Why is my dog scratching, losing fur and weight despite vet care?

Poor Max! Losing weight despite being fed can be a sign of a medical illness, such as diabetes, intestinal parasites, or an inability to properly digest nutrients. I would make sure Max is up to date on his deworming treatment, and if he isn't, you will need to get one from the vet. The constant scratching could be caused by fleas, mites, ringworm, or allergies. If he isn't up to date on his flea treatment, he will need a spot on treatment such as Advantage or Revolution. You will need to disinfect the environment as well. I recommend taking him into your vet for an exam. The vet can do a physical exam, routine blood tests, and a urinalysis to see if there is a medical cause behind him losing weight. The vet can also do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm if he is up to date on his flea treatment. I would take him into the vet tomorrow for an exam.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Jake! Here are my recommendations: Jake should be on a good oral flea/tick medication year round in case flea allergic (Nexgard, Bravecto or Simparcia, I would have a skin scrape performed to rule out scabies, I would have him tested for ring worm, if he is older I would have full blood work done and consider having an area biopsied. If all that comes back negative then he likely has allergies. I would then put him on a prescription hydrolyzed diet (Royal canin HP or Purina HA or Hill's z.d). Consider having him allergy tested with a Veterinary dermatologist. If he is positive for environmental allergens then allergy serum can be started. Also I would get him off steroids and try apoquel or cytopoint. A lot of allergy dogs need multiple medications and a diet for life. I also like all my allergy patients on a good Omega 3 fish oil. I like http://vrshealth.com/canine-products/omegadog/. Your Vet also should be sure he is free of all bacterial and yeast infections. I hope this helps and I wish Jake the best!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. At such a young age, skin parasites are high on my list as the possible cause. This requires anti-parasite medication to treat Browny with. In the US we use products such as Bravecto and Nexgard to treat skin mites, so something comparable should help with a mite infestation. He may also be dealing with a bad bacterial skin infection in addition to the mites or as its own primary problem. He may also need a 2-3 week course of an oral antibiotic and medicated shampoo such as Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved. I would talk to your veterinarian about skin mites as the possible cause, a skin infection or allergies as the cause. If he does not have skin mites or a skin infection, this could certainly be a severe allergy such as Atopic Dermatitis. With Atopic Dermatitis, certain medications like Atopica or Cytopoint can prove to be quite beneficial and helpful at eliminating or reducing the clinical signs. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! George's itching can be caused by a reaction to the fleas, a secondary skin infection, ringworm, or other skin parasites such as mites. George may need antibiotics, medicated shampoo or ointments to resolve the issue completely. I recommend having her seen by her vet, who can take a sample of the affected areas to determine what is going on. I hope this helps and that all is well with you and George!

With the weight loss as well as the skin condition I would recommend a blood test to rule out internal diseases such as liver disease as well as a skin scrape and possible biopsy in order to fully investigate the underlying cause and to guide the most appropriate treatment

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Hi, and thanks for your question. Although pic would help to determine the underlying cause, 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. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.