My 6-month-old puppy has skin problems. What could be causing this?

This is likely to be cause by mites (demodex is probably involved). A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to quickly confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics or specific medications for mites (ivermectin) may be needed. 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.

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!

Those spots on Maybelle could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. 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 her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash her whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have her examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor puppy! Can you post a picture? Causes of skin disease in a young puppy can be due to a bacterial or yeast skin infection, ringworm (fungus) or demodex (non-contagious mite). Puppy pyoderma (skin infection) is common on the belly of young puppies and they tend to out grow it. I would have your Vet examine your dog and then prescribe medications. I hope this helps!

There's no way to know for sure from a photograph, but it does look like a bacterial infection. It is important to have this seen by your vet to determine what it is so the correct treatment can be started as soon as possible before it gets worse or is a sign of an underlying problem. Your vet will do an exam, possibly labwork, and based on these results will be better able to tell you what is causing this and how best to treat it.

I can see that Benji has a few small areas of hair loss with yellow crusting, and these lesions could be due to ringworm, mange, or a skin infection. In order to accurately diagnose these lesions, a vet should perform a skin scraping and fungal culture/Wood's lamp exam. Both ringworm and Sarcoptic mange (scabies) can be transmitted to other dogs and humans, so it is certainly worth having the lesions evaluated. I hope that Benji is on the mend soon!

I would get him checked for external parasites, such as lice or mites (Cheyletiella comes to mind as a possibility). If those aren't the problem, it could be a bacterial skin infection secondary to allergies. Your vet can do some simple testing to get this sorted out.