My dog has scabs on his head and neck. Is it urgent to see a vet?

Thank you for posting the pictures of Cabot, it is really helpful. Those lesions look suspicious for a bacterial infection, pyoderma. However, other possible causes would be fungal infection or immune mediated issues. I do think it would be a good idea to have him seen by your veterinarian in the next few days, but unless it starts looking a lot worse or he starts acting sick then I don’t think it is an emergency. They may recommend oral antibiotics and/ or medicated shampoo. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

These scabs could be due to itching from something such as fleas, mites, ringworm, or allergies. If he isn't up to date on his flea treatment, I can give you one for him. First, I would give him Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. If he is up to date on his flea treatment, I recommend taking him into the vet for an exam today or tomorrow. The vet can do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the itching is found, the vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment. I hope this helps!

This looks like a superficial skin infection that may have been caused by a small scratch or abrasion on the skin that just worsened. There is a chance this can even be a fungal infection. I would definitely take Chapo in to your vet to get this treated. The vet may have to shave the hair to get the skin to breathe well, cleanse it with an antiseptic, and then prescribe oral medication to help this resolve. I would also get Chapo on a flea preventative, if not done so already, because this is a common cause of skin lesions. Best wishes with your puppy Chapo moving forward. I hope his skin heals well soon. Take care

This looks like a scab. He could have gotten this after a little bug bite, a local skin infection, a minor injury from being in the yard, or something else. Since it is so small, I would not be too concerned right now. If it isn't healing, you see discharge, you find more spots, or this spot gets larger, I would have your vet take a look at it to see if he needs any oral meds or other treatment to help it heal. I hope this helps !

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Oscar. It is a bit difficult to see the lesions in these photos as they are slightly blurry and there is fur covering the areas, but these could be epidermal collarettes, which are the result of bacterial infection of the skin, often the result of allergies, or potentially ringworm (a fungus) lesions. I would recommend bringing Oscar in to the vet to examine the areas. They may recommend testing by collecting some of the lesion and looking at it under the microscope to see if bacteria or yeast are present, or recommend fungal culture if they feel the lesions are suspicious for ringworm in person.

The rash you described: scaly, bumpy, scab like, could be a fungal infection or bacterial infection on the skin. Since at home treatments will likely not resolve this, it really is necessary to get the skin checked by your vet so they can do some quick skin testing to determine which infection is more likely so that the correct treatment is recommended to resolve Jimi's skin problem. Antibiotics or Anti-fungals will likely be recommended to treat this, which are also not available without a veterinarian prescription.

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!