My puppy has hair loss, black patches, and scabs. What can I do?

Question

My pup (mongrel probably mix of small breed dogs) begin losing hair few months back. He's four month old and have a good appetite. Very few diarrhea. Poop is always yellow to brown colour. He has patches where he loses hair and turn black and remain hairless till now. He was given ivermectin and sulphur soap bath for 2 months but neither worked. A month back he start developing crusty scabs on his back. Picture shows the patches of scab removed and applied with anti fungal cream. Any solution? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | unneutered | 5 months and 23 days old | 7 lbs

Dr. Elizabeth · Accepted Answer

Those spots on Lion could be several things including allergies to fleas, skin mites (even with the previous treatment), allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they are unlikely to address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having Lion wear an elizabethan collar at all times. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

My puppy has hair loss, black patches, and scabs. What can I do?

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