My dog has a missing patch of skin on his head. What should I do?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Without seeing Milo it’s hard to say what is going on. You can clean the area with a mild soap and water then dry thoroughly and apply a triple antibiotic ointment. If it’s not looking better in a couple of days, I would have a vet take a closer look. He may need oral medications. Good luck and kisses to Milo!

This looks like an area that was scraped and now has a secondary bacterial infection. Please clean the area with a warm wet cloth and once rinsed and dried apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment on it. By washing it you should remove the dried up crusty skin. It may look more irritated but having it clean and open to the air it should heal more quickly. The rest of the skin looks fine. It may take several weeks or more to have the fur fill in. If you see more areas like this then an exam and skin scraping to determine the cause is in order. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Stella.

Poor Jasper. I would gently clean the wound with warm water and antiseptic soap. Keep the wound clean and dry, and monitor it for signs of infection. If you see redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or pus, then it is infected and he will need to see the vet for antibiotics to treat it.

It looks like she has a skin infection. You could clean it with a wound wash and see if that helps. Otherwise, have your vet examine her to determine the cause and treat. She might need an antibiotic and corticosteroid to help treat.

This could be a scab from a bug bite or Archie rubbing his head against something. You could monitor it for any swelling, redness, pain or discharge. It should heal on its own but if you see any of those changes then Archie needs to get examined by his veterinarian.

It is good that you have Harry wearing an e-collar to prevent further damage. It looks like he may have a hot spot. They can come up very quickly. To try at-home treatment, the first step is to clip the hair away from the skin so it will dry out, is easier to clean, and so you can monitor the progression. You need to use electric clippers, not scissors or a razor, to safely remove the hair. Second is to gently cleanse and disinfect the area. You can use a chlorhexidine wound scrub to gently scrub the wound, rinse thoroughly with water. It is important to keep this out of Harry's eyes as it is unsafe. Third is the treat the skin. You can use an ointment like neosporin or a medicated wipe like Dechra MalAcetic HC Wipes which is anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. If you do this at-home treatment for 48 hours and the skin appears worse, Harry seems painful, or there is excessive discharge, I recommend that Harry see a vet immediately. Other possible causes for his skin issue that are not a hot spot include fleas, mange, lice, infections (bacterial or yeast), ringworm, allergies, among others. Here is a good article about hot spots, including information on when at-home treatment can be tried: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2714

It looks like Tank could have what we call a "hot spot" or a superficial pyoderma (bacterial infection of the skin). You can read more about this issue at https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952981 . I would recommend bringing him in to see the vet. We often need to shave these areas and clean them with an antiseptic cleaner. Then sometimes an oral antibiotic/steroid is needed, others times a topical spray such as Gentocin spray is prescribed. I would be careful having him outside with this wound as it can attract flies/maggots which you don't want to deal with! I would recommend keeping him primarily indoors until the lesion is healed.