My dog has a crusty spot with hair loss on her shoulder. What's wrong?

This sounds like it could be a hot spot or superficial bacterial skin infection. Most of the time hot spots are treated with antibiotics and sometimes some prescription topical medications. I'd recommend making an appointment with your veterinarian.

Poor girl. She has a skin infection caused by some sort of trauma to her skin. You can try shaving around the area and then cleaning it with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water followed by a topical hot spot spray from your local pet store. If after a few days things haven’t improved, then it’s best to get Jake seen by your vet for stronger pet formulated antibiotics to get this to heal. Best wishes with Jake and his hot spot. Take care.

Hello, those are not fleas. They appear to be crusts formed from the oily secretions of the skin. This can occur in dogs with a very oily skin coat, due to allergies, or even due to diet deficiencies. Other causes could include a skin infection or dry skin. This can typically be managed with the right medication, diet, or shampoo alone or in combination. However, your veterinarian may need to look a sample of this area under the microscope to rule out any bacteria, yeast, or parasites. Schedule and appointment with your veterinarian and have Stella evaluated soon. Hope this helps and best of luck.

This looks like it could be an area of local infection or a skin parasite. My other concern is that it could be petechiae, which are tiny pinpoint hemorrhages and would indicate she has a clotting issue - I can't zoom in enough on this picture to decide if it really looks like that or not, but if you're seeing similar red dots elsewhere, Lola should go to her vet right away. If it's just this one spot, if it's getting bigger or she's getting itchy, she should go to her vet.

The wound looks puffy from the photo (but I would need to palpate it to know for sure). The crusty area next to it could indicate another wound that is scabbed over or it could indicate a bacterial infection or ringworm (which humans can get). Your best option is to have Sophie examined by the veterinarian in case the wound is infected. She would be placed on antibiotics if that is the case. They could also test her for ringworm if it looks suspicious on exam. Make sure to protect the wound from scratching or licking. Sophie may need to wear an elizabethan collar if she can lick the area. A doggie shirt can help protect it from scratching. You do not want to disrupt the scab (it's nature's bandaide). I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

This sounds like a hotspot which may require antibiotics and also antiinflammatory/pain medication to reduce the scratchinh as prescribed by your vet. Be sure to keep the wound clean and bathe 2-3times daily with dilute chlorhexidine or saline in order to reduce the infection.

This may be a hot spot which is an area of infected and inflammed skin that can be uncomfortable for the pet. Pixie should see your family vet to have the hair in the area clipped and the skin cleaned. Then treatment can be prescribed to treat any infection and stop the itch. Given the location her ears should be examined as well. If deemed a hot spot, and she has recurrent issues with them, underlying allergy may be the cause. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!