My Shih Tzu is losing weight and has skin rash. What's wrong?

It does appear in the pictures she is really skinny. I recommend testing a fecal sample for parasites and starting off with a good deworming. If she eats wet food that is okay but you could also offer her dry food to try and firm up her stool. However if deworming her does not work I recommend taking her to a vet for more testing like blood work. Dogs can loose weight due to viruses, bacterial infections, auto immune disease, maldigestive/malabsorption disease and possible cancers.

I am sorry your dog is not feeling well. The information provided and picture don't really match. If a patient is drinking more and losing weight I would be concerned about endocrine diseases like diabetes and cushings disease. However the picture looks more like possible skin mites or an underlying autoimmune disease I would recommend taking her to a veterinarian to help you resolve the issues. They most likely will need to run basic bloodwork and possible a skin scrape to determine if mites are present.

Poor Trixie! That is very concerning that she is losing weight and she should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. She could have an infection, parasite, kidney/liver disease, endocrine disease, etc. Your vet can run some lab-work to help diagnose and then determfine the best way to treat, depending on the cause. She may need an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, or other medications to help. You could also bathe her with a medicated dog shampoo and see if that helps with her skin condition.

With the weight loss as well as the skin condition I would recommend a blood test to rule out internal diseases such as liver disease as well as a skin scrape and possible biopsy in order to fully investigate the underlying cause and to guide the most appropriate treatment

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Weight loss can be a sign of intestinal worms, organ dysfunction or disease (pancreatic insufficiency, liver shunts, kidney disease, liver inflammation/infection, etc.), food allergies or poor diet, and many other conditions. Hair loss can be due to parasites (mange, fleas, etc.), hypothyroidism, allergies (food or environment), immune diseases, etc. Given that Kalu is 2 years old, I would start by getting him dewormed and also get a product that treats for fleas, ticks and mange. See if his problems resolve. If they do not, then see your vet about testing. Best of luck with Kalu!

I’m so sorry to hear about Sargeant. Though your question focuses on the skin, I must insert that weight loss in any dog - but an older dog particularly- is very concerning. Liver, kidney, and heart disease, as well as cancer are the things I would want to rule out first. If you have not yet run a basic blood panel on Sargeant, I would highly encourage it. In terms of the skin, underlying allergies can cause repeated skin infections and hair loss. If Sargeant is itchy, talk to your vet about possibly pursuing allergy treatments. A trial treatment for mites is also a good idea. Finally ringworm, auto-immune disease, and others are possibilities. Best of luck to you and Sargeant!

The symptoms you are describing can be associated with Cushing's disease. I recommend you get Joe Pesci to a vet for an exam. In the meantime, you can try bathing him with a medicated shampoo like this one. The black skin you are describing sounds like a yeast infection on the skin. That could also be making him itchy. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Veterinary-Formula-Clinical-Care-Medicated-Shampoo-for-Dogs-Cats-Antiseptic-Antifungal-16-0-FL-OZ/24893142 Lather the shampoo on, wait 10 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. You can do this 2-3 times per week until the skin/hair is looking better. It is still best to get him to the vet for an exam as soon as you can. Skin issues/allergies are usually secondary to another underlying health issue. I hope this helps. Best wishes!