My Pekingese is losing hair and scratching. Is shaving her coat safe?

Not really a part from cold and hot weather (coat provides some thermal insultation for both cold and hot). Make sure you or your groomer use clean tools to do it as it is not unusual to notice skin rashes and dermatitis after shaving. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Your dog needs to see a veterinarian for a skin scraping to rule out parasites and then a culture to see if there is an underlying bacterial or skin infection. Place a cone on him to prevent licking and chewing.

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat Lila with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get her to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

Yes it will grow back for sure, but I would suggest not shave it as there is high risk to irritate the skin. Usually pugs' coat is very thin and short anyway so normally there is no need for shaving. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Skin problems can have a variety of causes, sometimes more than one. Allergies, parasites, bacterial or fungal infections, even contact with some surfaces or substances will cause itching, rash and/or hair loss. It is important to have the problem checked by your vet to determine if there is a medical cause for your pet’s skin issues and treat accordingly. In pets of all ages, fleas, food allergies and exposure to chemical irritants such as cleaners and soaps can be a cause. Any one of these may not be enough to trigger the breakouts, depending on how sensitive your pet is, but a combination can be enough to start the itch-scratch cycle. Finding out the cause and eliminating it is the best course of action. With flea allergies, if your pet is sensitive enough, a single bite can cause them to break out scratch enough to tear their skin. Check for fleas with a flea comb. Look for fleas and/or tiny black granules, like coarse black pepper. This is flea feces, consisting of digested, dried blood. You may find tiny white particles, like salt, which are the flea eggs. Applying a good topical monthly flea treatment and aggressively treating your house and yard will help break the flea life cycle. If you use plastic bowls, this is a possible cause for hair loss, though this tends to be on the chin, where their skin touches the bowl while they eat. If you suspect this to be the culprit, try changing the bowls to glass, metal or ceramic. Food allergies are often caused by sensitivity to a protein in the food. Hill's Science Diet offers some non-prescription options for sensitive skin as well as prescription hypoallergenic foods for more severe cases. Royal Canin carries limited protein diets that may also offer some relief. Your vet can recommend a specific diet that will help. If there is no relief or not enough, consider getting your pet checked by a veterinary dermatologist and having allergy testing done.

A vaccine is not needed here. They may have mange or other infection (bacterial or fungal). Ideally, they should be seen by a veterinarian to diagnose the cause. Any treatment will depend on the diagnosis. They will likely require ongoing care until symptoms resolve.

Yes, you have to be careful in shaving the coat too short because it will not protect him from the sun anymore and the coat is very important for thermal insulation. You can try brushing and just clipping the matts that don' t come off with gentle brushing.