My dog has hair loss and bald spots. Why isn't treatment working?

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy, a skin mite (Demodex) or fleas. 

The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. 

The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of hair loss, redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the itch so it can be treated appropriately. A skin scraping and skin cytology should be performed to rule out mites and to determine the type of infection present (bacterial vs fungal). Your dog will most likely need antibiotics/antifungals longterm to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo will be beneficial as well. I would also recommend he be on a good flea control routinely too. Once the infection has resolved a long term allergy medication (like Apoquel or Cytopoint) can be given on a regular basis to prevent any future problems. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.


Itchy skin and hair loss is often due to the following things: 1) Allergies - this can happen suddenly and is usually due to an environmental (i.e pollen) cause. 2) External parasites - fleas, lice and mites can all cause intense itching. It's good to check him for fleas and get treatment if needed. The permethrin shampoo is only temporary, so it's possible that he is getting re- infested. He may have mites, which are microscopic and require a vet to find. 3) Over-bathing, or using the wrong product for bathing - Bathing too often can cause the skin to get dry and irritated. Dogs should normally be bathed no more than once a month with a shampoo that is labeled for dogs. If you bathe more than that, or use a shampoo or soap that is meant for people, then you could be damaging the normal protective barrier of the skin. One thing you can do for itchy skin, is give a bath with cool water using an oatmeal or aloe shampoo. You can get these shampoos at the pet store. I hope this helps you to identify the problem. If not, then it would be worth taking him to the vet. We can usually discover the cause quickly and provide the most effective treatment. Below are some links to articles that should be helpful for you: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-tell-if-your-pet-has-allergies/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/4-great-strategies-for-relieving-your-dog-s-allergies/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/skin-allergies-vs-food-allergies/

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. If your at home treatments have not been effective, then it is time to see his veterinarian. He will likely need skin testing to look for mites or ringworm. If these tests are negative, allergies may be a possibility. He will need prescription medications to control the itchy and allow the hair to grow back. I hope this information helps!

Fleas and allergies to fleas can set-up an environment for infection. It's possible that this is complicating the recovery process. The skin will often start to heal once the fleas are gone, but it's worth treating for infection by giving a bath with a medicated dog shampoo (can get this at the pet store). It's best to just give a bath with the medicated shampoo once every 2-3 days, until the skin starts to look normal. It's expected that it will take a month or more until Buddy starts to look normal again, so stick with it and he should get through this fine. Treating for fleas is not just restricted to the host, because fleas can reproduce and nest in the environment and continually cause an issue. Below is a link to a short article that explains treating the dog and environment for fleas: https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-get-rid-of-fleas/ If the skin problems are not getting better, or are getting worse in the next two weeks, then it's best to have Buddy evaluated by a vet, because he may need additional treatment. I hope that helps and buddy gets better soon.

I would be very suspicious of mange with what you are describing. This will not be solved with antiparasite powders or antibacterials/antifungals. If you are seeing a vet doctor, then they should be able to scrape the skin and check for the mites that cause mange under a microscope. If it's a compounder or not a real vet doctor that has prescribed the treatment for Milo, then that would be the first problem. You will need to find a real vet doctor to help with this problem. With mange, they will need an injection of ivermectin or something similar once a week for many weeks (often months) until it's clear. Please look for a good small animal vet doctor and they will be able to help you with this.

Those spots on Kimber 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 for a full 16 weeks. During this time you must ensure a PROPER food trial or it will not give you any results. 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. Additionally, it sounds like Kimber has a secondary infection and this will need to be treated as well. 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 Kimber wear an elizabethan collar at all times. You will need to rule out each condition one thing at a time. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.