QuestionI have a 6-month old basset puppy from a rescue. She was very underweight when the rescue got her 2 months ago, with an ear infection. She also had tapeworm 6 weeks ago. she has been treated successfully for all these things and is now a normal weight. she continued to have runny stools until i switched her pet food a few days ago. She is energetic and eats well, no vomiting.
But i now notice she is balding at the top of one of her ears and has a few very small bald patches on the same ear. There is no redness, rash or itching, no scaliness. I am concerned, as the other ear now seems to have thinning hair at the top as well. Any ideas?
AnswerHi Lauryn,
Congratulations on your new puppy! :) I'm glad to hear that her original problems have cleared up...sorry to hear of the new.
Could be several things. Your best bet would be to take her in and have a skin scraping done. It could be as simple as allergies (you mentioned diarrhea until you switched foods...hair loss and skin ailments are also common with food allergies) and something as complex as mange.
If you google mange, you should come up with some photos to compare to your girl. I'd also be concerned with a staph infection.
It is also possible that along with her ear infection came an abundance of ear scratching leading to skin damage/hair loss.
Take her in...see what they say. :) It's a hard thing with skin problems/hair loss as there are so many causes. If you can get a couple of good photos to my email I can tell you if it looks like anything I've seen.
Nicole@boxerdogplanet.com
