My dog's neck has scabs, hair loss, and dry itchy skin. What can I do?

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. What you are describing could be due to allergies or a skin infection. I would recommend starting a shampoo such as Douxo PS chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly. I would also recommend welactin omega 3 fish oil, essential 6 spot on by dermoscent and malacetic conditioning spray. If this does not imprive the current problem or it worsens, i would have a veterinarian look at this for further trestment recommendations. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

The skin is unhealthy for some reason. This is usually caused by some irritation of the skin. The skin is most commonly irritated from allergies, fleas, mites, or inappropriate bathing. The irritation can then cause the skin to get infected with yeast and bacteria. The best thing you can do now is give a bath with a medicated dog shampoo (you can find this at the pet store). Follow the shampoo with an oatmeal or aloe conditioner labeled for dogs. Repeat the bath every other day for two weeks. If that's helping, then repeat the bath every week for a month. If all is good after that, then she should be OK to have a once monthly bath with normal dog shampoo. If the bath is not helping, or she's getting worse, then she needs to go to the vet. The vet will be able to determine if something else is wrong and if further treatment is needed.

Skin lesions can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. I recommend making an appointment to have Opehli seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the lesions you’ve noticed and to make sure they are treated appropriately. The vet will likely want to shave the area and look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine if there is an infection and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. In the meantime, you can bathe Opehli in hypoallergenic shampoo for dogs to clean the area, and put an e-collar (cone) on Opehli to help reduce the risk of licking/scratching at the area, but this will likely not resolve the lesions. The lesion in the picture looks like it could be a "hot spot" , and will not heal if she is able to lick or scratch at it. See the link below for more information: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952981

That sign could be related to a superficial skin infection (bacterial or yeast). Usually a medicated antibacterial shampoo preparation is enough to sort out the problem. Malaseb shampoo could be a good option in her case. I would recommend to have it prescribed from your local veterinarian, following a check up to confirm clinical suspicion. 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.

I'm sorry to hear that Maya is having skin problems. There are a number of reasons for skin problems in dogs. This article does an excellent job of describing them. You could be dealing with allergies (of various types), external parasites (such as fleas or mites), or secondary infections (bacterial or yeast). https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-is-my-dog-so-itchy/ This is also an excellent article on itching in dogs and the possible causes and treatments. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952662 Often the first step is making sure there isn’t any evidence of external parasites that need to be treated. You may still be dealing with a flea allergy even if you have treated the fleas. Once a flea bites a flea allergy dog, that dog can stay itchy for a week. Using a good quality flea preventative product will help treat and prevent fleas. Here is additional information on fleas causing itching in dogs. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952572 I would recommend having your veterinarian evaluate Maya to discuss your treatment options. Your veterinarian can run a few simple skin tests to rule out fungus, mites, or a bacteria as the cause of the crusting. You will need to discuss resolving any of these secondary infections which will create crusting and make her more itchy. This can involve topical treatments (like shampoos, wipes or sprays) or may involve oral medications. Then you can discuss ways to prevent problems in the future. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is concerning as the wounds are large and extensive. I would be concerned that this could be some form of immune mediated disease or a reaction to something in the environment or medication or perhaps an infection of some sort. I recommend that you have Bella evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and treat accordingly. Diagnostics will likely include infectious disease testing and a skin biopsy. Good luck and have a great day!

Based on what you are describing, I would recommend starting with some preliminary diagnostics of the affected area just to rule out a couple of things. A skin scraping will be able to mostly eliminate some fairly common dermatologic parasites like mites, though these typically do cause a fair amount of itchiness. The locations you are describing are not typical for a flea infestation so it is not very high on my list of possibilities. Based on the second and third picures, it looks like the hair is coming out very easily and that the skin beneath in the third picture is quote dry / seborrheic. It is possible that Leizel could be experiencing some localized allergic reaction as well. Lastly, a cause of the issues you are seeing can be attributed to certain immune-mediated disease that affect the skin. These are usually only positively diagnosed through biopsies of the affected regions.