My 5-month pug puppy is itchy, thin, and pooping a lot. What to do?

Your dog should be on puppy food for at least the first year of his life. I worry that he's not getting the right balance of nutrient in the diet you're giving him now and that can lead to a number of health problems now and in the future. If you want to continue to make his food at home, ask your veterinarian for advice, find out if there is a veterinary nutritionist you can consult with for a recipe that will meet his nutritional needs or go to the website for the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists and consult with one there. http://www.acvn.org/

I would give him fish oil in the diet to improve the coat. I recommend an aloe and oatmeal moisturizing shampoo, and make sure you are using a flea control product as having fleas causing excessive itching will irritate the skin. Also as he’s a puppy please make sure he’s been treated for internal parasites which can cause a poor hair coat. To control the itching you can use Benadryl. There is a recommended dosing schedule elsewhere on this website. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Arjun.

Hi, thanks for using Petcoach! Scratching can be very frustrating when you don't see a reason why! If it is not fleas and there are no other outward signs (rash, pustules, missing hair) it still could be allergies. Hunter could be allergic to the protein in his food (the meat protein not necessarily grains) or to something in the environment. Fleas can also be subtle. It can only take ONE flea bite to set off an scratch response especially if the dog is allergic to flea saliva. So be sure he is on a good flea preventative. I would reach out to your Vet and see what they recommend for Hunter, he is little and young so a lot of drugs are not right for him.. You could try bathing him to see if that helps. I've attached a link of one I would recommend. Good luck and I hope this helped. https://www.chewy.com/virbac-epi-soothe-pet-cream-rinse-16/dp/105972?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Virbac&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxfr1rNTZ1QIVT7nACh2_4AGpEAYYBSABEgLUuvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Hi. Skin problems can be difficult to diagnose and difficult to resolve. Your breed of dog tends to have allergies but as a puppy he may be a bit young for this. He could be having a reaction to something in his environment, have dry skin, or may have a parasite on the skin called Demodex. This parasite can cause fur loss in different areas and is more common in puppies as well as your breed of dog. You did not mention the exact medication that he is on so I cannot comment on that however I would recommend to add a high quality soothing and hydrating shampoo. Virbac has high quality shampoos that many veterinarians use and now it can be purchased on amazon! I particularly like the episoothe shampoo and resicort

Those spots on Pugsy could be several things including fleas (even if you don;t see them, they could be present), allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection or endocrine disease. Because these lesions are pretty wide spread, I recommend to have him examined as soon as the vet can get him in. Until then, there are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions once a day (not his whole body, just the lesions). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy, a skin mite (Demodex) or fleas. 

The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. 

The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of hair loss, redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the infection and itch so it can be treated appropriately. Because your puppy is so young I would be very concerned about Demodex as the primary problem. Your dog will most likely need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well (based on the type of infection your veterinarian can recommend the most appropriate one). I would also recommend that he be on a good flea control routinely too. The thyroid gland is located in the throat area but it is probably not what you were feeling. I suspect you may be feeling a large lymph node or just severely inflamed skin tissue judging by the severity of his infection. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.



Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I think his weight is perfect, & you have him on an excellent puppy food. You can keep him on this for up to the next couple of months, but at around 6 months of age, change him to a large breed puppy food. He can stay on this until he is 12 - 18 months, then go to an adult maintenance food. The itching can be either from allergies, skin mites ( such as demodex ), or he has picked up a bit of a puppy staph infection. Make sure you are not seeing fleas, & you are feeding him from a stainless steel or porcelain dish - no plastic. He is the perfect age to begin his puppy vaccinations, so be sure to point out the skin issues at this time. Take care.