Why is my dog losing weight, hair, and has raw skin & anus?

I am sorry your dog is not feeling well. The information provided and picture don't really match. If a patient is drinking more and losing weight I would be concerned about endocrine diseases like diabetes and cushings disease. However the picture looks more like possible skin mites or an underlying autoimmune disease I would recommend taking her to a veterinarian to help you resolve the issues. They most likely will need to run basic bloodwork and possible a skin scrape to determine if mites are present.

With the weight loss as well as the skin condition I would recommend a blood test to rule out internal diseases such as liver disease as well as a skin scrape and possible biopsy in order to fully investigate the underlying cause and to guide the most appropriate treatment

Those are all very general signs of illness, and I would be concerned there is a GI issue or underlying illness if she is both losing hair and unable to keep food down/losing weight. Parasites, obstructions, viral illnesses, infections, organ issues, metabolic diseases, etc can all be potential causes, so it would be best to seek out veterinary care from your vet or an ER clinic as soon as possible.

I’m so sorry to hear about Sargeant. Though your question focuses on the skin, I must insert that weight loss in any dog - but an older dog particularly- is very concerning. Liver, kidney, and heart disease, as well as cancer are the things I would want to rule out first. If you have not yet run a basic blood panel on Sargeant, I would highly encourage it. In terms of the skin, underlying allergies can cause repeated skin infections and hair loss. If Sargeant is itchy, talk to your vet about possibly pursuing allergy treatments. A trial treatment for mites is also a good idea. Finally ringworm, auto-immune disease, and others are possibilities. Best of luck to you and Sargeant!

Oh my - it sounds as though Riley has a lot going on. It's likely that his excessive licking is associated with the hair loss that you've noticed, as licking is a sign of itchiness in dogs. I agree that his whining sounds like a sign of discomfort. This could all be associated with his other issues, or due to other skin conditions, like mange, ringworm, or allergies. Vomiting, diarrhea, weight gain, and excessive urination could be due to a number of different health conditions. Some of these possibilities include gastrointestinal viruses, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney disease, liver disease, endocrine disorders (such as Addison's disease), or food allergies. The challenge is that all of these conditions are treated very differently, so it's important to figure out the root cause of all of Riley's issues. At this point, Riley really needs to be examined by his vet and have some diagnostic testing performed. I assume that your vet will likely recommend some baseline bloodwork to check on his organ function, as well as a fecal flotation test for parasites, and skin testing to see if any infectious conditions are present. Based on their findings, they'll be able to come up with the best course of treatment for Riley. I hope that everything goes well!

I am very concerned by these pictures. I worry that the skin may be a manifestation of an underlying health issue. I would highly recommend blood work and a skin biopsy to help identify what the underlying problem is. Unfortunately cancer is high on my list of concerns. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Weight loss can be a sign of intestinal worms, organ dysfunction or disease (pancreatic insufficiency, liver shunts, kidney disease, liver inflammation/infection, etc.), food allergies or poor diet, and many other conditions. Hair loss can be due to parasites (mange, fleas, etc.), hypothyroidism, allergies (food or environment), immune diseases, etc. Given that Kalu is 2 years old, I would start by getting him dewormed and also get a product that treats for fleas, ticks and mange. See if his problems resolve. If they do not, then see your vet about testing. Best of luck with Kalu!