Why is my dog's skin bleeding and losing hair? What can I do?

Related Answers from Veterinarians

• Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

  Veterinarian

  Published on April 26th, 2020

  Those spots on Spike could be several things including allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first.
  
  Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back.
  
  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 may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions once a day (not his whole body, just the lesions). Once it is dried, you can apply a dab of organic coconut oil and rub it in well to he lesions. Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

  

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• Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

  Veterinarian

  Published on March 8th, 2018

  This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites.
  
  First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat her with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advantage), then get her to 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 discovering the cause of the allergy.
  
  Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months.
  Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).
  

  

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