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Rescue came in with fleas, severe hair loss and lesions

chloe92us

chloe92us

Well-known member
Rescue that I just received today and will be fostering; 8 YO spayed female, puppy mill dog. She has no hair on her rear-end, back legs, stomach, and half of her back. She did have fleas (not an infestation, but I pulled 6 off immediately and then put Frontline on). The previous owner states she has flea & food allergies. This looks much more serious than a flea or skin allergy.

I'm switching her today to a grain-free food and fish oil supplement. Vet appt is not until Friday. I've been doing some research, and her skin looks like it could be a yeast-type infection.

Anyone have any advice on what could be causing this?
 
Beware that it can be mange. Demodectic which is a mite that lives on the skin and is usually benign unless the dogs immune system is compromised and Scarcoptic which can be picked up by other animals including humans (scabies). There are a few other mites that can cause itching and hair loss.
 
I have researched the heck out of mange, and in most cases it shows that most of lesions start at the head, ears, and neck and work down. Is this not the case?

This dog's problem are on the rear end, back, and belly. When I look at pics of flea bite dermatitis, this is what it looks like. But it blows my mind that a flea allergy could cause this much damage!
 
chloe92us said:
I have researched the heck out of mange, and in most cases it shows that most of lesions start at the head, ears, and neck and work down. Is this not the case?

This dog's problem are on the rear end, back, and belly. When I look at pics of flea bite dermatitis, this is what it looks like. But it blows my mind that a flea allergy could cause this much damage!
Click to expand...

Sarcoptic mange: extremely itchy skin disease that is sometimes referred to as canine scabies and is common in dogs. This type of mange usually attacks areas without hair...

This is what I found. I am probably just an alarmist.. I just didn't want you to accidentally get your family infected.
 
chloe92us said:
When I look at pics of flea bite dermatitis, this is what it looks like. But it blows my mind that a flea allergy could cause this much damage!
Click to expand...
Flea allergy can be just awful, and the irritated skin can easily get secondary infections. Our rescue dog had fleas and flea allergy. He was treated by our vet with Capstar, Clavamox, an anti-inflammatory drug, prescription shampoo, tapeworm meds, and Frontline. There was one more medicine, but I cannot remember. It was very expensive and the poor little guy had been suffering.

Are you sure the vet can't see her sooner? :flwr::flwr::flwr:
 
We just got her today and I had already made an appt for Friday knowing she was coming in. I could possibly get her in tomorrow but the vet that does significant "financial favors" for rescue groups is off on Thursdays.

I picked off all the live fleas I could find today, applied Frontline and some triple antibiotic cream to the lesions and she is resting very well now.

Poor girl. :( She is completely freaked out and staying to herself tonight.
 
Poor girl. :( She is completely freaked out and staying to herself tonight.
Click to expand...

Poor baby, I am sure she will come around soon enough. She is in loving hands now! Thank you for giving her a chance at a great life from here on.


My two rescues, Harley and Sapphire had sarcoptic mange. They had most of their hair loss on their hind legs, tail and back area nearest the rump. I also had a "all-american" dog with severe flea allergies. He too, had most of his hair loss on his back legs and rump. His hair loss was not nearly as extensive as Harley and Sapphire's.

Here are pictures of Harley and Sapphire showing how they looked when I first brought them home. They had been cleared of the active mange infection. It took several months for their fur to grow back.
http://www.board.cavaliertalk.com/album.php?albumid=124
http://www.board.cavaliertalk.com/album.php?albumid=123
J.
 
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Poor dog, I would keep her isolated until after the vet visit and you can get their advice.Use gloves handling her and dispose of her bedding once treatment has started.Hopefully she'll recover with appropriate treatment.
Sins
 
Hi chloe

Following your post word by word you are doing a wonderful job for this little girl ,good luck ,thank you and well done .

Warmest Wishes
brian:)
 
She's very fortunate to have you looking after her.

You might want to ask your vet for a few Capstar pills to keep at home, so you can treat the fleas immediately when your rescues come in. They work within just a few minutes and keep fleas off for 24 hours, when the frontline would provide protection from new fleas and flea eggs.
 
Hi Chloe, I have no advice to add to what has been said, except to say that by being in your home and care is probably already doing wonders for her. Best of luck with her, does she have a name?
Hope your vet gets her sorted quickly and easily.:xfngr:
Charli
 
Second Cathy's suggestion re Capstar. Jake has flea allergy dermatitis and can't tolerate flea bites. Which reminds me....I need to pick up a pack of Capstar with the warm weather coming on. The Capstar gets rid of all of the flea on the body almost immediately.
 
Lexi, or Lil' Lexi as I call her. She is sweet as a button, but very shy as can be expected.

Am worried again about the mange- God, I hope it's not that since it's very contagious!

Jay- did your other animals get the sarcoptic mites when your two rescues came into the house?
 
Like Sandy, I too would guess this is far more likely to be mange than a flea allergy -- definitely keep her totally isolated and do not carry bedding between rooms and be careful handling her. Sarcoptic mange is very common and humans can get it from the dog. We see regular cases of that and demodectic mange as well on rescue dogs. Frontline Plus can treat against sarcoptic mange. Demodectic mange is common too. All the dogs in the house will also need to be treated if you get this diagnosis.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_demodectic_mange.html

Demodectic mange can be a sign of other immune problems/underlying serious illness.

I've never seen a case of massive hair loss that was related just to an allergy, and I've seen a lot of rescue and pound dogs with hair loss -- always mange.
 
Well, too late for the isolation bit. She's been out and about with my crew since yesterday afternoon and her favorite spot is on the sofa. I called the vet this morning just to see if I could fit her in today and they are overbooked so I have no choice but to wait until tomorrow.
 
Other dogs catching mange

When my 9-year old ruby (Megan) contracted mange (from foxes in our field) I was very worried that my 2 other bitches might also get it, but my vet reassured me that this was not inevitable, and he was quite right - neither did.

Megan was presumably at greater risk from her contact with the local foxes because she was already debilitated by SM. Even my 8-year old tri stayed clear - though we did immediately start a regime of monthly Advocate (in the UK) for all the dogs and we have religiously kept this up ever since - it costs a fortune as I now have four!!

Good luck with Lil' Lexi and we look forward to hearing all about her progress.

All best, Marie-Anne
 
When I brought Harley and Sapphire home, they were no longer considered contagious because the vet refused to spay/neuter either one as long as they had active cases of mange. They had originally been confiscated by animal control along with many other animals from the home of a hoarder. When I first saw Sapphire her mange was acute. Her legs were red and raw. She was extremely depressed. I saw Harley for the first time, the day I brought him home. It took around two months of treatment in the shelter for the dogs to be considered well enough for S/N.

I do agree with Wagtails, that a healthy dog is less likely to get infected. In addition, you will be consulting with a vet who can show you what to look out for so if it does happen, you can treat the infection quickly. But still take reasonable precautions.

I am sure that Lexi will look absolutely beautiful once her coat grows in.

Again, thank you for giving her a chance for the life that she deserves.

J.
 
Great news!!!!

We just came back from the vet with VERY good news. No mites or mange. As soon I walked in with her, he said "wow, that's one bad flea allergy..."

She has an ear infection and a potential problem with one of her anal glands that I have to keep an eye on, but will post that situation on another thread.

Her fecal and heartworm tests were all negative!

Best news of all....and I find this to be close to miraculous...this Hunte Corp puppy farm, purchased from Petland, 8 Year old Cavalier, DOES NOT HAVE A MURMUR! :w**h**:
 
Thats great news!

She'll be feelin better in no time, good on you for taking her in & loving her.
 
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