My dog's skin condition is worsening, and meds aren't helping?

There are a lot of things that could be causing this appearance to the skin, and it may not be easy or cheap to figure it out. I would recommend that you keep working with the vet. Baseline blood work, thyroid hormone, testing for Cushing's disease, skin biopsies, food trials, flea preventatives, etc may be needed.

In your picture this looks kind of like cutaneous mucinosis which is seen in Shar Peis but can also be seen with some other diseases as well. If it is not improving with the prescribed medications you may want to recheck with your vet or ask about referral to a dermatologist or other specialist.

Oh my. Poor guy. This infection is severe. I would have cultures taken of this skin immediately if the broad spectrum antibiotics that your vet gave aren't working. I would also consider getting biopsies of this thing. The area may need surgical debridement as well, because there is some diseased and necrotic (dead) tissue there that will prevent this from healing well if it isn't removed. I am so sorry your pet has such an aggressive skin condition. This certainly will need further medical management from your vet for sure. With the suggestions above, you should be able to get a better handle on this thing. Best of luck and take care!

Fleas and allergies to fleas can set-up an environment for infection. It's possible that this is complicating the recovery process. The skin will often start to heal once the fleas are gone, but it's worth treating for infection by giving a bath with a medicated dog shampoo (can get this at the pet store). It's best to just give a bath with the medicated shampoo once every 2-3 days, until the skin starts to look normal. It's expected that it will take a month or more until Buddy starts to look normal again, so stick with it and he should get through this fine. Treating for fleas is not just restricted to the host, because fleas can reproduce and nest in the environment and continually cause an issue. Below is a link to a short article that explains treating the dog and environment for fleas: https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-get-rid-of-fleas/ If the skin problems are not getting better, or are getting worse in the next two weeks, then it's best to have Buddy evaluated by a vet, because he may need additional treatment. I hope that helps and buddy gets better soon.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. 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!

Poor guy. I see a lot of hair loss and folliculitis (inflammation of the hair follicles) there. This appears to be a bit more than a simple allergy condition. I suspect your pet may have skin mites. I highly recommend returning to your vet and getting a skin scrape done to check for mites. If Oscar does indeed have mites, then there is a completely different kind of treatment for that. Also due to the secondary infection, Oscar will need to go on a short course of oral antibiotics prescribed by your vet as well. I hope that things clear up soon with your pet Oscar! Best wishes and take care.

Poor Ezra, that looks miserable! This could be a number of things, including superficial pyoderma, demodicosis, sarcoptes, yeast dermatitis, and ringworm. It is most likely some sort of infection (whether bacterial, yeast, or parasitic) so I strongly recommend bringing Ezra to the vet. Your vet will be able to determine the cause, and Ezra will likely need prescription medication (antibiotics, antifungals, or anti-parasite, along with possible medicated shampoo) to clear the issue. This is unlikely to improve with anything over the counter, so it is worth having him seen as soon as possible. Additionally, depending on his age, he may have some underlying condition that might be making his skin susceptible to infection, such as allergies or hypothyroidismI hope this helps!