My dog has a red spot on his elbow with hair loss. Is it serious?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a severe focal infection. I recommend you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment as this will likely require local therapy with cleaning of the site, pain control medications and antibiotics. Also, your veterinarian could check for a possible underlying cause like allergies, mites or a foreign body reaction. Good luck!

Bo's lesion looks most suspicious for a bacterial skin infection, but could also be due to ringworm, mange, or bruising. Since it does not seem to be bothering him, you can monitor the lesion for the time being to see if it changes colors, grows, becomes itchy, or spreads elsewhere. You can also try bathing him with an antimicrobial shampoo (here is one example: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27982 ). However, if the lesion worsens or seems to be causing discomfort, it is worth taking a trip to the vet for evaluation. I hope that all goes well!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This could be a skin infection (bacterial or fungal). I would recommend using a shampoo such as PS Douxo Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved. I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. The above shampoo can be found online. If the areas worsen or persist, I would recheck with the veterinarian for further testing and treatment options.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a focal infection. You can try to use a medicated shampoo containing chlorhexidine twice weekly for 2 weeks. If there is no improvement or in the meantime this appears to be getting worse, have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can see an area of hair loss, redness, thickening of the kin, and what appears to be a scratch. This can be caused by bacterial or fungal skin infections such as ringworm, skin mites, or autoimmune diseases. I recommend having your dog seen by a vet as ringworm can be transmitted to people. I hope this helps and that all is well!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is difficult to tell from the photo where this lesion is located. However, with anything under the skin that is growing, we become concerned about an infection (abscess formation), a mass of some kind, or a blood accumulation (hematoma), among others. I would recommend Rokko be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his skin swelling/redness, have any necessary testing done (needle aspirate, culture) and start any treatment that may be needed. Good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly allergies. The alopecic lesions are calluses which occur due to pressure on the bone ends. This can improve by adding more padding where she normally rests on. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!