Is my dog sick? Itching, losing hair, and drinking excessively

I am sorry your dog is not feeling well. The information provided and picture don't really match. If a patient is drinking more and losing weight I would be concerned about endocrine diseases like diabetes and cushings disease. However the picture looks more like possible skin mites or an underlying autoimmune disease I would recommend taking her to a veterinarian to help you resolve the issues. They most likely will need to run basic bloodwork and possible a skin scrape to determine if mites are present.

Poor Star! I can see that she has a large amount of redness and hair loss on her shoulder and thigh in the photo. Yeast infections, bacterial infections, mange, skin allergies, and even certain hormonal imbalances can cause these signs. Because of how severely affected the area seems to be, I definitely recommend having Star seen by a vet, as she likely requires prescription medications. I hope all is well!

These signs could be compatible with a metabolic or possibly endocrine disorders. Diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, renal failure, liver problems can be all responsible for those signs. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Blood tests and urine analysis would be ideally needed. 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.

Oh dear, poor Deja! Head shaking in dogs occurs most commonly due to an ear infection (which is often the result of underlying allergies). Similarly, licking and itching can occur due to allergies, the onset of a skin infection, due to external parasites (fleas or mites), or endocrine issues (hypothyroidism is one example). Deja's increased water intake could be due to a number of other issues, including a urinary tract infection, kidney disease, diabetes, a pyometra (uterine infection), or Cushing's disease, among others. At this point, it would be best to take Deja to her vet for further evaluation. Her vet will be able to perform a physical exam, evaluate any ear discharge under a microscope, and perform blood testing to get to the bottom of these issues. In order to decide how to treat Deja, you first need to determine the cause of her itching and increased water consumption. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

He really should be examined by a vet to determine the cause of all his problems. It sounds like he needs a complete physical examination and some diagnostic tests to figure out why he is having all these problems. Your vet can do a skin scrape, cytology, or culture to determine why he has a bald patch on his head. He could have a skin infection, ringworm, demodex, etc. and once it is diagnosed your vet can prescribe medications to help treat. For the excessive drinking, your vet can run blood-work and a urinalysis to check his kidneys and rule out other diseases than can cause dogs to drink more water. Your vet can also do an orthopedic examination to determine why he is limping. A food allergy could be contributing to his problems but I don't believe it is all his diet.

Poor Elsa. I obviously cant say for sure without seeing her in person but I bet she has sever allergies and some secondary bacterial and/or fungal infections causing her to smell bad. it also sounds like she has an ear infection which will need medicated ear drops to help her heal. I would strongly recommend to have your vet take a look at her to get her on the proper treatment to make her feel better. The weight loss could come from a number of different things and the vet will be able to help you determine the cause of that as well. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better soon!

I'm glad to hear that Charlie is still playful and eating well despite these changes. With his excessive drinking and urination, hair loss, and skin discoloration, my main concern is that he may have Cushing's disease, which is an endocrine disease in which the adrenal glands produce excess quantities of steroids. Other possible causes of his increased drinking and urination could be related to diabetes, kidney disease, urinary tract infection, among other issues. At this point, I strongly recommend taking Charlie to his vet for an exam and blood testing to try to get to the bottom of this issue so that treatment can be started. I hope this helps and that all goes well!