Why is my puppy still scratching and losing hair after vet meds?

Question

Hi! My 8 weeks old puppy has severe skin problem-she was brought to us in very bad contition 4weeks ago.I took her to the vet;they gave her all the injections for parasites but scratching got worse. Right now she is on Cephalexin (1/4, 2x daily) for 11days now and she started to lose her coat. Skin is very dry-I am trying to soothe the itch with coconut virgin oil. She is very lively little doggie but I am afraid for her health, cos right now nothing seems to be working. Any advice? Thank you!B. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | 12 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

Poor pup! There are quite a few different skin conditions that can cause severe itching with hair loss in a puppy this age. The most common possibilities would be allergies, fleas, a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or skin mites (mange). I'm not sure what tests have been done or what treatments have been tried apart from the cephalexin, so it's difficult to give much more specific advice. I would recommend taking Lady Bella back to the vet for a recheck since the medication isn't working. Some possible options that may be helpful at this point would be a skin scrape to check for mange (and/or a trial course of medication to treat this problem, if it's suspected based on the exam), a fungal culture to check for ringworm, a short-term steroid such as prednisone for a possible allergy problem, or a diet trial with a special hypoallergenic diet.

Why is my puppy still scratching and losing hair after vet meds?

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