Why is my dog's hip crusty with hair loss after a sore healed?

We commonly see an overgrowth of normal bacteria on the skin cause crusting and scabbing. When this happens around and in the hair follicles, the hair will easily fall out. When a dog has a thick coat, the crusting can spread under the coat and go unnoticed. From your picture, it looks like this area may be over the hip/pelvis. In older dogs, when their bones are more prominent, they will sometimes have areas like that due to lying on harder surfaces. These can become pressure sores, so be sure to keep an eye out for those. I agree that the area does not look irritated, but there is still some brown crusting left, so be sure to monitor the area closely for any spread of the crusting. If the crusting spreads or the skin appears red, be sure to have your vet evaluate the area. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It sounds like she has a hot spot on her hip. She could be chewing/licking on that area because of allergies, a problem with her anal glands, fleas, etc. She should be examined by a vet to determine the cause and treat the problem. Your vet can check her anal glands and express them, if needed. Your vet can also inspect her for evidence of fleas and/or allergies. An antibiotic, anti-histamine, and/or a corticosteroid may be needed to help treat her problem and your vet can prescribe. Make sure to use a monthly flea prevention, like NexGard, Frontline, Revolution, or Advantage to prevent fleas and ticks.

It's really difficult to know what this is without seeing it. Usually these scabby patches indicate an infection. It may be worthwhile getting some medicated pet wipes from the pet store and wiping the area twice a day. Usually these infections clear-up within two weeks by keeping it clean. If the lesion is not getting better, or is getting worse in the next week, then I recommend having a vet evaluate it a bit further. There are other potential causes of this that can get much worse if not treated soon. I hope that helps and Daisy gets better soon.

I'm glad that Jaxi doesn't seem to be bothered by the lesion on her skin. Flaky areas with hair loss can be caused by a variety of conditions, including ringworm, mange and skin infections. Since these issues can only be diagnosed with microscopic evaluation and/or culture, I recommend taking Jaxi to her vet. I hope that she's on the mend soon!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Judging from the photis, this appears to have a raised area in the center. This could be a sebaceous cyst that ruptured and is now secondarily infected or has an open wound on it that won't heal. I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at this and have some additional testing performed on it to determine what it could be. With more information on what this could be, the most appropriate treatment can then be started. If you are unable to get to your vet right now, I would recommend using an ointment called zymox topical ointment to apply to the area. If the ointment does not help aftwr 5-7 days or it worsens during that time, I would get kane to the vet for an exam. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hello, sorry to hear about Quincy. It looks like that could be ringworm. If so, it could require treatment with anti-fungals for quite some time. Otherwise, she may need some diagnostics to rule out other causes for this which may include a skin scrape, hair culture, and cytology to look at cells under the microscope to rule out bacteria and yeast infections. In the mean time, you can keep a collar on so that Quincy does not lick at the area or you can use a shirt to cover the area and keep her from licking at it. Hope this helps and best of luck.

The most common reason that we will see circular or semi-circular rings or crusts in a dog is a superficial bacterial skin infection. These areas typically start as a small bump which ruptures and forms a crust. That crust can spread and form a large area of hair loss with crusting around the edge. We can also see fungal infections that will have this same behavior. In order to determine what is causing the problem, your vet can so some simple skin tests and look at a sample under the microscope to make a diagnosis and determine the best treatment for Cooper. There are topical medications like wipes and shampoos that we will sometimes use or other times an oral medication is needed. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.