Hi All,

Puppies are 4 weeks and 4 days and a couple of them have skin sloughing off aroung their muzzle and a bit around the eyes.. No soreness or redness just seems to be lifting large dry flakes. I'm hoping it's where they have grown so suddenly in the last week and are shedding skin but wondered if anybody else has experinced this.

It's very similair looking to the cradle cap type flakes i have seen before in younger pups on their tails,not dandruff looking much larger peices of dry skin

Thanks in advance

Ali

Be interested in replies as have never encountered scurfy puppies in any litters.

It's coming off in a very similair way to when they play and stratch or bite each other and the skin lifts off with the hair.If i gently a bit of dry skin off it doesnt leave a bald patch,thankfully.

Been thinking off possibities,growth spurt,dry milk around muzzle.The bitch has been on antibiotics for mastitis so is there a connection....

They were a litter of 12 and have really shot away the last week ,could it be the skin lifting of as they grow so quickly?

Just a suggestion, have they been to near the heat lamp?

Thanks Minimom,

I did think of that but i have only had it on at night and it is very high over the box just to take any chill of in the box area so way way cooler then when they were smaller.

Antibiotics may have altered the pups normal immune system ..I think you may have puppy mange-demodectic mange .talk to your vet . A shampoo is usually recommended.Mum usually has an immune system that will suppress the mites.

Hi All,

Just thought i would update in case anyone was interested.

i took the worst affected pup to my vet (thankfully i was able to see my usual vet who i trust very much). Her opinion was that the pups had a very mild bacterial skin infection,far too mild to give them anti biotics so she gave me some anti septic wipe that is safe to use around the eyes to wipe them with twice a day. This has pretty much cleared it up.It was like a very mild dermatitis and when the vet looked she said the skin underneath was perfectly normal and no hair was coming away.

Her thoughts are that it is probably linked the the mastitis bacteria as the Dam had very nasty mastitis in three glands. I must admit i am a bit OTT with my pups and worry about every blemish and  it was barely noticable but if it was anything else i wanted to catch it early.

Just to add to the suggestion of demodectic mange being called puppy mange....i thought the mange that causes scurfy pups  was the Cheyletiella mite (walking dandruff) which i did have once in puppies many years ago and this was very different and certainly not that.

Sorry, not critisising,just genuinely interested.

Thanks to all that replied....i can now start worrying about something else!!

Ali