Help dog losing hair in spots!

[Scooby4]

Help! My dog scooby doo-doo has developed a strange loss of hair almost overnight. I just noticed strange small patches of hair loss about the size of dimes at different areas of my dog's body on it's back! At first, I thought it was just odd shedding but it is winter time. I scratched/rubbed him to stimilute the area and exam. It seemed like it had some kind of "scabbing" or dryness to his skin. The fur started falling out today in almost "lumps" in those strange areas.
I don't like giving the dogs baths during extreme cold weather so I was hesitant to give a proper bath. However, I decided to give him one today since it had warmed up enough. That is when I discovered a HUGE RED inflamation and the hair missing from a spot about 2-3 inches long and an 1 wide!
The shampoo I used is for skin irritation. He's had a history of skin sensitivity and allergic to fleas. The bath did seem to "help" a little in the relief. I also sprayed him down with a hydrocortozone/first aid spray after he dried. He also got a benadryl.
Scooby had a stroke a few years back. He's semi-paralazed on his entire right side of his body. He also developed a sore on his foot which I've been treating by covering and spraying dog anti-septic on. It's not gotten worse or better. He often loses the bandages which makes it extra difficult.
My other animals do NOT seem to be effected by this hair loss phenomenom. Shaggy and him share the same bed and Shaggy's got longer hair. Shaggy seems fine. The cat is okay as well.
My concerns are multiplying. The pattern of hair loss almost looks like someone "sprayed" him with a chemical. It's got a "splash pattern" to it. I am having an issue with my neighbor so this concerns me on this level. However, it could be a medical issue. There are no dogs with the "mange" and he is kept inside mostly. My neighbors do have a new puppy but they haven't made contact because it's scared. I haven't been around dogs with mange during this time period.
I have no clue as what this could be. He does have a possible yeast infection in his ear. I've been treating that already with the appropriate medicines. I don't think it could be a yeast infection elsewhere.
I just lost my job and can NOT afford to take the dog to the vet's office. He's not acting like he's in pain or it bothers him a heck of a lot. Giving him the bath and treating him with the benadryl seemed to helps some but I am concerned. Could this be a chemical spray or something else?
He's a a short hair dog beagle/jack russel mix. Thanks!

[Kater]

Oh no, poor Scoobs! Sounds like your sweetie has been through a lot. *scritchies* from me!!
My first guess would be mange. In order to diagnose this you will need to have a skin scraping done at the vet.
Mange is in no way a reflection of your care as an owner. Nor is it like a lot of other parasites (i.e. fleas, ticks, tapeworms) in that contact/ingestion/etc. is all that is needed to contract it. Demodectic mange (or 'demo') is fairly ubiquitous in the environment and whether or not a dog is affected has to do with their individual immune system. I think you will agree that your dog has been through a lot and probably has a somewhat compromised immune system.
This Fosters Smith page explains it well : http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=729 .

Unfortunately the treatment for mange is not particularly cheap and generally many rechecks and skin scrapings are involved. Of course, these spots could also be due to something else- an allergic reaction, exposure to chemicals, etc. I would expect that were it related to allergies then you would see a marked decrease in inflammation after administering Benadryl. Did you notice if his skin 'calmed down' after you gave him the meds?
A vet would probably only consider the possibility of chemical burns after mange had been ruled out. At my vet office the most common types of chemical burns we see are from reactions to OTC flea/tick topicals or occasionally even the brands we dispense. Have you used any new topical products on him recently? I hope your neighbor would not be so hateful as to purposefully harm your pets. You might want to consider any chemicals he could have been exposed to whether in your yard/house or in other public places he frequents.

Anyway, I hope some of this proves helpful. I wish you and Scooby the very best. He sounds like a sweetie pie and I know you are worried. Let me know if you have any more questions, okay?

{{{HUGS}}}
Kate

[lv4dogs]

My first guess would be ringworm. Seems like theres a lot of ringworm going around lately for some reason. Ringworm is often reddish to purpleish in color and can be a little scabby. It is contagious to humans.

Mange would be my second guess (which is also contagious to humans if it is the sarcoptic mange, it is known as scabies in humans). Mange *usually* starts around the ears, eyes, mouth & feet not in the middle of the back. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have mange, its just more unlikely that that is what it is.

BUT seeing as none of your other dogs nor you is affected it makes me believe that it is probably something else. Demodectic mange is possible as is a staph infection, neither is contagious.

Your best bet is to take a trip to the vets for a simple & inexpensive skin scraping.

Good luck!

[Scooby4]

Scooby and Shaggy have gone through ringworm preventative/treatment. I had 4 dogs previously and one was diagnosed with it. So I had to treat ALL of them for it. That has been almost a year ago. The one dog was put to sleep due to it's age/condition and the other one adopted out. So they haven't been exposed to any ring worm since then.
I highly doubt any kind of mange theory due to no contact with dogs with the condition. The last time I was exposed to mange dogs was at christmas. My friends dogs are "country dogs" and carry it often. Plus I never contacted my dogs after exposure to them until cleaned and changed clothes.
Scooby eats the same food. He is I believe allergic to any yeast products so I maintain him on Pedigree Small Crunchy bites. The same stuff they gave him at the pound. I've tried other stuff but he shows signs of sensitivity.
I wonder if this could be from my ferret? Scooby has tried to "eat" my ferret on several occassions. So I keep the ferret in a bedroom running free. On occassion I will take the ferret out and let the dogs go into the room to "accustom" themselves to her smells and her living here. I believe they have eaten her "poo" on occasion. I've run them out if I caught them. But Scooby's done this before with no reaction.
I think I am going to take him to the vet and see if I can get "payments" setup. I am too worried about him NOT to do something. The benadry seemed to help but it's hard to make him take it.
Please if anyone else thinks of something let me know. Thank you soo much!

[anna_66]

I have no advice but to see what your vet has to say but I do hope you can get this all figured out soon.

{{HUGS}} to your sweet Scooby.

[lv4dogs]

Like I said not all types of mange are contagious. EVERY dog has Demodectic mites in their hair folicles just as every human has them in our eyebrows!
Even sarcoptic mange could of been brought on your property from another animal coming onto your property & rubbing against a bush & then your dogs rub against the same bush. Just because you or dogs haven't been in direct contact with it doesn't mean they won't get it.
Yet again I doubt it any type of mange as "usually" the symptoms start towards the head & feet but you never know.

Same thing goes with ringworm, you or your dogs may not have had contact but it could of been brought in by your shoes or outside from another animal somewhere.

I highly doubt it was caused by your ferret either. I have 4 ferrets and 3 dogs and never heard or seen of such a thing. I also have a lot of friends with ferrets & dogs & I have been speaking with them the last hour or so and none of them has of anything like that either.
If you are talking about the ferrets feces being the cause, well that is even more unlikely, in fact it is probably better for your dog than him eating any other feces or the like, that is *unless* your ferret is not getting the proper food. Ferrets are 100% carnivores, they have no cecum therefore can not digest anything but meat.

The cause could be one (or more) of many things. It shouldn't be more than maybe $30-40ish for an exam & a skin scrape to find out what the cause is.

Once you know the cause we may be of some more help.
Like ringworm can be treated with athletes foot creams & sprays (sprays seem to work better) instead of the baths & pills that most vets try to sell you to make more money.