My dog has worms, coughs, skin issues, and weight loss. What's wrong?

Poor Max! Losing weight despite being fed can be a sign of a medical illness, such as diabetes, intestinal parasites, or an inability to properly digest nutrients. I would make sure Max is up to date on his deworming treatment, and if he isn't, you will need to get one from the vet. The constant scratching could be caused by fleas, mites, ringworm, or allergies. If he isn't up to date on his flea treatment, he will need a spot on treatment such as Advantage or Revolution. You will need to disinfect the environment as well. I recommend taking him into your vet for an exam. The vet can do a physical exam, routine blood tests, and a urinalysis to see if there is a medical cause behind him losing weight. The vet can also do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm if he is up to date on his flea treatment. I would take him into the vet tomorrow for an exam.

Hello, thank you for your question about Max. Based on the photos that you've attached and Max's symptoms it is possible that he has an underlying skin problem such as allergies or infection. Dogs can have underlying allergies to many things both dietary and environmental. I would recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian so that they can examine the areas and determine the need for additional testing such as a skin scrape or impression to look for bacteria and cells. Hope this helps, good luck!

I am so sorry Lucky isn't feeling well. The hair falling out and bumps can definitely be allergies. I would also recommend giving a flea and tick prevention in pill form. The reason for this is it is used off label for skin mites. This is just to cover all basis. I would also recommend treating for allergies and if there is a skin infection. Unfortunately, the picture is not clear enough to determine the skin issue. With regards to the worms you are seeing, I would recommend a stool sample to make sure there are no intestinal parasites. I am concerned that Lucky is vomiting and would recommend discussing this with your veterinarian to see what is going on with him regarding the vomiting. If Lucky is on heartworm prevention then it is less likely for him to have intestinal parasites. I would discuss a general deworming with your veterinarian. The pictures are not clear enough to determine what is in the vomit or stool. If the worms look like spaghetti they are most likely roundworms. If they look like rice segments then they are most likely tapeworms. Those are the two parasites you will see in stool. Otherwise, Lucky needs a stool sample at your vet to see if there are any other parasites. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would start by worming Max and trying to increase his daily intake, buy him food higher in calories and add gravy to make it tasty. Give it a month and if he is still losing weight someting else must be going on so see the vet.

Poor Max! The problem is that he cannot talk tell you why this is happening. It sounds like he is experiencing a multitude of problems. Additionally, the abnormal breathing could indicate a serious health condition. I recommend to have Max examined by his veterinarian today to start figuring out what is wrong. Only a physical examine can start to narrow down the reasons. Bring in a fresh stool sample as well in case the doctor wants to test for parasites. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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!

It sounds like Max is not very well, he might be suffering from worm infestation or possibly from a gastrointestinal virus. I strongly advise taking him to the vet as soon as you can in order to get it him checked, treated and when he is back to health- vaccinated as well.