Why does my dog have dry skin, hair loss, and dark spots on his back?

Question

My dog has what appears to be dry skin and hair loss on his lower back and taIL only. The skin has also changed color. This has been over a couple of months. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 40 lbs

Dr. Davis · Accepted Answer

This looks like dry scaley skin from his scratching or rubbing the area due to allergies. The most common cause of itching in this area is from flea bite allergic dermatitis. Some dogs can have only a few flea bites but they can itch and irritate the skin for much longer. I recommend using monthly oral flea prevention and bathing your dog weekly with an anti seborrhea shampoo. If he’s scooting his anal sacs could be full of fluid and that can cause itching in that specific area also. Your veterinarian can manually empty them and make sure that area is not infected. To get this skin to heal may take several weeks and he may need veterinary treatment to help control the scratching so the skin can get better. They may prescribe antibiotics and an anti inflammatory medication. When dogs scratch excessively the skin can develop more pigmentation which changes normal skin to dark or black. That process is normal and often happens as dogs age also. Again I would try to get to the cause of this itching, then once that’s taken care of the skin should improve and the hair will fill in. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Cowboy.

Why does my dog have dry skin, hair loss, and dark spots on his back?

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