My dog has dark spots, scabs, and peeling hair on his nose. Why?

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. From the pictures I can see that the skin has darkened in the area around the mouth. It is common to have some hair loss at the elbow since this is a pressure point and bigger dogs lay down on this part of the leg quite a bit. Many times I will see callus formation near the elbow as well. As for the mouth and the crusted discharge you saw, it could be a bacterial skin infection or fungal as well. I typically recommend using malacetic conditioning spray and apply this 2-3 times per day until resolved. If there is no improvement then I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at this for further testing and treatment recommendations.

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This area can be either a localized demodex infection, a bacterial infection or a fungal infection (ringworm has to be considered). Thyroid disease can also be considered. If the area of hairloss and scabbing does not improve or completely resolve within 1-2 weeks, then I would recommend taking Indy to your local vet to have the skin tested. If it does not improve, then the appropriate medication (depeding on her skin test results) can be prescribed for Indy to help this resolve. Bset of luck with Indy and her skin. Take care.

There are many reasons for scabs on the nose. It can be related to an injury or autoimmune condition. It can also be related to a disease process within the nose. A physical exam is the only way to know what the cause is. Sometimes these pups even need a biopsy. I recommend to have Lucek seen by his veterinarian. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Aww poor Grizzlu that must be very painful! That looks like very severe dermatitis. Some causes of this are bacterial and fungal infections, autoimmune disease, severe allergies, mites and even cancer. Please take Grizzlu to see a veterinarian as soon as you can. Whatever caused this it looks like it is now infected and she likely need antibiotics, topical treatment and possible other oral medications like corticosteroids.

That could be many things including ringworm (which humans can get), autoimmune condition or even cancer. I recommend to have Blaze examined by the veterinarian. Just like humans, non-healing lesions are worrisome. Better to play it safe. I hope this helps.

This does look like a skin infection, but we cannot say whether it is bacterial or fungal. Your veterinarian may be able to tell with a quick exam and looking at the area with a special light that can diagnose ringworm fungal infections. In either case, this will be best treated with an oral medication....either antibiotic or antifungal. It is usually unrewarding to try to treat a lesion in this location topically because the dog will usually lick any cream or ointment right off. I would recommend that Neyle see her vet for a diagnosis.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the picture you have provided, it appears that this could be bacterial or a skin parasite causing the lesion. The skin may need to be cultured and if a skin scraping has not been performed, I would certainly recommend having this done to make sure this is not due to a skin mite such as demodex. If this is not due to a mite and is still there, I would recommend a culture / biopsy of the area for a more definitive diagnosis. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.