Puppy ringworm: How long until bald spots heal and hair regrows?

I would have this checked by a vet. It sounds very much like ringworm. Although the name suggests otherwise, ringworm is not caused by a worm at all-but a fungus. This highly contagious infection can lead to patchy areas of hair loss on a pet, and can spread to other animals-and to humans, too. Classic symptoms of ringworm include lesions that typically appear on a pet’s head, ears, paws and forelimbs. These lesions can cause patchy, crusted circular “bald spots” that sometimes look red in the center. In mild cases of ringworm, there may be just a few broken hairs, while bad cases of ringworm can spread over most of a pet’s body. It’s also possible for a pet to carry the fungus and not show any symptoms whatsoever. Treatment of ringworm depends on the severity of the infection. A veterinarian may prescribe a medicated shampoo or ointment that contains miconazole or a dip such as lime sulfur to kill the fungus. In some cases, oral medications are necessary to cure ringworm. In severe cases, it may be necessary to use a topical and oral treatment, in addition to clipping away the fur. Once treatment begins, lesions should begin to heal in about one to three weeks. Please note, it is important to treat your pet for as long as recommended by your veterinarian. Even though the skin lesions may have cleared up, this doesn’t mean your pet is cured or can’t infect another animal or person. Certain diagnostic tests may need to be repeated in order to ensure cure. And unfortunately, there is no guarantee that reinfection won’t occur!

If it was a wound then it may take several days before you see hair starting to regrow. However, if it is ringworm or something else then it may take weeks to see improvement. I think it is always a good idea to have it looked at. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Penelope has had treatment for mites and the other lesions resolved but not this one, this could be a separate problem such as ringworm, different mite or a benign tumor. I would recommend having the veterinarian look at this to help determine what the cause could be. Different medication would be needed for ringworm and if it is a tumor, it is likely what we call a histiocytoma, which is common in young dogs and resolves on its own. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there! For ringworm we often treat for 30 days, depending on the veterinarian's choice and how bad the infection is. You will probably not be able to get a prescription without seeing a new doctor unless you can get you're other doctor to fax a previous prescription. If they did not prescribe you anymore, your doctor may want to see if your puppy improves with little treatment. You will have to get ahold of the original prescription before you can do anything else unless you want to see another dr (probably ER on the weekends) to see if the doctor thinks you need more.

Hello! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! First off, you're doing a great job by keeping fleas off the mother dog and combing the pups regularly. Looking at the spots of hair loss on the head, my top suspicions would be ringworm, demodectic mange, or a bacterial skin infection. I would recommend you take her into a vet to find out what the problem is. Ringworm is a skin fungus that can be transmitted to people, but it is treated fairly easily if it is caught early. The vet will likely recommend a DTM culture to test for fungal infections, and a skin scraping and impression smear to find the root of the problem. I hope that helps!

Poor girl. With so many external skin parasites on her then hair loss due is common to occur. There is no harm in waiting 1-2 weeks to see if the hair starts to grow back on its own. As long as she isn't chewing her paws excessively and seems bothered then it's ok to wait things out for now. Also try an oatmeal based puppy shampoo to hear her skin. When she is at least 6 weeks of age then visit your vet to get her on topical Revolution to protect her from future infestations. Monitor her behavior as well and if she acts ill in the next few days then it's best to get her seen to make sure she didn't pick up a big from the many parasites she had on her. Best wishes with your new puppy Reina and I hope everything goes smooth from here on out with her new responsible owner. Take care.

There appears to be some good hair regrowth, but it could be infectious still. I've seen lesions that appear completely normal and still test positive for ringworm, so it is best to take her to the vet for testing. The test takes a few days, but is relatively inexpensive and is the best method we have for determining when to stop treatment. I hope that helps and all Juju recovers soon.