My dog's skin looks unhealthy on her sides. What's the cause?

There's no way to know for sure from a photograph, but it does look like a bacterial infection. It is important to have this seen by your vet to determine what it is so the correct treatment can be started as soon as possible before it gets worse or is a sign of an underlying problem. Your vet will do an exam, possibly labwork, and based on these results will be better able to tell you what is causing this and how best to treat it.

That is either a bacterial or fungal infection on Daisy's skin. SHe needs to see a vet to have this resolved. The vet needs to test the skin first and then can prescribe the correct medication to help this resolve. I hope that Daisy can see your vet soon. Its best to keep her away from other dogs and don't handle the area much until she is tested. Best of luck moving forward. Take care.

If she is having a rapidly spreading skin condition, Lucy should be seen by a veterinarian to have the skin checked. At the vet, they will be able to do scrapings, cultures, and biopsies. Most importantly, they will be able to prescribe medications to help relieve the pain and itchiness that Lucy is currently experiencing. She also likely will require an e-collar to prevent her in the short-term from itching herself raw. As for what it might be, it sounds like there could be an infection of the skin that started somewhere and is spreading rearward. There are autoimmune conditions and allergies that can affect the skin in the ways that you are describing, but that latter do not typically cause the scaliness you are talking about. Unfortunately, with a 14 year old dog, we also need to consider more serious conditions as well such as certain skin cancers. Your vet should definitely take a look at what is going on you guys can come up with a plan together.

Poor girl. I would highly recommend having her tested for demodexx mites, hypothyroidism, and a fungal infection. Either of these can cause these symptoms, but they can also all be treated with relatively good success. Best of luck to you at the vet. Best wishes and take care.

This is not normal and i recommend a full exam and skin scrapes to identify the underlying nature of the condition. Allergic skin disease, food sensitivities and mites could all be present and each requires a very different treatment. In the meantime i recommend an omega fatty acid supplement which acts as both a natural antiinflammatory and moisturiser

Poor Star! I can see that she has a large amount of redness and hair loss on her shoulder and thigh in the photo. Yeast infections, bacterial infections, mange, skin allergies, and even certain hormonal imbalances can cause these signs. Because of how severely affected the area seems to be, I definitely recommend having Star seen by a vet, as she likely requires prescription medications. I hope all is well!

Poor Sisi! I'm sorry to hear that she's having this problem. The most common conditions we see in dogs that cause hair loss and scaling would include allergies, bacterial or fungal skin infections, or skin mites (mange). If she has been treated for these conditions and has not improved, then I would agree that it sounds like something else may be wrong. Less common causes of these symptoms could include a systemic illness like Cushing's diseases or hypothyroidism (not very common in young dogs, but possible), or an autoimmune disease such as lupus or pemphigus foliaceus. I'm not sure what specific blood work has been done on Sisi, but you could certainly talk to your veterinarian about whether testing for these illnesses has been done. If lab work shows no abnormalities, then a skin biopsy would likely be the next recommended step to try and get a diagnosis.