My dog is itching, losing fur, and smells bad. What can I do?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The smell usually indicates skin infection, so ideally you should take Jaceky to your local vets to get a course of antibiotics. Alternatively, you can first clip the wounds from the hair and use antiseptic solution ( 4% chlorhexidine would be best) and clean it twice a day. Also, make sure that your dog doesn't lick or scratch the wounds. For ticks, the most effective treatments are spot-on skin solutions that you can buy over-the-counter at pet shops or online.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Skin issues like you are describing can have a variety of causes, including skin parasites (fleas or mites), allergies, an infection, or an underlying medical issue (Cushings disease, diabetes). I would recommend he be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his skin lesions, have any necessary testing done (bloodwork, skin scrape, culture) and start on any treatment that he may need. Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the photos, it appears that the demodex is becoming less severe and the head is in the process of healing with all of the scabs present. If the hair does not grow back and it seems like the demodex is still there, I would try other medications such as Fluralaner (Bravecto) or Afoxolaner (Nexgard). If Tyson is not on an antibiotic right now, it might help him as well as washing him in a Benzoyl Peroxide shampoo twice weekly. I hope this helps and that Tyson recovers fully soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

There are various causes for the bad smell and they will need to be investigated by a veterinarian. 1) your dog (I am assuming it is a dog, you do not say anywhere what type of animal he is) may have a particularly stinky type of bacteria in his anal sacs. This could be remedied by emptying them and flushing them with an antibitic that kills off all bacteria and then hopefully a new type of bacteria will take up residence. 2) Your dog may have particularly smelly bacteria in his skin that emit a bad smell. Certain antibacterial shampoos can alleviate that 3) your dog may have a mite infection. Sarcoptes mite infections have a typical sweet smell. Sarcoptes mites can be killed with avermectins or a Bravecto chew. 4) He could have a fungal infection (treatable with fungicidal shampoo and/or tablets) 5) If you have other dogs in your house he may have a particular pack smell. 6) He may have a skin condition such as seborrhea which invites certain bacteria who can cause a bad smell. I suggest yu make an appointment with your vet who should then examine your dog and check for the various causes and treat accordingly. Don't forget to do flea control.

Hello. In a 7 month old pup, my first guess is Demodex mange. But, this could also be a simple bacterial infection. Let your veterinarian do a simple skin test to see if the mites are present. There is a very specific treatment for this & usually results in a cure within a few months. I do hope you can have her seen soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am unsure about the smell without being able to examine him in person, but I think a novel flea product is called for. I prefer oral flea medications, so that if you need to bathe him, or he swims, it will not effect the efficacy of the preventative. I also find the fleas are developing resistance to certain topical products. I recommend Comfortis, Trifexis or Simparica. It depends on your location as to what is best recommended- i.e. including a heart worm preventative, or a dewormer etc. Fleas can be tough to eradicate once they are in your home. It can take up to 3 months to kill all the various life stages. I recommend a knock out spray, and being diligent with laundry and vacuuming. I would also treat him every 3 weeks with his flea product instead of every 4 until this is managed. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry that Zero is so sick! I would make sure that your Vet has done a skin scrape to check for mites under a microscope. Even if they don’t see any mites I would treat anyway. Nexgard monthly will get demodex and injectable ivermectin will get scabies. Sometimes if an animal is spending all of its time scratching they can lose weight. After treating prophylactically for mites I would try a prescription diet for food allergies, allergy test and make sure any skin infection is treated. Cytopoint and apoquel are good choices for skin allergies. I hope this helps! Good luck!