My dog has a bald spot on her leg. What to do until the vet opens?

Hello. All I can see is a small area of dermatitis on the leg. It can have many causes, but you can treat this with an over the counter skin antiseptic called Hibiclens. Gently scrub the skin twice a day & dab dry ( do not rinse ). Do this for about 2-3 weeks & the lesion should clear up. But since I cannot make any kind of actual diagnosis, if the skin becomes more irritated or the area does not seem to be healing, please consider seeing your veterinarian. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

That spot on Stella could be several things including allergies, a reaction to the shampoo, parasites or just a one time infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash her whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have her examined by his veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

From the photos here it looks like these are patches of hair loss. We can have hair loss at points of pressure if a dog likes to lay on hard surfaces, but we also worry about things like ringworm (a fungal infection), skin mites, and bacterial infection causing patches of hair loss. I would recommend bringing your dog in to the vet to examine the area. They may recommend a fungal culture if ringworm is suspected or a cytology of the skin to check for bacteria or a skin scrape to check for mites.

That spot on Elma could be several things including allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection, ringworm (which humans can get) or endocrine disease. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not her whole body, just the lesion). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion does not start improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have her examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Ouch! That looks like a severe allergy, infection, or even parasite infection that is causing the large patches of redness and baldness. It's best to bring your pup into your vet for treatment and care since it's gotten to a serious enough point that treatments at home likely won't do too much. Your vet can take a sample of the affected area to test for issues such as mites/fleas, bacteria, yeast, etc, or start you on some allergy medications or a food trial to see if that helps. In the meantime, it's best to keep an Elizabethan (cone) collar or T-shirt on your pup to keep her from licking or scratching the area as licking can lead to worsening of infection. Checking for any parasites such as fleas and ticks and treating your pup and her environment may also help. It's also a good idea to keep the area clean and dry. Since there are so many causes of this, it's best to see your vet to help narrow down what's happening and get your pup on the right path.

It looks like Lila may have what is called a hotspot (localized area of infection). When they lick the area they can make it extremely worse very fast. I recommend taking Lila to a veterinarian to get the area clipped up, cleaned up and have antibiotics +/- topical medication. I recommend in the mean time going to a pet store and getting an Elizabethan collar for her so she stops bothering the area. This does not look like mange. I hope see feels better soon and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hair loss could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash her whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have Marley examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.