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Why is my unspayed dog losing hair, has dry skin, and producing milk?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Female | unspayed | 7 years and 10 months old | 27 lbs

My collie is 8 and she has recently had hair loss on her backend with her skin feeling very dry and her hair in this area very brittle plus she seems to have milk coming from her nipples. She is not spayed and has never had pups. Can you tell me what would be a possible cause for these symptoms. Apart from that she seems healthy enough.Thank you

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

Published on March 27th, 2018

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. She may have mastitis which could explain the discharge from her nipples. That is something your veterinarian can evaluate. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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    Answered By Jenny, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Producing milk is either a sign of a real pregnancy or chemical/false pregnancy if she has never been bred. Their body gets tricked by their hormones and goes through all the same steps as a pregnancy and will all go away in time. I would recommend getting her spayed as this will eliminate the possibility of an infected uterus down the road which result in emergency surgery. The skin can be from an allergy to fleas or something in the environment. Make sure she is on flea control and add omega 3 fatty acid supplements and fish oils to her diet. This will help with dryness and provide moisture to her coat again. You can give her a bath weekly to help with dry skin. I would also talk to your vet about checked her thyroid level. In dogs it can get low and cause a secondary infection. Each will need a supplement and medicine

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