My dog has ingrown hairs. How do I treat them and prevent recurrence?

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat her with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get her to 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 discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. 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!

Poor girl. It looks like Gowrl has either a fungal or bacterial infection on her skin that can be secondary to either a Demodexx mite problem or skin allergies. I would first have her skin tested for mites. If mites are the cause then her therapy will continue to fail until the mites are treated for first. You should also consider getting her skin cultured to see what antibiotic will completely rid the problem, especially if this is deemded to be a bacterial infection after she has a skin impression done. There is no easy fix for a skin condition this severe. You will have to go through the appropriate process of elimination with the help of your local vet to get her properly diagnosed with a specific skin condition and then treated appropriately. As a general rule of thumb, daily oral pet formulated fish oils are good for generalized skin conditions and can help when used in conjunction with other skin treatments. You can get her started on this right away by visiting your local pet store. No specific brand is needed, since they all are pretty equal in efficacy. I wish you all the best moving forward with Gowri's skin condition. And if she has already been diagnosed with a specific skin problem, then please feel free to repost your question with this information so that we can go over specific treatment recommendations for that skin condition. Best of luck and take care!

Hair loss can be due to skin diseases including mite or flea infections or bacterial or fungal infections including ringworm. Hair loss can also be caused by autoimmune disorders that affect the skin. Finally, endocrine diseases including hypothyroidism and Cushings disease can also cause hair loss. I recommend you take Duke to your veterinarian for a full work up. You vet will likely want to do skin scrapings to check for mites or other skin infections as well as complete blood work to rule out endocrine diseases, Once the cause of the hair loss has been determined, appropriate treatment can be described. The good news is that with the correct medications, Duke may likely regrow all his hair.

It is best that Dobbie is on a balanced diet designed for dogs rather than being given a lot of people food which can cause digestive upset, malnutrition and sometimes illness. Shedding can be due to a number of things including illness, stress, allergies, parasites, infections and even improper nutrition. If Dobbie is losing a lot of hair, doesn't want to eat, or is otherwise acting ill, taking him to your local vet for an exam is best.

Those look like deep irritation and inflammation that appear to be associated with pressure points on his leg. I'm not sure but likely the pores are getting infected and because he lays on them, they remain irritated. I would recommend a biopsy to look deep into the tissue layers to see if a cause if identified. Things that might help: I would say try to make him only lay on soft bedding, hard surfaces are more likely to cause irritation. I would recommend a month long course of antibiotics as well as an exfoliating shampoo. If you have access to a veterinary dermatologist, they would likely be able to provide you with more help. Chronic irritation will sometimes not go away completely but can get to a better state. I hope this helps.

It looks as though Danny has a skin infection in that area. Your veterinarian will be able to prescribe topical and oral antibiotics that will help treat the infection, allow the skin to heal and the hair to grow back.