My dog's skin smells bad, is red, and losing hair. What should I do?

If you are observing skin lesions and an odor he may have both a bacterial and yeast infection. While some cases can be treated topically and with medicated shampoos, more severe cases often requires oral antibiotic and antifungal therapy. As a first line therapy, start with a medicated shampoo that can be used for both yeast and bacterial infections such as Malaseb or Virbac or products recommended by your veterinarian. Additionally, it is important to make sure he is on a monthly flea prevention as many pets are sensitive to fleas. If this is secondary to allergies or what we refer to as atopy, he may require additional therapy including an allergy vaccine.

Yeast infections are especially itchy, crusty, and smelly. Often a dog starts with a rash or with simple itching but the skin thickens to an “elephant” skin appearance. The itch is extreme and the odor can be especially troublesome. Parts of the body or the entire body can be affected. Malassezia overgrowth is particularly problematic where there are skin folds ("armpits," eyelids, facial folds, lip folds, throat latch, and especially between the toes). Treatment can be topical, oral, or both. Topical treatment is best used for localized spots of infection while oral medication would be better applied to larger infected areas. If the yeast infection is recurrent or if one wishes to supplement oral medication, topical and oral treatment can be combined. Oral medications are available through your vet. Shampoos such as Chlorhexiderm Max® or Malaseb® shampoo both strip skin oil and kill yeast; however, other anti-yeast products include Selsun Blue®, Miconazole® shampoo, Nizoral® shampoo, Douxo® shampoo and more. The pet must be bathed twice a week to start and the shampoo requires a 15 minute contact time (meaning do not rinse the lather for 15 minutes). It is important to realize that yeast overgrowth occurs in response to a primary problem be it allergy, seborrhea or something else. If the underlying problem is not controlled, yeast dermatitis is likely to periodically recur. It is common for allergic dogs to require some kind of periodic if not on-going anti-yeast therapy.

Snoopy's skin issues could be a result of allergies or even systemic diseases (such as Cushing's disease or hypothyroidism) that can compromise the immune system and weaken the skin barrier to infection. Some yeast infections can be managed with prescription-based shampoos containing climbazole, ketoconazole, or other antifungals. To my knowledge, there are no safe and effective over the counter anti-fungal shampoos for dogs. Your vet should be able to prescribe an appropriate shampoo for Snoopy. I realize that you are unable to medicate Snoopy, but realize that some skin yeast infections do not respond to topical medications or shampoos alone and require oral antifungal medications. Hopefully this won't be an issue for her. I hope that she's on the mend soon!

This may be due to an infection (bacterial, fungal or parasites) or even severe allergies. Baby would need to be physically examined by a veterinarian to make the diagnosis. Thus is beneficial because afterwards, the veterinarian can begin treatment. Place an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent licking or chewing until she sees the doctor.

Blastomycosis causes nodules in the skin that develop draining tracts and I don't think your picture looks consistent with blastomycosis. Blastomycosis is a serious fungal infection and requires oral antifungal medications for treatment. Malassezia yeast can cause skin infections with hair loss, redness, and a distinct odor and some people claim that apple cider vinegar can help although more often treating the underlying cause (such as a food or environmental allergy) and giving oral medications and topical medications like ketoconazole are more helpful. I would not expect a decrease in appetite and weight loss from a malassezia infection. The bottom line is I think it sounds like you need to see your veterinarian for a thorough physical exam and potential some diagnostic testing.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It looks like Harley has a pretty bad skin infection. It is likely a combination of bacteria and yeast. I recommend taking him to a vet to know for sure and get him oral and topical medications. I would be suspicious of an environmental allergy, but the vet can discuss that further with you. There are no home remedies that can treat these types of problems. Good luck and kisses to Harley!

A yeast infection is a good thought and the medicated shampoo would help that condition, but he may need stronger treatment to completely eliminate it. However, the yeast infection is not often the primary cause of the skin problem. More likely, it's due to an internal problem with the dog. It can also be caused by bathing too frequently with innapropriate products like human shampoo or soaps. Hypothyroidism is a condition that is a possible cause. If Kado is chunky, but doesn't eat that much, then that would raise my suspicion. This would have to be diagnosed and treated by a veterinarian. Either way, Kado likely needs a vet and it would be worth having an exam done to see what the possible causes are and the expense. In the meantime I would keep up the medicated dog shampoo baths once every other day. You should also add a dog conditioner to the routine after the medicated bath. I hope that helps and Kado gets better soon.