What do you think is wrong with my dog?

Question

My 2 year old dog is Australian Shepherd mix. about 3-4 weeks ago, she ran off for about 20 minutes, running around in the creek and went to our neighbors house (need i say, my neighbors do not take care of their dogs, one of them looks sick).

after about 3 days i noticed that the bottoms of all her paws were red (inflamed, rash like).

Now on her back paws, she's got a couple bald spots on her toes, she's got a rash of some sort in both her ears, she itches like crazy, and it seems like she's loosing fur on her belly (because i can see her skin now).

I thought at first it was just a heat rash (she is prone to getting those) but it's not getting better. Her paws are getting worse and she's scratching more.

I AM taking her to the vet, don't worry.

I am just wondering what it could be.

From what I have researched, it could either be flea dermatitis, food allergies, hay fever, or airborne allergies.

Could it be the mange or is she too old for that? I've always been told that younger dogs (under a year) are more prone for that.

What do you think it is and why?

Thank you

**also, she rubs her front paws up against her snout, like she's trying to scratch them

Answer 1

Poison Ivy or other form of poison? Poor thing, hope it feels better soon. let us know what the vet said, okay.

Answer 2

Sounds like she got the mange from the neighbors yard. And should be checked out fast, mange is very treatable , depending on the type of mange it is . Deomdex mange is some times fatal  because it is not easily cured.

What are the Different Types of Mange?

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Mange includes a wide variety of skin diseases in pets and humans caused by microscopic mites. Therefore, the different types of mange are determined by the kind of mite that infiltrates the skin to fulfill its reproductive cycle. Some types are more vigorous than others. Depending on the mite, mange can spread from dog to cat to human.

One of the different types of mange erupts when the Demodex canis mite creates demodicosis, or demodectic mange. This milder rash mostly attacks puppies, as their developing immune system can't handle the same mites as their mother. The symptoms, like most types of mange, are itchiness and patches of bare skin. The majority of puppies grow out of demodicosis as they reach adolescence.

Sometimes, demodectic mange will develop into a more serious problem. Increased symptoms will be crusty and scaly skin, frenetic scratching, and overall weakness in the dog as the mites settle in hair follicles. This cannot spread to humans, but it may be an indication that your dog suffers from a weakened immune system due to cancer or other health condition.

The Sarcoptes canis mite causes the most common type of mange: scabies. Otherwise known as sarcoptic mange, scabies is resilient, long lasting, and contagious. The mites need to burrow underneath the top layers of skin in order to lay their eggs. The eggs develop, hatch, and the new mites only exacerbate the problem. This disturbance creates swelling, redness, thick or discolored skin, hair loss, insistent scratching, and seepage of pus.

Scabies can be passed between dogs, cats, and even onto humans. In cats, it is often separated into another type of mange called face or notoedric mange because a slightly different mite, Notoedres cati, burrows beneath the skin. This affects the cat's face the most, especially around the ears and neck, but can spread all over its body.

Since humans aren't good at incubating the scabies eggs, we can't be seriously infested. However, dogs can succumb to scabies and develop bacterial infections in their oozing skin. Scabies is a good candidate among the different types of mange to be cured by multiple treatments from the veterinarian.

A lesser type of mange is cheyletiella. Cheyletiella is better known as "walking dandruff," because tiny white flakes resembling dandruff scatter across a dog's back and neck. Red mites, or fur mites, cause the mild itching of walking dandruff. It will not get too severe, but neither will it clear up on its own. There are insecticide shampoos to treat this type of mange.

Finally, a specific ear mite that lives off the moisture and discharge from an animal's ears causes ear mange. The ear mite burrows into the outer ear canal, and a black gummy substance will start to ooze from the opening. Ear mange can usually be treated at home with cotton swabs and ear drops, yet severe cases could lead to hearing loss. It is contagious between animals, but not to humans.

Answer 3

Sounds like she has had an allergic reaction to some of the local fauna. The vet will make sure what it is, and if it is that, they will most likely issue you with some cortisone cream for the affected area.