Dog neck sore with hair loss: What helps it heal now he can't scratch?

This is commonly seen when they get a skin infection (aka hot-spots). The neck is a common place for this to happen, because moisture often gets trapped under their collar and/or loose skin. It appears to be minor, so you can try a couple of things at home to get clear the infection. 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the lesion(s). There may be more than one of these. 2) Wash the area with warm water and a medicated shampoo (can get this at the pet store) once a day. Use a cloth and gently wipe away the scabs. Do not scrub, because it will irritate the skin more. It's OK if all of the scabs do not come off in each washing. 3) Make sure the area is completely dry after washing. 4) Leave the collar off. You should start seeing good results within a week after starting this. It may take a few weeks before it's completely cleared. If two weeks go by and it's not getting any better, then it's best to have a veterinarian exam it. Also, if it appears to get worse, then take him to the vet for treatment. I hope that helps and this gets cleared up soon.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria - so called hot spot). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It looks like her skin is just very inflamed in that area from all the scratching. I suggest you take her to your vet for an exam. She will likely need some strong prescription medications to get this to clear up. In the meantime you can use this hydrocortisone spray on it to give her some relief: ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-spray-with-5-hydrocortisone ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I wouldn't put steroid cream on it, because this could make it much worse. Hot spots usually have an infection present, which will flourish in the presence of steroids. It appears to be minor based on your description, so you can try a couple of things at home to help this. 1) Wash the area with warm water and a medicated shampoo (can get this at the pet store) once a day. Use a cloth and gently wipe away the scabs. Do not scrub, because it will irritate the skin more. It's OK if all of the scabs do not come off in each washing. 2) Make sure the area is completely dry after washing. You should start seeing good results within a week after starting this. It may take a few weeks before it's completely cleared. If two weeks go by and it's not getting any better, then it's best to have a veterinarian exam it. Also, if it appears to get worse, then it's best to take her the vet for treatment. I hope that helps and this gets cleared up soon.

I'd cover it so Precious can't scratch it, but I wouldn't use cortisone cream on it. This may be the wrong treatment for the cause and may adversely affect her. Have her seen by a vet for it so it can be treated properly. Best of luck.

Ringworm is normally dry, but the area looks like it has some moisture and discharge which is not normally seen with ringworm. If the area hasn't gotten any better, then I would recommend having your veterinarian examine it. They can take a small sample from the area and examine it under the microscope. Then they can determine if the problem is bacteria, yeast, fungus (like ringworm) or something else and determine the right medication for it. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor guy. This may be all that is needed to get this area to heal; however we would need a picture of the sore to know for sure. Please repost with a picture of the area in question and we will be more than happy to let you know what this needs to heal properly. Thank you and take care!