Why is my dog's head itchy with bumps, scabs, and hair falling out?

With the description you provided it sounds like Zeus may have a skin infection. A skin infection can be caused by a few different things. Zeus may have allergies. I would recommend bringing him to your veterinarian to have them evaluate Zeus. He most likely will need antibiotics and potentially a shampoo. If your veterinarian suspects allergies they can discuss different medication options for him. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Zeus could have allergies and a skin infection. You could bathe him with a medicated dog shampoo, like Epi-soothe and see if that helps. Also, inspect him for fleas and use a monthly flea prevention, like Frontline. If his condition continues then he needs to be seen by a vet for treatment. You could try to find a low clinic in your area. He may need an antibiotic anti-histamine, corticosteroid, and/or other medications to treat. Hope he feels better soon!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can definitely see the small red bumps your are referring to, and agree that they appear scabbed over. This can be caused by a localized skin infection, an infestation with mites or fleas, or even an allergic reaction. It is likely that these conditions may be causing Hump to be itchy, and she may be having these scabs from scratching. A vet can perform some tests including blood work, and taking some samples from Hump's skin to figure out what is going on and prescribe an appropriate treatment plan. I hope this helps!

Hello, and thank you for your question. The lesion in the photos may be due to a bacterial infection (abscess), fungal infection (ringworm), parasites, an underlying allergy, or a tumour if it feels like a lump underneath. Because of the multiple possible causes, I would recommend getting Moose seen by a vet within the next few days. They may recommend testing such as a skin scraping, cytology, fungal culture, or a fine needle aspirate to narrow down the diagnosis. At minimum, they can prescribe antibiotics for secondary infection, or allergy medication if he is itchy. In the meantime, I would put an e-collar (cone) on his head to prevent any further trauma. I hope this helps, and that Moose gets better soon!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern! Poor Dip! It looks quite uncomfortable for the little guy. I would recommend having this looked at by a veterinarian. It appears to be what we call Demodex, which is a skin mite. This mite is typically picked up from the mom when they are puppies and because their immune system is not fully developed at this point, it can be difficult to keep these mites (which normally do not cause disease in an animal with a healthy and strong immune system) under control. Your vet will need to scrape the skin with an instrument or blade and look at the sample under the microscope to help confirm if this is from mites or not. The other possibility is that this could be a bacterial skin infection that needs an antibiotic and topical medications for treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. The lump may actually be something like a cyst. 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!

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!