Why is my dog losing hair on his ear edges and what should I do?

This looks highly suspicious for a demodex mite (non-contagious) problem. A simple skin test through your vet can conrim this. If mites are not the cause, then a skin allergy is at play here. These are both treatable with medications. I hope that things work out for your pet Kendra and that her skin issue resolves soon! Best of luck and take care.

Hair loss can occur on the ear margins from a number of conditions, including fungal infections, mange, vasculitis, seborrhea, among others. The best thing you can do is to take Boomer to his vet for evaluation and some diagnostic testing to get to the bottom of this issue so that the best course of treatment can be started. I hope that all goes well!

It's probably an ear infection, often it cannot be seen from the outside. Ear infections are very common in dogs, it is usually caused by either yeast or bacterial disease. the treatment is usually simple and straightforward, you will have to take him to the vet and get the ears checked, then a prescription ear drops will be prescribed according to the infectious agent.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, this can be due to mites. Usually though that is associated with itchiness. Another possibility is that this is due to vasculitis. There could be an underlying allergy. I recommend that you have Gizmo evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. If there is itchiness, this could be due to skin allergies as stated above. 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!

I would recommend doing testing on the ears to find out what is causing the scabs. If your pet is outside a lot, then flea bites are possible and it is recommended to purchase flea bite repellent at your local pet store to start, followed by topical triple antibiotic to get the scabs to heal. If your pet is kept mostly indoors, two common causes of this are demodexx mites or a yeast infection. Also another condition called ear margin vasculitis could be the cause. Ear margin vasculitis is a spontaneous condition where the vessels at the ear tip margin become inflamed creating a scabby appearance to the skin. Since all 3 of these look very similar it is important to get testing done in the form of a skin scrape/cytology and/or skin biopsy because each is treated so differently and it takes out a lot of the guess-work. Therefore scheduling an appointment with your vet is needed for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Elsa. I recommend that she sees her veterinarian. I worry that she has an ear infection. This is an itchy condition that can cause changes to the changes to the skin and can even result in hairloss. The veterinarian will examine her and use an instrument known otoscope to look inside the ear canal. Typically a swab is taken from each ear to evaluate under the microscope. This will confirm an infection is present and tell what organism is responsible such as yeast or bacteria. Based on these results, treatment can be started to help her feel better. I hope this information helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on your description, it sounds as if Daisy may have a skin allergy or infection. If she is losing hair behind her ears, she may be scratching at the base of her ears due to an ear infection. If her ears look infected, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so you can get the infection treated with prescription ear medication. Below are some recommended products, which you can find online, that you can try to see if these help relieve the symptoms you are seeing. If the condition worsens or does not resolve, I would recommend having her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to the affected areas 2-3 times per day until resolved 3. Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent 4. Douxo PS Calm mousse and apply to the entire body once daily on the non-shampoo days.