Your dog may have ringworm or might come in contact with it. Ringworm is only one type of health problems your dog could come in contact with and spread to other pets or your family members.

Ringworm is curable but can be very annoying and highly contagious. Dogs can get ringworm in many different ways. Ringworm is caused by exposure to certain fungal spores around the dogs’ environment. It can also be passed on from one pet to another.

Ringworm is a skin disease that appears as skin lesions and normally has a circular appearance. There are four fungal species that cause ringworm in dogs. The fungi live in the dog’s hair follicles and cause the hair to break off at the skin level. This normally causes your dog to have hair loss in round patches. As the ringworm spreads the lesions may appear in different shapes over the dog’s body.

Treatment for ringworm can be shampoo, cremes, or oral medications. Shampoo is used most often in the treatment of ringworm. You may need to cut all or some of your dog’s hair to make the shampoo more effective in the treatment. Anti fungal cremes are used if your dog has small lesions or on any areas your dog has little hair growth. Oral medications for ringworm are only prescribed in certain situations.

When you begin treatment on your dog for ringworm you should take additional steps to prevent it from remaining in your dog’s area.