allergy or flea allergy. He needs to first go on a good flea preventative (Nexgard, Bravecto, etc) and then have a skin scrape/cytology done to look for possible mites. He definitely needs a short course of antibiotics to treat for his current skin infection and then medication depending on the results of his skin scrape/cytology. The vet should be able to get him on the right track if the skin testing is done. I hope this helps and best wishes with Trump moving forward. I hope his skin problems resolve very soon.