My dog's skin lesion isn't healing, vet is stumped. What's next?

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!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the picture you have provided, it appears that this could be bacterial or a skin parasite causing the lesion. The skin may need to be cultured and if a skin scraping has not been performed, I would certainly recommend having this done to make sure this is not due to a skin mite such as demodex. If this is not due to a mite and is still there, I would recommend a culture / biopsy of the area for a more definitive diagnosis. 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.

I am suspicious that this could be a lesion caused by either demodex mite or ringworm. I would highly encourage you to have a follow up appointment with your veterinarian. A skin scrape can be done to look for mites, they may consider a trial anti mite therapy in addition to an a topical anti fungal medication. If it still won’t heal then my next step would be a skin biopsy for more information on what the underlying problem is. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

It is difficult for me to give you much advice without having more information but I will try my best. His skin may be getting worse due to an idiosyncratic drug reaction. The antibiotics may not be agreeing with him. A change to a different class of antibiotic may be all that is needed. The antibiotic he was prescribed may not be the correct one for this particular bacterial infection (if it is a bacterial infection). A culture and sensitivity of the crusty lesions on the head may need to be done in order to find out what bacteria are there and what antibiotic will be most effective. This may be a fungal skin infection (or yeast) and not a bacterial infection) hence why the antibiotic is not working. Antibiotics do not treat fungus or yeast. In young dogs I would be worried that this is a secondary infection of the skin from mange mites. It can be seen in older dogs as well but it is much more common in youngsters. So, I would have your vet do a skin scraping to check for mites. This could be an autoimmune disorder (like pemphigus). A biopsy of the affected area would be needed for diagnosis. That is all I can come up with right off the top of my head. I hope this helps to give you some things to bring up with your vet. Best wishes!

Those spots on Jimmy 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 a 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 are unlikely to 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 her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Jimmy wear an elizabethan collar at all times. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Oh my. Poor girl. This doesn't sound like your typical hot spot/abscess due to trauma. There is an underlying factor here. Some possible causes are: an autoimmune skin condition, a resistant bacterial infection, skin cancer, or a mite infection with subsequent skin infections. I would highly recommend starting with a skin biopsy, which will give you a lot of information on the underlying cause and what treatment is needed. A skin bacterial culture should also be considered to determine if there is a resitant bacteria growing on Cali's skin that is not susceptible to the antibiotics tried so far. After these tests are done we should have a good idea or what we are dealing with and what treatment will likely resolve it. Best of luck with Cali and her skin woes. I hope things clear up soon!

You will first need to determine the type of infection. A recheck with your veterinarian would be recommended. Samples can be submitted for fungal culture as well as for bacterial culture and sensitivity. If it is a fungal infection, your vet can dispense an antifungal. Some of these infections can take weeks t months to resolve. If it is a bacterial infection, the sensitivity panel should determine the most effective antibiotic to use in treatment. Allergies should also be ruled out as an underlying cause. They can be frustrating to diagnose since they have multiple causes (food, environmental, parasites). Discuss allergy testing, food elimination trials, hydrolyzed diets and antihistamine use with your veterinarian. Legally, we are prohibited from recommending a medication in the absence of a physical exam. Any prescription medications will need to come from your vet.