Why is my adopted 8-week-old puppy still itching and breaking out?

This is probably 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.

These look highly suspicious for a demodexx mite problem. Demodexx mites live on every pets skin, but overpopulate causing hair loss in certain pets whose immune system is not as strong. Have your vet do a simple skin scrape test to confirm this suspicion and then Tuxedo can go on medication to help resolve this over time. I don't see any areas of redness or infection yet, but secondary infections can develop quickly so it is best to get this treated as soon as you can to avoid the need for additional medications. Other possible causes for this are an environmental allergy or flea allergy. I hope that Tuxedos skin condition resolves well soon. Best of luck and take care.

Skin infection, mites, and allergies are all possibilities. I would encourage you to have her evaluated by your veterinarian again soon. More long term medication may be needed for Sally. She also may need more medication for her ear. Your veterinarian may do a trial treatment for Mites as well. I hope she improves soon. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi Dave. In one of the pictures it looks like Dodger has some crust on the area. If there is some crust then I am worried that there is an infection. You can bathe him in an antimicrobial shampoo such as chlorhexidine or salicylic acid which can be found in the human shampoo aisle in the dandruff area. However, if it doesn’t start to look better soon, then I would recommend that he be evaluated by your veterinarian. With him recently being adopted I would also test for mites. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

I would recommend taking Red to a veterinarian. With the history provided it may indicate allergies. Her skin looks very irritated and after a physical is performed to determine if this is the cause there is plenty of options for allergies in dogs. The first thing is clearing the infection which can include antibiotics, anti-fungals and/or shampoos. The next step is treating the allergies. This can be done by anti-histamines, steroids or two newer treatments one is pills called apoquel and then other is a 4-8 week injection called cytopoint. Allergies can be caused by environmental factors, which its sounds like could be part of the issue due to the recent move to the country but it can also be caused by food allergies. I would discuss this with your veterinarian and make a treatment plan with what is best for you and Red. If after a physical it doesn't appear to be allergies it could also be some type of mite on Red's skin. If your veterinarian feels it is more from mites a skin scraping would be performed to confirm this. Some mites are extremely difficult to find and sometimes even if no mites are found treatment is still initiated. I hope Red feels better soon and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

That looks quite uncomfortable. I'm surprised that she isn't super itchy. I don't see any obvious causes in the picture - such areas that make me suspicious of a bacterial or yeast infection. My top guesses be allergies (flea, food, environment, or even a contact allergy such as being allergic to your laundry detergent), with skin parasites or a superficial infection definitely possible. Since it's such a large area, it's going to be hard to apply an ointment - if you have a medicated bath for another dog (one that is for superficial infections) that may help. Wiping the area with witch hazel could calm in down. A mild (1%) hydrocortisone cream could also calm down the area. I would definitely recommend getting her to the vet as soon as possible. They are likely to need to do an exam saying she's in good health before she can be added to the insurance, and she's not going to qualify until her skin is better.

Thank you for posting the pictures. It is possible that it is allergies, but he is a little young for that. I would be suspicious of mites it a skin infection. I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. A skin scrape and microscopic exam will likely be recommended to look for mites. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.