My dog is losing hair, has dry crusty skin & black spots. What is it?

This looks like it is most likely an infection in the skin. It is very common to start out red and crusty like this. The black spots are usually a reaction to irritation and the skin gets more pigment. Most of the time, infections in the skin are secondary to allergies or anything else that causes inflammation in the skin. I would recommend an evaluation by a veterinarian and a skin scraping. The skin scraping will look for mites, yeast and bacteria. This way, the veterinarian can choose the right type of treatment. Often, these infections need to be treated with oral medication. I hope this helps and that Chappie gets better soon!

Hi there. Many things could be causing it. It could have been a good scratch, or it could be early signs of a mite infection called demodex. If it spreads or doesn’t seem to be improving then I would recommend having him examined by your veterinarian. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon.

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.

It could be a pyoderma (skin infection). See your veterinarian for an exam. He or she may diagnose bacterial or fungal skin infection and can prescribe the appropriate medication afterwards. Treatment may be topical, systemic or a combination. Consider adding an essential fatty acid supplement, such as DermCaps or EicosaCaps, to her diet to promote healthy skin and coat. Place an e-collar (cone) on your dog if she is licking or chewing excessively.

Poor Shay-Shay! It looks like she has some pretty significant skin problems. The black, crusty appearance of the skin on her belly is called lichenification - it's caused by chronic itching over a long period of time. There are a number of things that could cause severe itching, hair loss, and scabs like this. Some common possibilities would include allergies, fleas, a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or skin mites (mange). Treatment will depend on what the underlying problem is, so it's important to get a diagnosis first in order to know how to help her. I would recommend taking her to the vet this week for an exam - he/she can do some simple skin tests to help diagnose the problem and get her started on appropriate medication to treat it.

Hello there, Round, circular patches of hair loss are often indicative of a severe skin infection. Simon needs to see his veterinarian this week. They will recommend testing some of his skin to see if bacteria or fungus is causing these lesions to know which medications to use. They may also recommend medicated shampoos. There may be an underlying predisposing factor in this skin infection, such as an allergy to an animal protein in his diet or the environment. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It looks like he has a severe dermatitis so he needs to be examined by a vet to determine the cause. He may need an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, and/or other medications and your vet can prescribe. At this point, I don't think over the counter medications are going to treat his problem.