Loss of Hair, scabed, rings...

[Guest]

I took a black lab puppy in for a neighbor who suddenly couldn't keep him anymore. I don't know much about the dogs background, but I felt sorry for the situation. The first week he was here I treated him for worms I noticed in the stool that seemed to go away. I've had him for a couple months now and today I noticed that by his tail he had about a square inch loss of hair. When I looked closer the skin looks kind of bubbley, and a couple circular lumps in the same area, I wanted to say it looks like worms under the skin the size of a dime around.. but worms are in the intestines right??? The rest of him looks fine, and it doesn't seem to bother him at all. He appears to be a happy 6month old puppy. But I've never had a dog sick before and my vet won't be back in town for days. Does anyone know what this is??? Please help. Does it mean he hasn't had his shots? Is it urgent that I take him to another vet now?!? Will my other dog catch this?!?

[Traci]

The only type of "worm" under the skin you should really be worried about is cuterebra, which is a bot fly larvae, it usually presents as a visible hole in the skin, like an abcess, and you can usually visualize the worm itself if it has just recently burrowed into the skin. ....cuterebra should only be removed by the vet (due to infection portential if you don't remove the entire worm and don't inspect surrounding tissues)

In your case it sounds like an aggrivation of some sort, maybe allergy (flea allergy dermatitis), or self-inflicted wound from biting at it or excessive scratching. It could also be an infected abcess in which really should be looked at by your vet considering you mentioned "bubbly" effect (also rule out a burn or something he could have gotten into, something caustic or chemical)

Only sure way to know what this is for certain is a vet exam, there are too many possibilities that could mimic your description.

On another note, another priority is getting this pup his puppy boosters, if he is less than a year old, and never received his full puppy series, you could be putting your other dog at risk for canine infectious disease. If you don't have a vaccination history on this pup, don't wait another minute, get his series done immediately. This is in addition to not knowing for certain what the skin condition is.....mange, mites, lice, ringworm, etc are all potential risks to your other dog.

Is there another vet in your area who can examine this pup other than your primary vet?