Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 8/16/2006

Question
I have a large brown dog, short hair, a stray that took up at my home 2 yrs ago. Over the past year, he has developed some sort of terrible skin condition on his head, face, and ears. He has hair loss in those areas, severe dry skin with bumps, white ashy in color and he has begun to scratch his head so much that it is bleeding. I don't think it is mange because my other dog has not been affected. People have told me to put everything from vegetable oil to burnt motor oil on him but it seems to only get worse. He used to have an odor but I don't smell it anymore, but it may be that I have become used to it?? Anyway, I don't know what to do and if you would like a picture I would be glad to send it if you let me know how. Thanks for any help you can give me.  

Answer
The first thing I will recommend to you is that you take the dog to a vet for an evaluation.  There are 2 types of mange that affect the head.  Sarcoptic mange is the one that is contagious to other dogs, but demodex mange is not contagious. It will cause the exact signs you are describing.  Also there are some fungal infection that can show up like that.  

My second recommendation is bathing the dog frequently in an antibacterial shampoo that contains benzoyl peroxide.