Why is my dog's fur falling out and his skin dry and bleeding?

This dog needs oral antibiotics and steroids to treat the skin at this point. You need to take her to the vet. This treatment (antibiotics/steroids) is only treating these symptoms though, not the underlying cause. I suspect allergies are the underlying problem but it could also be mange. Both are VERY common in this breed. The scratching, hair loss and infection are secondary conditions. Allergy testing is needed to find out what she is allergic to and a skin scraping to check for mange mites is warranted. Most clients say "I went to the vet and got no answers" but they also declined all testing the vet recommended. Vets don't have crystal ball so they need to do testing to find out what the problem is. Please get her to the vet so her skin can be treated appropriately to get her feeling better and then after the treatment is done get her allergy tested. They can't be tested while on medication. You can try this home allergy test kit as a cursory screening and then go over the results with your vet to get a treatment plan in place but honestly, skin patch testing is a better diagnostic tool. ( https://www.chewy.com/dna-my-dog-test-my-pet-dog-allergy/dp/205062 )

Poor Romeo! Skin problems in dogs are usually related to allergies. Humans display allergies in our eyes and noses, but dogs do so in their skin. The top allergies are flea, food and inhalant. Flea allergies typically cause hair loss and itchiness on the back 1/3 of the dog especially around the tail. Food can cause ear problems and general skin issues. Inhalant tend to be on the legs and the abdomen and sometimes ears. When a dog has allergies, the skin isn't as healthy so it can't fight off the normally occurring yeast and bacteria on the skin, so they tend to get secondary bacterial or yeast infections. I am concerned that Romeo might have a secondary infection. Inhalant allergies tend to start from 3-5 years of age and tend to get worse... I recommend taking him to a veterinary and get a thorough exam. They will most likely do some diagnostics like a skin impression smear (push a slide on skin and check under a microscope), skin scrape (for mites) and a fungal culture. After they do that, they will discuss a treatment plan with you. Please have patience, there is not one plan that works for all allergy dogs. It is sometimes trial and error to find what works.... Kind of like it is for human allergies. :- ) Allergies can not be cured, only controlled. Communication is very important with your veterinarian to let them know what works and what doesn't. Good luck getting Romeo feeling better! Thanks for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Those spots on Luna could be several things including allergies to flea bites, skin mites, ringworm (which humans can get), 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 Luna wear an elizabethan collar at all times. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Pits are prone to allergic skin disease, and everything you describe can be symptomatic of this condition. Lex may benefit from a prescription allergy diet trial on something like Hills z/d fed exclusively for 9-10 weeks. He may need to be on allergy medication like apoquel to help stop the itching, and if he has a secondary bacterial or fungal/yeast infection in his skin, this needs to be addressed as well. See your vet for a skin allergy workup and proper medications. Hope that helps!

Hi there and thank you for posting your question! From the pictures you sent, it looks as if Onix could be dealing with skin mites (especially due to his age and the location of these areas of patchy hair loss). I would get him seen by your veterinarian to be diagnosed for skin mites and to receive the most appropriate treatment. Bravecto and Nexgard are 2 great flea / tick products that also treat Demodex skin mites off label. You will need a prescription and a diagnosis in order to use either one of these though. Onix may also have severe allergies / skin infection. I would still encourage you to be seen by your veterinarian to discuss treatment options for the allergies. For now, you can begin some safe supplements though. I would start Canine Welactin omega 3 fish oil, Essential 6 spot on by dermoscent and Benadryl 50mg by mouth every 12 hours (dose for Benadryl is 1mg per 1 lb of body weight, so if he is indeed 55lb, use the above 50mg dose). Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions / concerns you may have.

Thanks for using PetCoach! This is pretty classic for good old allergies. Pit bulls are notorious for having environmental allergies. You can start by trying some Benedryl (see link below), omega 3 fatty acids (about 2,000 mg fish oil per day) and Duoxo Calm shampoo. This combo seems to work well for dogs with mild-moderate, occasional allergies. Unfortunately, many of my pitties with allergies end up needing temeril - P, apoquel, cytopoint, or other medications to control their itching. If you’re not seeing improvement in 1 week (or if worsening at any time) head to your vet for more immediate/stronger relief. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/ Best of luck to you and Rosie!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think continuing the use of a medicated shampoo would be good as he likely has secondary infections. I think this could be due to allergies and it would be crucial to identify the allergic component to try to see if he can improve. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. 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!