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My puppy has skin issues around eyes and mouth. What's the cause?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 5 months old | 45 lbs

Trying to identify problem name and treatment: about 8 month old puppy has developed skin issues-started above eyes and looks like eye brows. Now it has developed around mouth and the area has a shar pei look.. The breed is a mix of a black lab.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Summer Walker, DVM, MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 17th, 2017

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you would like to resubmit your question with pictures, that may be helpful. There are some juvenile skin diseases we can see in puppies that can cause a similar appearance to what you are noting, such as Demodectic mange or chronic bacterial/yeast infections. A diagnosis is typically achieved through a skin scrape (to look for Demodex mites) and a skin cytology to look for bacteria or yeast. If all of these diseases are ruled out and Django does not respond to typical treatment (topical medicated shampoos, parasite preventatives, antibiotics, etc.) then additional diagnostics such as a biopsy may be recommended. I would recommend having Django evaluated by his veterinarian if this has been going on for some time and especially if it is worsening.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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