Why is my female dog losing hair with black spots near her vagina?

It may be due to true skin problems like allergy or skin infection. However, if she doesn't show excessive skin itchiness or redness she may have hormonal problems (diabetes, underactive thyroid gland, overactive adrenal gland etc). You shoud get her checked by your vets. They are likely to recommend skin testing and blood test to find out what is going on.

It may be as the moisture from the diaper can create a skin infection and that pigment can be from a yeast infection. It may also be unrelated and due to changes due to the hormones. I would leave the diaper off and keep the area clean and dry. If you notice an odor or it seems to itch and bother her then I would get it checked

It could be a bacterial infection or a yeast infection. Generally these occur just due to the nature of the skin in the area--the environment is dark in the skin folds, and there is some moisture from the skin and sometimes from urine as well. If it is not bothering her (she is definitely not licking at it, etc) it could also be just waxy secretions/plugged hair follicles, etc. You can try using just plain Witch Hazel (available at any pharmacy) on a cotton swab or pad once or twice a day for a few days to see if that helps; however if it does not help or if this seems to irritate her skin further or if she does not like it when you do this, DO NOT CONTINUE TO ATTEMPT THIS METHOD. Take her to the vet. And if you do try just cleaning it at home, take her in if you aren't seeing an improvement within 2-3 days. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Skin problems can have a variety of causes, sometimes more than one. Allergies, bacterial or fungal infections, even contact with some surfaces or substances will cause itching and/or hair loss. It is important to have the problem checked by your vet to determine if there is a medical cause for your pet’s skin issues and treat accordingly. In pets of all ages, fleas, food allergies and exposure to chemical irritants such as cleaners and soaps can be a cause. Any one of these may not be enough to trigger the breakouts, depending on how sensitive your pet is, but a combination can be enough to start the itch-scratch cycle. Finding out the cause and eliminating it is the best course of action. With flea allergies, if your pet is sensitive enough, a single bite can cause them to break out scratch enough to tear their skin. Check for fleas with a flea comb. Look for fleas and/or tiny black granules, like coarse black pepper. This is flea feces, consisting of digested, dried blood. You may find tiny white particles, like salt, which are the flea eggs. Applying a good topical monthly flea treatment and aggressively treating your house and yard will help break the flea life cycle. If you use plastic bowls, this is a possible cause for hair loss, though this tends to be on the chin, where their skin touches the bowl while they eat. If you suspect this to be the culprit, try changing the bowls to glass, metal or ceramic. Food allergies are often caused by sensitivity to a protein in the food. Hill's Science Diet offers some non-prescription options for sensitive skin as well as prescription hypoallergenic foods for more severe cases. Royal Canin carries limited protein diets that may also offer some relief. Your vet can recommend a specific diet that will help. If there is no relief or not enough, consider getting your pet checked by a veterinary dermatologist and having allergy testing done.

Poor Precious! It sounds like there may be a couple possible problems happening at the same time. Smelly skin and hair loss can be caused by skin infections with yeast or bacteria, allergies, or parasites like fleas. The brown discharge from her vulva could be related to having a heat (if she is not spayed), a vaginal infection, or even a more serious infection of the uterus. Since she is also not eating and is lethargic, I highly recommend that you have Precious examined by your veterinarian to have these issues addressed. They will examine her, and may perform some tests like blood work and skin tests to see what is going on and to be able to provide an appropriate treatment. Hope this helps.

I am assuming that this is a dog? The areas of hair loss on the skin could be caused my a multitude of problems, but most common would be something called demodex. Demodex is a mite that is present mostly in very young dogs or dogs with immune suppression from other conditions. I would encourage you to have her evaluated by your veterinarian soon. They may recommend a skin scrape to look for mites. Sometimes even if they aren’t found a trial therapy is still recommended. Best of luck and I hope they resolve quickly. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hair loss can be caused by bacterial infection, parasitic infection (like mites or fleas) or fungal infection (like ringworm), dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. I recommend making an appointment to have Sandy seen by your veterinarian again to help determine the cause of the hair loss as soon as you can. The vet may want to look at a sample from the area (taken by a procedure known as a skin scraping) and examined under the microscope to determine what kind(s) of infection may be present and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. If these tests have been done and the results did not help provide a diagnosis, I recommend asking your vet for a referral to a dermatologist for further workup. Having Sandy spayed may also help her skin, as some skin conditions can be worsened by hormone fluctuations that occur in unspayed female dogs.