Why is my puppy scratching, chewing his tail, and has a splotchy coat?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. At such a young age, skin parasites are high on my list as the possible cause. This requires anti-parasite medication to treat Browny with. In the US we use products such as Bravecto and Nexgard to treat skin mites, so something comparable should help with a mite infestation. He may also be dealing with a bad bacterial skin infection in addition to the mites or as its own primary problem. He may also need a 2-3 week course of an oral antibiotic and medicated shampoo such as Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved. I would talk to your veterinarian about skin mites as the possible cause, a skin infection or allergies as the cause. If he does not have skin mites or a skin infection, this could certainly be a severe allergy such as Atopic Dermatitis. With Atopic Dermatitis, certain medications like Atopica or Cytopoint can prove to be quite beneficial and helpful at eliminating or reducing the clinical signs. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. Given her young age, I would suspect that if that is the case it could be due to flea allergies. Another possibility is something like mange. This is something your veterinarian would check with a physical examination and basic diagnostics like a skin scrape and cytology. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is very hard to tell from the pictures, however it looks like the spots might be what we call a 'hot spot' or 'pyoderma' due to the yellow debris present. Food allergies are not present at birth, and develop. 7 months is young for the development of food allergies but it is possible. Fungal disease is possible but from the images I suspect a bacterial infection is more likely. Hot Spots present when the fur gets wet, often in the summer months, and the wet fur sits on the skin and the natural bacteria on the skin multiply in the warm moisture patch. The treatment is to shave the area and keep it clean and dry, and usually oral antibiotics are required. E-collars are important to prevent licking and re-infection of the spot. I would recommend a visit to your vet, and if the spot isn't a hot spot you can have them test for fungal/bacterial infection by doing a skin scraping. Best of luck with Bear!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Thanks for also adding photos. Since I can’t see Prince McArthur up close I can’t for sure but it is possible he has microscopic mites. These mites are not itchy and not contagious but can cause hair loss especially in young puppies. I recommend taking him to a vet so they can look with a microscope and get him treatment if necessary. Good luck and kisses to Prince McArthur!

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask 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 to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely either due to mites or allergies. I highly recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to diagnose this so that therapy can be started. Best of luck!

Poor Buddy! It sounds like this area is itchy for him. This itching can be caused by [fleas](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/flea-infestation-1/), [mites](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/mange/), [ringworm](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/ringworm-1/), or [allergies](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/canine-allergies/). If he isn't up to date on his [flea treatment](https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-do-i-pick-the-right-flea-and-tick-product-for-my-pet/), he will need a spot on treatment, such as Advantix, or a prescription oral flea preventive, such as Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica, or Credelio. You will need to disinfect the environment as well. If he is up to date on his flea treatment, I recommend taking him into your vet for an exam. Your vet can do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the itching is found, your vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment. I recommend taking him into the vet today or tomorrow. He will also likely need an [E-collar](https://www.petcoach.co/article/e-collars-for-cats-dogs-types-of-collars-and-diy-options/) (cone) to prevent him from biting at that area until he sees the vet.