hair loss and rash

Question
My dog had puppies a few months ago.  She began loosing her hair in spots around her stomach, I assume from the puppies clawing at her when they nursed.  All of the puppies are now gone and the hair loss has continued up her neck along her back and sides.  It also looks like is it scabby  where you can see skin.  She doesn't act like it hurts or is irratated by it. Is there anything that we can put on it to help it go away?

Answer
Hi Adriane,  You dog will blow her coat when she gives birth due to the hormonal change of having puppies, but if you are seeing something that looks like scabs, it is possible that she has demodectic mange, which is also common when they give birth.  Demodectic mange is caused by the demodectic mites on the skin acting up due to stress (from the birthing process) which causes the scabbing on the skin.  The best thing for you to do is take her to the vet to get a skin scraping to verify that it is demodectic mange so they can give you the correct medicine on it.  Unfortunately there is nothing you can do until you do verify what it is.  If you try to put medicine on it before verifying what it is, you could make it worse, in fact you could spread it.  Hope this helps,

Dawn