Why is my senior dog's skin leathery, hard, red, and painful?

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

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Judging from the photis, this appears to have a raised area in the center. This could be a sebaceous cyst that ruptured and is now secondarily infected or has an open wound on it that won't heal. I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at this and have some additional testing performed on it to determine what it could be. With more information on what this could be, the most appropriate treatment can then be started. If you are unable to get to your vet right now, I would recommend using an ointment called zymox topical ointment to apply to the area. If the ointment does not help aftwr 5-7 days or it worsens during that time, I would get kane to the vet for an exam. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Although a picture of the lesions would help to determine the underlying cause, this is probably due to an allergy, but it could also be due to an infection or mites. Old age itself is unlikely to cause anything like you described. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). 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 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 Poppy! Dogs can develop skin conditions at any age. In older dogs things such as endocrine diseases and food allergies are more common. If you notice the lesions are getting worse, then I would recommend to have him seen by his veterinarian. The doctor will take a look at him and get a thorough history and may recommend some blood tests if an underlying cause is suspected. The doctor will also recommend treatment for the lesions. At home, washing the lesions in an antibacterial hand soap and rinsing them well once a day can help to exfoliate and cleanse the skin. You can apply a dab of coconut oil and rub it in well once the skin is dry. You need to make sure however that he does not lick the coconut oil. This may help but if there is an underlying cause, the lesions will simply come back. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions!

I'd have to say that I'm concerned about that focal mass area that is pigmented black, but the rest of this lesion does not look like any type of skin cancer I have seen. If the vet is concerned that this is cancer, typically we debulk (remove as much as possible) or completely remove what we can before attempting chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is also best guided when we know exactly the type of tumor we are dealing with, as there are several types of cancers that can affect the skin of dogs. My advice would be to get a biopsy performed of this lesion and get an exact diagnosis before proceeding with treatment.

Hi there! It looks like Marley may have some chronic skin issues, and the growth on his back can definitely be a cyst of some kind. Due to his age, it always good to have senior dogs examined, as their growths could be cancerous. Something like a cyst can be easily removed, and then sent out for biopsy. In the meantime, the growth, since it's bloody and oozing, is almost like an open wound, so he would likely benefit from some medications to apply topically and depending on what the veterinarian says during the exam, maybe some oral medications until the growth stops oozing or can be removed. The darkly pigmented skin on the underside could be from something like chronic skin allergies and scratching, so this is something that I'd have Marley examined for too. I don't think there's a huge rush in getting Marley to the vet, but I'd make sure he has an exam within a few days for the reasons I mentioned above. I hope you find this answer helpful! Best of luck!