My Golden Retriever has red, itchy skin with hair loss. What's wrong?

Ideally, I would want to know if your dog has been definitively diagnosed with mange and if so, what type - treatment is quite different for sarcoptic mange (scabies) vs. demodectic mange, and both types are very uncommon in adult dogs compared to other possible causes of itching and hair loss such as allergies, fleas, or a bacterial or fungal skin infection. If your dog does have mange, the most effective treatment will be to use prescription medication from your vet rather than topical dips and shampoos - so I would suggest having Rex examined by your vet as a first step unless this has already been done. Your vet can do a skin scrape to help diagnose the problem, and will prescribe appropriate medication to treat his skin depending on the underlying cause.

Hi! Its great you have a picture in there! So, the wound appearance is similar to a fungus infection, which is quite common in dogs with this type of fur as in golden retrievers. It's not easy to dry it completely, so some fungus can take advantage on that and cause an infection. As it is pruritic (a nice word for itching), and fungal infection in the majority is NOT itchy, a secondary bacterial contamination can be occurring. You will need some extra diagnostics work up with your vet to figure this out, or do an diagnostic by exclusion (treating the most common causes to see if helps). Other very important fact to be looked at, is if this "crusty - like" wound was caused by the itching problem and there is another underlying skin allergic reaction happening such as, flea allergy (remember you don't have to see the fleas on your dog for this), food related allergy, atopic allergy, etc. As I don't know for how long you have been treating Cody, so the antibiotic might no had kicked in yet. Cold baths with Chlorhexidine shampoos (you can even buy "Dettol" on supermarket) can give some quick relief.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). 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.

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If she doesn’t have a history of skin allergies I would suspect she may have a bacterial infection, thyroid disease some other kind of skin disorder (seborrhea). I would suggest starting with pet formulated fish oils to see if this makes a difference. Also a topical shampoo (Duoxo seborrhea shampoo is recommended) can be tried. If there is no resolve after this, then a trip to the vet is warranted to get the skin tested and a thyroid test done. Best wishes with Holly and I hope her skin resolves soon. Take care.

It looks like it could be a contact allergy of some kind. You can try the following: 1. This topical steroid/antibiotic spray. Apply three times daily until the skin is back to normal. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=135244 2. Chlorpheniramine tablets (antihistamine). He can have 1-2 tablets by mouth every 8-12 hours. Will help with an allergic reaction. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=113389 Both are prescription items but I am happy to authorize them for you if you purchase them through the above think. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Your dog needs to see a veterinarian for a skin scraping to rule out parasites and then a culture to see if there is an underlying bacterial or skin infection. Place a cone on him to prevent licking and chewing.

It is possible we could have yeast or bacteria here. The only way to tell for certain is to do what is called a cytology on the area. Your vet can take a sample (they may use a piece of tape or press a microscope slide directly on the skin) and look at it under the microscope. They can then determine if we have infection present and treat appropriately.