My dog has scaly, greasy, smelly skin from fleas. Can I use tea tree oil?

It looks like Emjay has a skin infection. With her scratching it, she is most likely making it worse. I recommend a veterinarian so she can get antibiotics and/or a medicated shampoo to help resolve this. You then can also talk to your veterinarian about giving her something to stop the itching. This could be from a lot of different things. It could be from allergies (if something new in your house is bothering her), mites (less likely since her skin does not appear to have these types of lesions), something might just have irritated her and with her scratching she made it worse and of course fleas (but this is not the typical location and is less likely). I hope Emjay feels better soon and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Molly! I do not think it’s a reaction to the topical flea medication. It looks and sounds like a bacterial skin infection. Molly should see your vet for an exam and if they agree be prescribed an oral antibiotic. You can try the below shampoo. Bathe her twice weekly and allow the lather to sit on her for 10mins before rinsing. Good luck! https://m.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27975

Hi there. Thank you for using PetCoach! The only permanent solution to a flea allergy is to keep fleas from biting Rylee. What dogs are allergic to is the saliva of the fleas. Just keep him on good flea medication EVERY month and keep the house/yard treated for fleas as well. http://www.allivet.com/p-1389-knockout-es-area-treatment.aspx http://www.allivet.com/p-8109-advantage-yard-and-premise-spray-32-oz.aspx I don't think the dry/oily skin necessarily goes with the flea allergy. They may be separate issues. I would suggest you put him a good skin supplement like Missing Link. http://www.allivet.com/p-1803-missing-link-vet-canine.aspx And you can use a product like this on his skin to calm it and provide a healthy skin layer: http://www.allivet.com/p-6679-douxo-calm-mousse-for-dogs-and-cats-68-oz.aspx Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Fleas usually cause red irritated skin and hair loss. This MIGHT be from the fleas so you can monitor him for 2 weeks to see if it improves. My feeling is that is is unrelated. I would bathe him in the shampoo below weekly for 2-3 baths and leave the lather on for 10 mins before rinsing and I would add in a Omega 3 fish oil to improve skin and coat health. Fleas get really bad Aug-Oct so be diligent with your prevention. Good luck! https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19121 https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=21564

Hello. I am sorry that Bailey has these issues. Often-times fleas/tick infestations can lead to secondary infections which need antibiotics to treat. This could be the 'bumps' on her side- they could be little pustules of infection. Without seeing her we cannot tell for sure. Also, after removing parasites it can take some time for the skin to calm down enough for the itching to stop. If she was covered in fleas/ticks, it is also possible she also has mange, which may require different medication to treat. The scabs and fur loss/thinning is likely due to itching/scratching and self-trauma from the irritation. Keep her clean and dry, and if you can bring her to a vet to ensure all of the parasites are gone, and to check if antibiotics are needed. Flea treatment also needs to be repeated every 2 weeks for 3 treatments, to ensure you kill the fleas that have hatched from the eggs (the eggs survive your bath). Good luck with Bailey!

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!

Hello there! Just to let you know, the message caps off at 500 characters, so it ends at "I usually don't even". I think I have enough information to answer your question appropriately, I just wanted to let you know in case you said something pertinent after that. I'm sorry to hear about your flea invasion! Those are very frustrating! Fleas have a complicated life cycle that requires multiples angles of treatment to totally get rid of in a household. Coconut oil will only give you a greasy dog, which it sounds like you have already found out. Flea and tick shampoo is a great place to start!. Your next step is putting Boogie on a flea preventive that lasts a month. You can get a brand called Advantage from Petco without a prescription. 90% of the flea eggs are going to be wherever Boogie usually sleeps. When Boogie has the medication in his system and is going about his usual routine in the house, any new fleas that hatch will not be able to feed on him and thus starve. During this month, you need to be very diligent about cleaning all the fabrics in the house to eliminate the flea egg population. If you have carpet, I would recommend vacuuming at least three times per week. I would recommend washing any bedding that Boogie sleeps on at least twice per week with hot water. This, combined with Boogie's flea prevention, should eliminate fleas over a period of weeks. I know this is a lot of information, but tackling fleas is a big issue that requires a lot of work! I hope you find this helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.