Why is my dog bald with smelly black skin, but not his face or ears?

Skin problems can have a variety of causes, sometimes more than one. Allergies, bacterial or fungal infections, even contact with some surfaces or substances will cause itching and/or hair loss. It is important to have the problem checked by your vet to determine if there is a medical cause for your pet’s skin issues and treat accordingly. In pets of all ages, fleas, food allergies and exposure to chemical irritants such as cleaners and soaps can be a cause. Any one of these may not be enough to trigger the breakouts, depending on how sensitive your pet is, but a combination can be enough to start the itch-scratch cycle. Finding out the cause and eliminating it is the best course of action. With flea allergies, if your pet is sensitive enough, a single bite can cause them to break out scratch enough to tear their skin. Check for fleas with a flea comb. Look for fleas and/or tiny black granules, like coarse black pepper. This is flea feces, consisting of digested, dried blood. You may find tiny white particles, like salt, which are the flea eggs. Applying a good topical monthly flea treatment and aggressively treating your house and yard will help break the flea life cycle. If you use plastic bowls, this is a possible cause for hair loss, though this tends to be on the chin, where their skin touches the bowl while they eat. If you suspect this to be the culprit, try changing the bowls to glass, metal or ceramic. Food allergies are often caused by sensitivity to a protein in the food. Hill's Science Diet offers some non-prescription options for sensitive skin as well as prescription hypoallergenic foods for more severe cases. Royal Canin carries limited protein diets that may also offer some relief. Your vet can recommend a specific diet that will help. If there is no relief or not enough, consider getting your pet checked by a veterinary dermatologist and having allergy testing done.

This looks like he has a mild skin infection or perhaps some irritation from a harness. You can bathe this area in a medicated shampoo which should improve the skin over time. If the harness is rubbing the area I would switch the harness. It the bald area is getting worse or spreading then I would bring him in for an exam. They may do a skin scraping to see whether the problem is caused by bacteria, yeast or mites. Once they have the specific diagnosis they can give Oswald the correct medication for treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Oswald.

Poor Oakley! He needs to see the veterinarian. The odor is likely due to secondary bacterial or yeast infection. The primary problem is likely skin mites or an allergy but thyroid disease is possible. He needs medications and likely a medicated shampoo. You also need to know the underlying cause or this is not likely to go away. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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.

This could indicate an allergy to the environment, food or another skin disease like sabeceous adenititis or an autoimmune disease. Sometimes an oatmeal based pet shampoo and conditioner help as well as omega 3 fatty acid supplements. However if this is due to an allergy he may need a long term medication like Apoquel for control. If Shadow gets worse, or the over the counter treatments don't work, he needs to get checked out by his veterinarian.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Based on what you are describing, and the pictures, I suspect that Willow may have an infection with ectoparasites, such as mites or fleas, that are causing her to be itchy. Your veterinarian can perform a skin scrape and evaluate the cells under a microscope to look for evidence of infectious agents. Please ensure that Willow is on a monthly topical flea and tick preventative that you purchase from your veterinarian; NOT one that can be purchased from a pet or grocery store, as these are not regulated and can be very toxic to pets. Willow could also have allergic skin disease, secondary to food or environmental agents. You can talk to your veterinarian about trying a diet trial to determine if Willow's itchy skin resolves on a particular novel protein diet. The thickened ears can be due to chronic ear infections, so your veterinarian will be able to examine the waxy debris under a microscope and prescribe the appropriate medication based on whether they see bacteria and/or yeast in Willow's ears. I hope this is helpful!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. From the pictures that you provided my primary suspicions would be a skin infection. There are some things that you can do at home if you are unable to get to a vet right away. I would suggest starting with a shampoo that is medicated such as Duoxo chlorhexidine PS combination and bathe him twice weekly until the infection is resolved. I would also suggest starting welactin omega-3 fish oil and essential 6 Spot On by dermoscent. If there is no improvement then I would see your vet for further testing and treatments. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I am also available via phone or text base consultation if needed