are dog is losing his hair and has bald spots that are really sore.And we have used everything on him.any idea

Question

We have a shepard dog n we don't know why he is losing his hair, and has really bad bald spots on him.We have tired all kinds of off the shelf medicine on him.His skin is dry at first then it is cracked and sore.We get one place on him cleared up then it will start someplace else.We thought it might be flea's.But we have not find none on him...anybody have any ideal?
thank you very much

Answer 1

Take him to the vet.


Sounds like hot spots. They need to be treated!!!!!


Just giving him OTC treatments when it is not getting better is being an irresponsible pet owner!


http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hotspots.html

Answer 2

What's up with you lot peoples circumstances change every day with money and the way of the world. She's clearly asking for advice because they currently are not in a position to go to the vets but clearly love their pet. If everyone got rid of there pets every time they was skint that would be madness. Lavender oil is an antibiotic to dogs which you can put on the bald spots and it helps greatly same as tee tree oil is brilliant but you have to get the mix right otherwise tee tree oil can be bad for them. If there are little rings in the lumps it could be ringworm or it's stress or food allergies to from off the shelf stuff try the raw food diet best way forward. Also bath in oatmeal bath will help calm skin and infections and if problem continues it's a trip to the vet. You can even ring your vet they may do a payment plan or can give you some free advice

Answer 3

Could be an allergy to his food or anything around the home right now. Check the ingredients on his food bag. If the first one listed is corn or corm meal...it's not good for him. Corn is just a filler and it does dry out their skin. Try Pro-Plan or Purina One....the first ingredients are real meat.

Note...one flea bite on your dog can cause this...even though the flea may not be on him now. Bath him good....use a conditioner and rinse it good. Use some spray ' Bactine ' or other antibiotic to put on him.

You might want to have a vet look at him to make sure it's not mange...which will cause hair loss.

Answer 4

Could be any number of things -- there is no way for anyone on the internet to properly diagnose and offer legitimate treatment for this dog -- take it to the vet and get it real medical care -- to not do so when you know the dog is suffering is neglectful. He can actually get a systemic infection from the skin breaks and get septicemia and die... Likely the over the counter stuff is just going to make things worse. Until you get a diagnsis there is no way you will treat him properly. He could have mange, could have hypothyroidism, could have a fungal or staph infection, could be dying of cancer that has sapped his immune system or could have an allergy to fleas in all of these cases, nothing over the counter will help much.

Answer 5

I feel for this dog. We were in the same situation as you are in. the best thing is to stop giving him off the shelf medication. This can be making it worse. We found this out with our dog Cutty. We found out that he has skin problems. Allergies. This can be a number of things and the vet will do some blood work to see what it may all be. Your dog may have numerous problems. The best thing to do for your pet is take him to the vet. Once they find out what the problem or problems are they can help heal your pet. Make sure you stay on top of it. It can be deadly if you don’t take action now.
The vet gave our Cutty a shot of antibiotics, steroids, and a shot for allergies.
Good luck

Answer 6

Using off the shelf stuff was a bad idea I'm afraid. NO store-bought flea medication works. Pet stores aren't licensed to sell the proper chemicals for flea treatment - anything you find in store is just going to be a basic pesticide that you can't expect to work.

Probably using all sorts of stuff has dried his skin out!! Please stick to veterinary treatments only, like Frontline, Advantage or Revolution. These are safe, and they work. Check your dog for flea DIRTS rather than the actual fleas, they're easier to find - they look like black specks. Though if you've just bathed him, it will have washed them off.

There are other things that cause hair loss besides fleas. Please do not try any more treatments on the dog until you have taken him to a vet for advice, you're only making things worse.

Chalice

Answer 7

There is a wide variety of skin issues that affect dogs (examples: staph infection, hot spots, ringworm, demodectic mange, sarcoptic mange, allergies, and many more). You need to carry your dog to the vet to have the problem properly diagnosed so that it can be treated with the proper medication. (If you don't know what the skin problem is, then how would you know what to use on it to clear it up?)
Time for a trip to the doctor for your furry friend!
J. Smith
Animal Control Officer

Answer 8

Hi, I have been a vet for 6+ years and I think my answer would help you. There is no single reason for baldness in dogs. If your dog's hair have started falling, there must be one of the following reasons:

1. Allergy problem:
Dogs might develop allergies like human. It is mostly due to reaction to foods, environmental triggers such as pollen, or to parasites like fleas or mites.

To treat your dog for allergy problem, you might need topical or internal medication, immunotherapy, a change in diet, and avoiding the allergen.

2. Cushing's Disease:
This disease may be introduced in dogs when their system starts overproducing the cortisol named hormone. Sometimes it might be due to a tumor on adrenal glands of the dog. The dog eating, drinking and urinating more is often a sign of this disease. The only treatment for this disease is medication and a surgery if it is due to the tumor.

3. Inheritance:
Sometimes genetics may be the reason for baldness in dogs.

4. Parasitic infestation
Sometimes the infestation by parasites like worms, mites, fleas etc can also cause skin disease. Along with usual signs of hair loss, baldness due to parasitic infestation might include symptoms like thickened skin, itching, irritation etc. Usually medication for this include Flea and tick controls like Frontline Plus, Capstar etc and anti fungal creams and shampoos. Make sure if you are buying online, you buy only from stores like BudgetPetcare.com or Canadavetexpress.com or Petcaresupplies.com so you get only genuine products.

5. Pressure points
Sometimes skins at particular parts of dog might loss hair due to pressure sores too. If same part of their body is put to pressure or rubbed to a surface again and again, it might result into hair loss in dogs too. You can provide your dog with soft bedding and flooring to avoid this.

6. Cosmetic Reaction
If you are using dog shampoos and topical creams or medications, it might also be the reason of hair loss. In such cases you should stop using it and take your dog to the vet for the best possible solution.

I hope you will soon read all this and take actions accordingly. Take care and stay happy :)

Answer 9

Take him to the Vet! Especially if it is sore to him then he is in pain. Wouldn't you rather take him to the Vet to find out what it is and get him some medication so he won't be painful? At the Vet's, they can do a skin scraping to see if it could be some type of mange. After they do the skin scraping they can look under the microscope to be sure. After that, they can send you home with some medication to clear it up easily. Sometimes it takes prescription strength medication to take care of the problem.

Answer 10

Your dog could be losing hair for a number of reasons, mostly mange, or nerves. Take your dog to a Veterinarian, please stop using over the counter medications intended for people. Even the stuff intended for animals can contain chemicals which can make the problem worse. Please, take your suffering pet to the doctor and let the Veterinarian help this animal. It is in misery.