My dog's skin is dry, flaky, greasy, black, and smells. What's wrong?

Question

My female cocker spaniel (7 years) has fissure skin with black patches which is dry flaky and also a bit greasy. The skin condition is mostly at the back, rump, tail and side of hind legs. She licks her back and also smells a little. Pet's info: Dog | English Cocker Spaniel | Female | unspayed | 7 years and 1 month old | 23 lbs

David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat Muffin with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advocate or advantage), then get her to 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 discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start her on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting her on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).

My dog's skin is dry, flaky, greasy, black, and smells. What's wrong?

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