What causes painful scabs and hair loss on my dog's back and tail?

Hello. I’m sorry but it does not appear that any photos were successfully attached to your post. Please try to post and upload the photos again. It would be helpful to see them. These may be hotspots or some other type of infected skin lesion.

It is hard to say what is causing Bacardi's problems. The third picture you included looks like pus, which would indicate infection and would need antibiotics to treat. Some dogs can be allergic to fleas, and it may only take 1 bite to make them itchy all over. If you are seeing scabs from where you applied a flea medication or flea collar, it may be irritating the skin so I would recommend removing it and bathing with dog shampoo thoroughly. Causes of itching in dogs include fleas or flea allergies, mites, or skin infection. The hair in the second picture looks like normal shedding to me, but if you feel it is weird for Bacardi, it could be caused by inflammation or from the extra itching she is doing right now. You can try a shampoo like Dechra MalAcetic Ultra Shampoo, but if it doesn't respond in a day or two, Bacardi should be seen by a vet as she may need oral medications to control the itching.

Poor doggy. It could be flea infestation, flea allergic dermatitis, mange, fungal disease, alopecia due to metabolic and system disease. Really hard to tell by the picture but definitely need a vet check up. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.

Thank you for your question. Patches must be pretty uncomfortable. There are several possible reasons for this type of itchiness. The first thing I recommend is make sure he has been treated for fleas. Even one little flea can trigger massive itching in a dog that is sensitive to them. Other things that can cause this type of itching are food allergies, environmental allergies, mites, and bacterial skin infections. When the skin becomes this damaged, a trip to your veterinarian is necessary. We often have to prescribe antibiotics to control local bacterial infections that can result from all the scratching. We also need to get the itching under control. Sometimes this means steroids, and sometimes we prescribe a medication specifically to control itching. A t-shirt can be used to protect the skin from further scratching while it heals. There are some over the counter anti-itch sprays you can try, but many times they are not strong enough. I hope this helps, and Patches is feeling better soon!

Based on what you are describing, I would recommend starting with some preliminary diagnostics of the affected area just to rule out a couple of things. A skin scraping will be able to mostly eliminate some fairly common dermatologic parasites like mites, though these typically do cause a fair amount of itchiness. The locations you are describing are not typical for a flea infestation so it is not very high on my list of possibilities. Based on the second and third picures, it looks like the hair is coming out very easily and that the skin beneath in the third picture is quote dry / seborrheic. It is possible that Leizel could be experiencing some localized allergic reaction as well. Lastly, a cause of the issues you are seeing can be attributed to certain immune-mediated disease that affect the skin. These are usually only positively diagnosed through biopsies of the affected regions.

The most common reason by far for scabbing and dermatologic issues near the hind end and tail base is a flea bite dermatitis. If Dani is not currently protected by an flea / tick medication, I would recommend getting her on something right away. This is particularly important for a dog breed such as an English Bulldog due to their propensity for allergic reactions and underlying skin issues. If she is on a flea / tick preventative, I would carefully comb through her skin to make sure you aren't seeing any live or dead fleas present. If you are unable to find something, consider bringing in Dani to the veterinarian to be assessed, and possibly to have some diagnostics run such as a skin scraping or culture. Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is concerning as the wounds are large and extensive. I would be concerned that this could be some form of immune mediated disease or a reaction to something in the environment or medication or perhaps an infection of some sort. I recommend that you have Bella evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and treat accordingly. Diagnostics will likely include infectious disease testing and a skin biopsy. Good luck and have a great day!