Why is my dog's skin brown, scabby, and losing hair in patches?

Question

It looked like she had a tuft of hair. When I pulled it her skin cane with it. The skin attached to the hair was brown and scabby. The bald patch is not hot, pussy, irritated or showing any signs of infection. What causes this? Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed | 14 years and 8 months old | 80 lbs

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

We commonly see an overgrowth of normal bacteria on the skin cause crusting and scabbing. When this happens around and in the hair follicles, the hair will easily fall out. When a dog has a thick coat, the crusting can spread under the coat and go unnoticed. From your picture, it looks like this area may be over the hip/pelvis. In older dogs, when their bones are more prominent, they will sometimes have areas like that due to lying on harder surfaces. These can become pressure sores, so be sure to keep an eye out for those. I agree that the area does not look irritated, but there is still some brown crusting left, so be sure to monitor the area closely for any spread of the crusting. If the crusting spreads or the skin appears red, be sure to have your vet evaluate the area. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Why is my dog's skin brown, scabby, and losing hair in patches?

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