Why is my dog tired, has skin lumps, hair loss, and itchy skin?

Lesions like those in the pictures can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above. In dogs like yours with hair loss and itchiness, one common cause can be infection by mites that can live in the hair follicles and lead to hair loss, and secondary bacterial and fungal infections that can develop. I recommend making an appointment to have your dog seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the hair loss as soon as you can. The vet will likely want to look at a sample from the area (taken by a procedure known as a skin scraping) and examined under the microscope to determine what kind(s) of infection may be present and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. I hope that helps!

This appears to be a pustule, which indicates a skin infection. The skin appears rather red, which indicates that something must be irritating the skin. Often, a skin infection starts due to some sort of irritation. The common causes of skin irritation are allergies and external parasites (fleas, mites, lice). However, this does not explain him acting lethargic or sick. This would be my primary concern and could be due to many different things. I think it's best if you can take Akita to get examined by the vet sometime soon. The lethargy can indicate moderate to severe conditions, so it's best if you can take him within the next 24 hours to keep him from getting worse.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This lump/bump/growth should be ideally examined by your local vet to have a diagnosis established. Your vet may want to perform an FNA (fine needle aspiration) or a biopsy to sample the bump and determine its underlying nature. Differentials would include skin cysts, infections, benign or more malignant type of tumors. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Hi and thanks for your post! It is hard to say exactly what the cause of Nico's hair/skin condition may be without examining Nico first, but I can offer some potential possibilities. The bumps may be attributed to a flea allergy or another allergy to something in Nico's environment or to a particular food. However, there could be many other medical causes such as a fungal disorder or even an endocrine disorder. My best advice is to have Nico seen by his veterinarian. Your veterinarian can diagnose these potential conditions with an exam and diagnostic testing. I would recommend Nico visit his vet soon to have the possibilities above ruled out so he can receive the proper treatment. Best to you and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If Airbud was suffering from hypothyroidism, you would see a dull and thin coat, with flaky skin. From your description, it sounds like to me like he might be suffering from allergies. A typical sign of allergies in dogs is paw licking. I would recommend having blood tests and intradermal skin tests done to determine if he does have allergies. If you feel your vet doesn't want to go further, I would see the opinion of another vet, or you can see if there is a veterinary dermatologist in your area that you can bring Airbud to in order to be seen and treated.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like it could be skin allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his 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! There is really nothing specific you can try at home other than bathing him with a medicated shampoo you can get at your local pet store. This shampoo should contain chlorehexidine. In reality though, this is unlikely to resolve this issue completely. Good luck and have a good day!

This could be due to an allergic reaction to something he ate, maybe a new food , a treat or just something he snapped from the floor on the street. if it is bad you should take him to the vet to get it treated with allergy meds and possibly diarrhea meds as well.