My dog has a brown spot, limps, and smells bad. Should I worry?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on your description, it sounds as though Sweety may have a leg injury. The brown discoloration on her fur may be from her chewing / licking at the leg. If this is not going away or worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello, thank you for your question about Brownie. Based on the photos you've attached and the symptoms that you describe I would be concerned that Brownie has allergies. Allergies can be secondary to food or the environment, among other things. Often when dogs have bad allergies and they lick and chew alot they can develop secondary bacterial skin infections, which could explain the odor that you are noticing. Since this has been going on for a while and has not improved I would recommend having Brownie evaluated by a veterinarian. They can perform an examination and discuss the need for any additional skin testing such as skin scrapes, impression smears, etc. Depending on the findings of these tests they can then determine the appropriate treatment for Brownie. Hope this helps, good luck!

The area looks like it is quite inflamed, and the skin looks quite thickened, which might mean this has been a problem for a while, even before Dodger started losing his hair. It sounds like he is in pain, so you are right to be concerned. I recommend taking Dodger to the vet. Skin lesions can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above.The vet will likely want to look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine if there is an infection and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. I hope Dodger feels better soon!

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This could just be an allergic condition, but looking at the spotty nature of the pads, I would also be concerned that this might be an auto-immune condition called pemphigus, where the lesions are often first noticed on the footpads. Since this has been ongoing for several months, & now she is showing signs of pain, it is time to have your veterinarian evaluate the pads for what is going on. Hope all is well. Take care.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I would have Brownie examined by a vet. There looks like signs of infection, and it needs to be treated aggressively. Wounds in this area are often hard to heal since there is constant movement from the joint. There could also be something under the skin or a problem with bone causing delayed healing.

I'm sorry to hear that Murphy is not feeling well. It's hard to know without seeing him in person, but it could be allergies or an infection or possibly something stuck in them like you mentioned. If he is so uncomfortable that he's limping, I would take him to your family veterinarian. They may need to probe the wounds or take a small sample of the surface and look under the microscope to determine what is causing it and then make treatment recommendations from there.