Is my Yorkie's hair loss and dandruff due to mange or mites?

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. 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 guy. There are really only 2 types of mites that we see in veterinary medicine- Scabies and Demodexx mites. Scabies (a type ofmite) is infectious to people so if you yourself are not itching then you can kind of rule that one out. The other mite, Demodexx isn't infectious to people or other pets, and nowadays it can be treated with oral flea preventatives such as Bravecto, Nexgard or Simparica + a medicated topical shampoo through your vet. I would recommend just starting Baileys' on one of these to cover any kind of mite issue. Then I would suggest getting Bailey on an oral antibiotic to clear up the skin infection that is present. The ears look to be infected as well. This will require a topical ear medication and cleaner from your vet to resolve. Skin allergy testing is not commoonly used anymore due to the poor overall response to allergy immunotherapy shots. THe most common allergy medication used nowadays is Apoquel. I would ask your vet about this as well, especially if mites are not the underlying problem, which can be easily confirmed or denied with a simple skin scraping test done through your vet. I hope that you can get Bailey's skin issue resolved soon. Best wishes and take care!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a generalized skin infection. You can try to use a medicated shampoo containing chlorhexidine twice weekly for 2 weeks. If there is no improvement or in the meantime this appears to be getting worse, have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Also, fish oil can help tremendously with dry skin. Good luck and have a good day!

Cushing Disease, food allergies (it's too early to see results yet), skin mites, flea allergies and environmental allergies can all cause these symptoms. Make sure you are conducting a proper food trial. If Maddox does not respond to the food trial, discuss with your veterinarian next steps. Here are some links with good information" https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/cushings-disease-in-dogs https://www.petcoach.co/article/allergy-testing-immunotherapy-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/food-allergies-and-food-intolerance/ I agree with your vet that a hydrolyzed diet is the best option. I hope this helps.

Hello. Itching is a symptom of many issues including infection ( bacterial & yeast ), inflammation, skin parasites ( fleas & mange mites ), dietary indiscretion, allergies, endocrine abnormalities ( hypothyroidism ), & possibly even underlying liver disease. In an older dog like this, it is always best to have a thorough health workup done to eliminate other possible issues before just starting a shot-gun approach to dealing with the skin. Dogs rarely sneeze because of allergies, so we do want to rule out any kind of nasal or sinus problems. In the meantime, you can bathe Georgia in a mild oatmeal based shampoo in cool water followed by either a leave-in or wash out coat conditioner. You can add approximately 20mg per pound omega 3 fatty acids ( fish oil ) to her diet. Use a good product available at Petco. Constant itching is debilitating as well as exhausting so I hope you can have her seen by your veterinarian soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Skin can be very frustrating. The most common cause of skin irritation is allergies (food, flea or environmental). However skin mites, endocrine and auto immune disease can also cause skin issues. I would recommend applying flea prevention every 30 days year round to make sure the fleas are not an issue. Also if the skin is not resolving Kim might need medications for longer, stronger medications or more testing like a skin scrape for mites or biopsy for auto immune disease. I recommend taking Kim back tot he vet to discuss the skin not resolving and further testing. Hope that helps and thanks for using pet coach