Why is my Havanese dog suddenly getting a bald spot on her shoulder?

I'm sorry to hear Benito is having a skin issue. Focalized hair loss can be secondary to a contact allergy, skin parasites (mites), an infection (bacterial or fungal), or an underlying medical issue. If it isn't itching or bothering him, I would recommend stopping the topical therapies and then having it evaluated at his next set of shots to see if they can determine the underlying cause for his skin lesion and any treatment that may be needed. If he starts bothering at it or it starts spreading I'd have him seen sooner. Good luck!

Hello and thank you for your post! A patch of hair loss could indicate multiple things. I am assuming that she is quite Young since you are calling her a puppy. If she is very young, she might have a patch of hair loss due to skin mites called Demodex. This patch could also be infectious, bacterial or fungal. I would suggest getting her seen by her veterinarian to have diagnostic tests performed to see what the primary cause of this patch of hair loss is. Your veterinarian will likely scrape the skin in that affected area as an initial test. Depending on the cause, that will be able to prescribe the most appropriate treatments for this. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any other concerns that you may have. I am also available via text or phone consultation.

I would have this checked by a vet. It sounds very much like ringworm. Although the name suggests otherwise, ringworm is not caused by a worm at all-but a fungus. This highly contagious infection can lead to patchy areas of hair loss on a pet, and can spread to other animals-and to humans, too. Classic symptoms of ringworm include lesions that typically appear on a pet’s head, ears, paws and forelimbs. These lesions can cause patchy, crusted circular “bald spots” that sometimes look red in the center. In mild cases of ringworm, there may be just a few broken hairs, while bad cases of ringworm can spread over most of a pet’s body. It’s also possible for a pet to carry the fungus and not show any symptoms whatsoever. Treatment of ringworm depends on the severity of the infection. A veterinarian may prescribe a medicated shampoo or ointment that contains miconazole or a dip such as lime sulfur to kill the fungus. In some cases, oral medications are necessary to cure ringworm. In severe cases, it may be necessary to use a topical and oral treatment, in addition to clipping away the fur. Once treatment begins, lesions should begin to heal in about one to three weeks. Please note, it is important to treat your pet for as long as recommended by your veterinarian. Even though the skin lesions may have cleared up, this doesn’t mean your pet is cured or can’t infect another animal or person. Certain diagnostic tests may need to be repeated in order to ensure cure. And unfortunately, there is no guarantee that reinfection won’t occur!

The main reasons for hair loss include allergies, other primary dermatologic conditions, certain endocrine diseases, or self-inflicted trauma. Based on the look of the skin, it doesn't appear to be irritated or itchy.. Usually hair loss without itchiness is attributed to a systemic problem or something immune mediated in nature. Lastly, there are also some instances where dogs and/or cats can lose hair for no apparent reason without their being any sort of problem. To figure out the reason with certainty, some testing of the affected area would be required. If Bryant isn't showing any other problems right now and the area of effect is not growing in size, it isn't really an urgent thing to get checked out. Continue to monitor for changes and seek attention should the time come when it becomes necessary. Hope this makes sense.

It's tough to say exactly what's causing Pablo's patch of hair loss from a picture alone. I agree that I don't see any redness, scaling or signs of inflammation in the picture. Some possible causes can include scar tissue from an injury or burn, infectious conditions like mange or ringworm, a sebaceous (oil gland) cyst or histiocytoma. Pablo should be examined by his vet so that diagnostic testing can be performed. It's likely that your vet will need to take samples from this area to be evaluated under the microscope. Once the cause of this issue is diagnosed, then your vet will be able to determine the best course of treatment. This is certainly not an emergency, so if many of your local vets are currently closed or have less availability, it's not a big deal if you need to wait a few extra weeks. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Pablo!

Hair loss could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash her whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have Marley examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It could be caused by a bacterial skin infection, ringworm, mites/parasites, or allergies. Have your vet take a look at her to determine the cause. Your vet can do a skin scrape and /or culture to help diagnose and treat. You could try to bathe her with a medicated dog shampoo and see if that helps.