My dog's hairless patch won't heal; should I get a second opinion?

HI, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Summer! Your Vet has tried a lot. My suggestion at this point is to see a dermatologist. I would have him on Nexgard or Bravecto to cover fleas, demodex and scabies despite the injections. I would start an omega 3 fish oil (see link). I would also do several seeks of an antibiotic and antiyeast. I would also use cytopoint. The dermatolgist can do skin testing as well for environmental allergies. You can try a thin layer of the quadriderm cream on the areas once daily but he can not lick it so you have to use an E-collar. It also will only help the symptoms you see not the underlying cause of his allergies. Do not use it for more than 1 week. I wish you the best https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19121

Hello. I am so sorry for your concerns with Brandi. I wish I could just diagnose her skin problems from just a picture, but this is quite impossible. If this has been a chronic issue, my recommendations would be to either get a referral to a veterinary dermatologist who specializes in unusual skin problems, or have your veterinarian biopsy one of these lesions. It is not unusual to have to go this route when you have a frustrating case that just does not want to resolve using conventional therapy. Skin scrapes are good first step, but I think your veterinarian needs to look deeper into Brandi's skin problem. Good luck & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the picture you have provided, it appears that this could be bacterial or a skin parasite causing the lesion. The skin may need to be cultured and if a skin scraping has not been performed, I would certainly recommend having this done to make sure this is not due to a skin mite such as demodex. If this is not due to a mite and is still there, I would recommend a culture / biopsy of the area for a more definitive diagnosis. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bodie, it sounds as if he has had a rough three days. Bodie's lesions on his paw could certainly be related to an underlying environmental or food allergy that resulted in the development of a severe superficial and possible deep pyoderma, which can be difficult to treat if the bacteria present are resistant to normal antibiotics. Other potential causes could include fungal infections (depending on your location), and neoplasia (cancer). For lesions that do not respond to typical therapy with antibiotics and anti-itch medications (such as corticosteroids, Apoquel, Atopica), it may be necessary to perform a culture/sensitivity of the lesions to determine what type of bacteria present (if any) and what antibiotic it is sensitive to, or even a biopsy which could help rule-out certain fungal infections or neoplasia. I would recommend having Bodie re-evaluated by a veterinarian if the sores do not resolve to determine what the appropriate next step will be.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach. Unfortunately, something like this is difficult to diagnose with just a photo and still even difficult in person. If all the "normal" things have been tried for common problems, then next step is a biopsy of the skin. Since I am not sure what the other vets gave you for topical treatment it is hard for me to say what you should try. It is good that it is not bothering her but I do think biopsy is a good idea. You must understand that not everything is a quick fix. In the meantime I would use this specific medicated shampoo. Be sure to lather it and let it sit on her for 15 min before rinsing. Use every 3 days. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198943_Home.pml?productId=142634 And then I would use this topical ointment. I will authorize the Rx if needed but only for this specific website. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198943_Home.pml?productId=116555 Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Mollie! I wouldn’t do immunosuppressive doses of steroids without a biopsy. I would try a prescription hydrolzed diet like Royal Canin ultimino, put her on Bravecto, nexgard or simparica to cover for demodex and flea allergy dermatitis, omega 3 fish oil, allergy test her and try cytopoint. I think she has allergies. Most dogs with allergic skin disease need to be on multiple medications and special food. If that doesn’t work consider a boarded veterinary dermatologist. Then consider biopsy of the skin. I hope this helps and I wish Mollie the best!

I would also suspect an autoimmune disease like systemic lupus erythematosis with what you are describing. These are terrible diseases that are often difficult to treat. It appears that Roxy's current treatment is not very effective, so I would recommend scheduling a recheck exam with your vet. There are stronger medications that can be given. I would also want to ensure the disease is accurately diagnosed. This usually requires that a skin biopsy be done and sent to the laboratory for analysis. If this has not been done, then I would ask your vet about it. It's not unheard of for a case to be treated for autoimmune disease when the actual diagnosis was something different (i.e. skin cancer, mite infestation), so it's important to have a biopsy and histopathology (lab analysis) done. For more information about the suspected condition and autoimmune diseases, I recommend you read the short articles at the links below. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/systemic-lupus-erythematosis-sle-in-dogs https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/autoimmune-skin-disease-in-dogs I hope that helps and poor Roxy gets better soon.