My dog has a sudden skin infection. Is it contagious to other dogs?

This could indeed be mange, an allergy or a bacterial or fungal skin infection. Sarcoptic mange and a fungal infection are contagious to people so I strongly suggest you make an appointment with your vet for a skin exam. Your vet will do a skin scrape and look at it under the microscope, hopefully finding a mange mite. He may also take a brush sample to try and grow a fungus in a test tube. Please make an appointment today.

Pustules and a foul odor are a sign of infection, which could have been caused by fleas, allergies, mange, ringworm, heat rash, or excessive skin folds. Depending on the cause of the infection and the bacteria produced, it is possibly contagious. I recommend that Flippy see a vet as soon as possible. While you are waiting to go to the vet, you can use a calming, antibacterial pet shampoo like Dechra MalAcetic Ultra Shampoo, and make sure to dry gently but thoroughly in any skin folds.

It's impossible to say for sure by just looking at the photo. It appears to be a bacterial infection which would not be contagious to your children. However, there is a possibility that it is ringworm- which is a fungal infection and contagious to everyone. Your vet can look at it and distinguish which it is and what medication needs to be used.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Buddy. He needs to see a veterinarian. It is possible that he has a bacterial skin infection, but there are other possibilities as well. He will likely need skin tests to look for ringworm and mites. Based on these results, medications can be prescribed to help him feel better. I hope this information helps!

It could be any of those and yes, it could be contagious. There is no way to diagnose a skin condition just with photos. If I had to guess I would say mange is most likely but again, impossible for me to say for sure based on the photos. There are two types of mange - one is contagious, the other is not. I would quarantine this dog from all your other pets and assume she is contagious until you can get her to the vet.

This looks like a local skin infection but I cannot say for sure without seeing it in person. It could also be a type of fungal infection like ringworm which could be contagious. I would strongly recommend have your vet take a look at her so they can get her on the proper meds to help her heal. In the meantime, to be extra safe, I would keep your 11 month old away from the puppy until you know for sure what it is. I hope this helps!

It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy, a skin mite (Demodex) or fleas. 

The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. 

The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of hair loss, redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the itch so it can be treated appropriately. Your dog will most likely need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend he be on a good flea control routinely too. Once the infection has resolved a long term allergy medication (like Apoquel or Cytopoint) can be given on a regular basis to prevent any future problems. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.