Why is my dog losing weight, hair, and has skin infections?

With the weight loss as well as the skin condition I would recommend a blood test to rule out internal diseases such as liver disease as well as a skin scrape and possible biopsy in order to fully investigate the underlying cause and to guide the most appropriate treatment

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Weight loss can be a sign of intestinal worms, organ dysfunction or disease (pancreatic insufficiency, liver shunts, kidney disease, liver inflammation/infection, etc.), food allergies or poor diet, and many other conditions. Hair loss can be due to parasites (mange, fleas, etc.), hypothyroidism, allergies (food or environment), immune diseases, etc. Given that Kalu is 2 years old, I would start by getting him dewormed and also get a product that treats for fleas, ticks and mange. See if his problems resolve. If they do not, then see your vet about testing. Best of luck with Kalu!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. From the pictures that you provided my primary suspicions would be a skin infection. There are some things that you can do at home if you are unable to get to a vet right away. I would suggest starting with a shampoo that is medicated such as Duoxo chlorhexidine PS combination and bathe him twice weekly until the infection is resolved. I would also suggest starting welactin omega-3 fish oil and essential 6 Spot On by dermoscent. If there is no improvement then I would see your vet for further testing and treatments. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I am also available via phone or text base consultation if needed

Hello! Those lesions could be caused by an infection like bacteria or even fungus as well as allergies. Usually though mild infections and allergies don't cause dogs to be depressed/act abnormally. If his behavior continues, he has any vomiting, or his food/water intake goes down further I recommend having your veterinarian do an exam as those changes could be caused by something more serious, like liver issues, anemia, an infection or even cancer.

Hi, I'm Dr. Johnson. I think I just answered a question about Aysha! The tail tip doesn't worry me, a lot of dogs get the hairless area. My own dog has it. The other picture of the moth eaten appearance to her fur is not normal. A lot of skin conditions looks the same unfortunately. The hair loss could be form a skin infection (bacteria or yeast), from demodex (a non contagious mite) or ring worm. Also I know we were discussing her being over weight and a low thyroid. A low thyroid can predispose dogs to skin infections. Also food allergies can also. I think you have a few reasons to see your Vet now! Good luck!

This is a little concerning for an older pet with skin problems and lethargy. If this has been going on for a while then the skin infection may have started to affect his circulatory system, causing lethargy. Another possibility is that Dell has an internal organ malfunction that is manifesting as a skin problem also. An immune mediated skin disorder (lupus), infectious skin disease and skin cancer also have to be considered as causes. It really is hard to say for sure without doing bloodwork analysis on Dell and determining what treatment he needs. He sounds like he should at the very least get antibiotics, which is relatively affordable at the vet. You can always get him examined and determine what things on the treatment plan can be afforded at this time and what things aren't. Here are some financial resources that also may be helpful for getting him the care he needs: Carecredit.com Redrover.org I sincerely hope your pet Dell gets better soon and ends up ok with a condition that you can reasonably treat.

Infection in the body can be the cause of weight loss if they are sick enough. After it is treated, if the weigh loss continues, you need to move forward with imaging. Radiographs and ultrasound, basically you are looking for any signs of cancer or internal organ disease that could also cause weight loss. If you are worried about this things, you do not need to wait until treatment for infection is over, you can discuss getting those diagnostics done with your veterinarian. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.