My bulldog has spreading itchy skin. What's causing it and is it contagious?

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). 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.

That doesn't appear to be ringworm. It could be a bacterial skin infection. Given that he has allergies, this makes bacterial infection more likely. You would need to have this confirmed by your veterinarian. Treatment may be systemic antibiotics, topical treatment or a combination of both. Getting the allergies under control would probably help as well. Discuss allergy testing, hydrolyzed diets, food elimination trials and antihistamine use with your vet.

There are itchy skin conditions which can be transferred from pets to people - scabies, ringworm and occasionally flea bites can all cause itching in people. I recommend you get Goldie fully checked by your vet and skin scrapings/hair tests performed to rule these out - depending on the findings you may also need to see your own doctor or pharmacist for treatment also. Generally speaking however, recurrent seasonal itching is much more likely to be related to allergies and requires symptomatic treatment for Goldie - these are not contagious to people

That spot on Harvey could be several things including allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection or ringworm (which humans can get). Hopefully this is a good sign that his body is fighting the cause since it appears to be healing. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not his whole body, just the lesions). You can apply a dab of organic coconut oil once a day and rub in well (do not allow him to lick the area afterwards). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion do not start improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have him examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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 his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch. 

 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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Jack being an English Bulldog, this is possibly due to allergies if associated with itchiness or just a normal change in skin pigmentation which may be just transient. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. 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!

Infectious skin diseases are certainly high on the list of possible causes here, especially fungal diseases. Cancer would not spread to everyone in this manner, so that is low on the list of possibilities. I probably would've opted for a punch biopsy however, which can offer more insight into what this is. Also a bacterial culture should be considered. Mange doesn't typically present in this manner, but with a punch biopsy you can help rule this in or out. A needle biopsy unfortuantely will only let you know if there are cancerous cells or not. I do hope that you are able to get to the bottom of this mysterious skin problem in all of your pets and also yourselves. Best of luck and take care.