My dogs have itchy, flaky skin, fur loss, and lumps. What is it?

Since there is a smell, severe pruritus (itch), and hair loss this is very suspicious for sarcoptic mange, especially since both your dogs are affected. You will need to take them to your vet for a skin scrape to verify that it is indeed mange. Mange is relatively easy to treat with an injection of an avermectin. Sometimes a second injection is needed. Unfortunately sarcoptic mange is contagious and if you have other pets (dogs, cats) they should all be treated. You will also need to watch out for itchy skin conditions as humans can also be affected.

The first thing to do is to check for any fleas. Some can be allergic and make scratching worse. They sell Advantage and Frontline over the counter to help control fleas if needed. The odor may be from a secondary infection from all the scratching. They will likely need to go to the vet to determine if there is an infection or a separate allergy (environmental or food) causing this. All you can do at home is a regular bath once a week to help their skin and apply antibiotic ointment (neopsorin) to the areas that seem worse and have scabs. They make omega 3 fatty acid supplements for dogs that help their coat and with dry skin that might be beneficial to add.

That is an understandable concern. It appears he has a very bad case of folliculitis, which can be caused by several things including a Demodexx mite infestation, a contact allergy, environmental allergy or flea allergy. He needs to first go on a good flea preventative (Nexgard, Bravecto, etc) and then have a skin scrape/cytology done to look for possible mites. He definitely needs a short course of antibiotics to treat for his current skin infection and then medication depending on the results of his skin scrape/cytology. The vet should be able to get him on the right track if the skin testing is done. I hope this helps and best wishes with Trump moving forward. I hope his skin problems resolve very soon.

Hi there! There are many different skin related diseases that can cause the signs that you describe. The most common diseases include infectious skin diseases (i.e. bacterial pyoderma, dermatophytosis), or ectoparasites (i.e. Demodex, fleas, lice). From the picture you provided Ecru looks as though he may be suffering from Demodex, more commonly known as mange. To be certain of what exactly is going on with Ecru I recommend that he be seen by a veterinarian to evaluate samples of the affected areas of Ecru's skin under a microscope and get him on the appropriate medications and/or shampoos. It depends on what exactly is going on to know how long treatment will be, but I would estimate anywhere between 1 - 3 weeks of treatment. I hope this was helpful and Ecru gets better soon.

Mites are just one possible cause of itching and hair loss, however they wouldn't necessarily cause "lumped up" spots on the skin. You may be seeing hives, which are due to some type of an allergic reaction. The first thing to do would be to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. Discuss allergy testing, hydrolyzed diets, food elimination trials, parasite control and antihistamine use with the vet. Any potential treatment will depend on the underlying cause. In the meantime, place an e-collar (cone) on Axel to prevent excessive licking or chewing. You can also treat for fleas using a topical preventive (Frontline, Advantix, etc.) or an oral preventive (CapStar, Comfortis, Bravecto, Credelio, etc.). Vacuum everywhere indoors and dispose of the bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately afterwards. Wash all bedding in the hottest water allowable by fabric and dry in a dryer. Use an area treatment, such as Indorex or Knockout ES, to prevent or treat any flea infestation.

Lesions like those in the pictures can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. In dogs like yours with hair loss and itchiness, one common cause can be infection by mites that can live in the hair follicles and lead to hair loss, and secondary bacterial and fungal infections that can develop. I recommend making an appointment to have your dog seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the hair loss as soon as you can. The vet will likely want to look at a sample from the area (taken by a procedure known as a skin scraping) and examined under the microscope to determine what kind(s) of infection may be present and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. I hope that helps!

The most common reason for change of skin color and itchy skin is fleas. I would recommend keeping up with a monthly flea prevention. Even if you are not seeing fleas on Rockey he could be bitten by fleas causing sensitivity of the skin. IF you are using flea prevention monthly than it is possible Rockey is having environmental allergies that need medication from a vet to resolve. I would recommend taking Rockey to a vet to make sure the skin is not infected and stronger medications are needed. hope that helps