Why does my dog have a painful, itchy, hairless patch on her neck?

This is commonly seen when they get a skin infection (aka hot-spots). The neck is a common place for this to happen, because moisture often gets trapped under their collar and/or loose skin. It appears to be minor, so you can try a couple of things at home to get clear the infection. 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the lesion(s). There may be more than one of these. 2) Wash the area with warm water and a medicated shampoo (can get this at the pet store) once a day. Use a cloth and gently wipe away the scabs. Do not scrub, because it will irritate the skin more. It's OK if all of the scabs do not come off in each washing. 3) Make sure the area is completely dry after washing. 4) Leave the collar off. You should start seeing good results within a week after starting this. It may take a few weeks before it's completely cleared. If two weeks go by and it's not getting any better, then it's best to have a veterinarian exam it. Also, if it appears to get worse, then take him to the vet for treatment. I hope that helps and this gets cleared up soon.

It looks like her skin is just very inflamed in that area from all the scratching. I suggest you take her to your vet for an exam. She will likely need some strong prescription medications to get this to clear up. In the meantime you can use this hydrocortisone spray on it to give her some relief: ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-spray-with-5-hydrocortisone ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Poor Dappie! Hair loss, itching and skin irritation can be due to a number of issues, such as allergies, ringworm or mange. Any of these conditions can also lead to the onset of a bacterial skin infection, particularly since Dappie and your other dogs have been licking her skin lesions. Dappie should take a trip to her vet for further evaluation of her skin to determine the most appropriate treatment. Until you can get to the vet, be sure that she is receiving a high quality flea and tick preventative (such as Nexgard, Bravecto, or K9 Advantix II) regularly because fleas could exacerbate any underlying skin issue. You can also try putting an e-collar (cone) on her to prevent her from causing further skin irritation. A bath in an antimicrobial shampoo may be helpful, but her vet will be able to prescribe more effective medications. I hope that all goes well!

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!

It looks like what we call a hot spot or moist dermatitis. These looks really painful. I would have him seen. He will most likely need some antibiotics and some topical medication to help dry this up. They can also give you something for the itching or pain relief. These usually heal pretty quickly once they stop messing with them.

It sounds like your dog has a skin infection so he should be examined by a vet to determine the exact cause. It could be secondary to an injury or possibly allergies. He may need an oral antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory to help treat the problem.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking/scratching. 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. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.