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My puppy has spreading skin sores and hair loss. What is it?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 17 lbs

Hello, I have a 4 month old puppy who in the past week has developed sores all over her belly, groin area, legs, even some around her eyes. So pretty much everything underneath has sores and seems to be spreading.I've noticed she is also losing her hair around her head and back. Her food has not changed and as far as I know she has not gotten into anything which is what I thought it was at first. I put Tree oil on her and that seemed to help with drying it up but it's not going away. Any ideas?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Amy S. Eutsey, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 9th, 2018

Rosie should see a veterinarian for a skin scrape in order to determine if she has Demodex. This is a mange mite that is most common in young puppies and presents with hair loss, red skin and pustules like you see in the photo. There are several very successful treatment options for this. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 8th, 2019

    This is very likely mite infestation indeed, although only a skins scrape can confirm it. i recommend getting either injectble ivermectin or Bravecto tablet, which can also be used to prevent future mite infestation.

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