My puppy has a growing red spot and hair loss on her hip. What is it?

Rosie should see a veterinarian for a skin scrape in order to determine if she has Demodex. This is a mange mite that is most common in young puppies and presents with hair loss, red skin and pustules like you see in the photo. There are several very successful treatment options for this. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would recommend that you have Cooper examined by a vet. Areas of hair loss like this can be caused by demodex mites. Other possible causes include bacterial or fungal infection or other parasites. The vet will likely do a skin scraping to look for the mites under a microscope. Then they can get Cooper started on an appropriate treatment plan.

This looks like it could be an area of local infection or a skin parasite. My other concern is that it could be petechiae, which are tiny pinpoint hemorrhages and would indicate she has a clotting issue - I can't zoom in enough on this picture to decide if it really looks like that or not, but if you're seeing similar red dots elsewhere, Lola should go to her vet right away. If it's just this one spot, if it's getting bigger or she's getting itchy, she should go to her vet.

That area on Ares looks inflamed and the skin looks thickened. This is generally a sign of a chronic irritation. Did she have the spot before the shaving? Has she been vaccinated in the past 6 months for rabies? You could try applying a topical steroid that you could get from her doctor and this may help. I have seen pets develop irritated areas and the cause has never been determined. A biopsy is always to option to know for sure what you have going on. I would talk to her doctor about the rabies vaccine, the topical cream and a biopsy. Best of luck!

Hi there and thanks for posting this question. Certainly there can be many causes for this, but young dogs commonly will have a mite called demodex mite. I suspect by the age and description that this may be the problem. I would recommend that he be seen by a veterinarian. They will likely do a skin scraping to look for mites. If positive they will discuss treatment options. I hope this helps and thanks for using Pet Coach!

Thanks for the pictures. By looking at them, there seems to be a different look to some of them. The one on the nose appears raised, and has me concerned that it is skin mass. It could just be the picture angle... Hairloss in dogs is usually related to mites, or allergies. I would recommend taking Parker into a veterinarian. They can see if the lesions are related to each other. They will also do some diagnostics such as a skin scrape to check for mites, skin cytology to check for secondary infections and possibly a fungal culture. If the nose lesion is actually a mass, they will most likely do a cytology (stick a needle in it, push cells on a slide, stain slide and look at them under a microscope). If it turns out to be allergies, please realize that allergies (just like humans) can't be cured, only controlled. It may take a few different treatments to get them under control. Hope Parker feels better soon! Thanks for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I am assuming that this is a dog? The areas of hair loss on the skin could be caused my a multitude of problems, but most common would be something called demodex. Demodex is a mite that is present mostly in very young dogs or dogs with immune suppression from other conditions. I would encourage you to have her evaluated by your veterinarian soon. They may recommend a skin scrape to look for mites. Sometimes even if they aren’t found a trial therapy is still recommended. Best of luck and I hope they resolve quickly. Thank you for using Pet Coach.