My dog has skin irritation. Is it mange, allergy, or infection?

Mange is caused by mites. There are two types of mange, sarcoptic mange and demodex mange, each caused by a different mite. Sarcoptic mange is highly contagious to other animals and humans, while demodex mange is not. The symptoms depend on what type of mite is presents. Yes a skin allergy could potentially look like mange, but a vet will be able to diagnose the underlying cause. You will need to take Mister Brown into the vet. Best of luck.

It could be mange or it could be a severe infection of bacterial or fungal nature. The only way to find out would be to have your veterinarian physically examine your dog and perform a skin scrape or culture of the skin. These tests may diagnose the underlying cause which can then be treated.

I recommend to have a skin scrape to check for mange. This is an easy test which will generally yield results. Some vets will also use an oral flea prevention product off label once the pet is old enough. Puppies will commonly get eye infections as well although a scratch on the cornea or other eye condition could also be the cause of the infection. I recommend to have Jimmy examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor guy. There are really only 2 types of mites that we see in veterinary medicine- Scabies and Demodexx mites. Scabies (a type ofmite) is infectious to people so if you yourself are not itching then you can kind of rule that one out. The other mite, Demodexx isn't infectious to people or other pets, and nowadays it can be treated with oral flea preventatives such as Bravecto, Nexgard or Simparica + a medicated topical shampoo through your vet. I would recommend just starting Baileys' on one of these to cover any kind of mite issue. Then I would suggest getting Bailey on an oral antibiotic to clear up the skin infection that is present. The ears look to be infected as well. This will require a topical ear medication and cleaner from your vet to resolve. Skin allergy testing is not commoonly used anymore due to the poor overall response to allergy immunotherapy shots. THe most common allergy medication used nowadays is Apoquel. I would ask your vet about this as well, especially if mites are not the underlying problem, which can be easily confirmed or denied with a simple skin scraping test done through your vet. I hope that you can get Bailey's skin issue resolved soon. Best wishes and take care!

Since there is a smell, severe pruritus (itch), and hair loss this is very suspicious for sarcoptic mange, especially since both your dogs are affected. You will need to take them to your vet for a skin scrape to verify that it is indeed mange. Mange is relatively easy to treat with an injection of an avermectin. Sometimes a second injection is needed. Unfortunately sarcoptic mange is contagious and if you have other pets (dogs, cats) they should all be treated. You will also need to watch out for itchy skin conditions as humans can also be affected.

Allergies and mange would be at the top of my list. A vet can easily check for intestinal parasites (mange) and then figure out a treatment plan for allergies if you don't have any parasites. There are many many different way to treat allergies, depending on how much you want to spend on medications/testing.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Oreo. He will need to see his veterinarian for a simple procedure known as a skin scrape to determine if he has mange or not. The scraping is evaluated under the microscope to look for any mites. If so, treatment will be started. If not, he will likely be checked for ringworm or possibly allergies will be considered. I hope this information helps!