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My dog has a red, flaky, hairless patch on her hind leg. What is it?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Female | unspayed | 3 years and 4 months old | 60 lbs

Mu dog has a patch on her outer hind leg that has gotten bigger. Hair loss and redness. Its also flaky. She does not have allergies. What is it?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 15th, 2018

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Based on the photos you provided, I suspect what you are seeing could be a hot spot from Willow chewing at herself. This could also be a skin infection. I would recommend using a product called Sentry Wound Ointment from PetCo and apply to the area until resolved. If there is no improvement or the skin condition worsens I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 3rd, 2017

    Poor Ellie! This patch will no hair could be due to her licking it a lot, and it's possible that an injury, insects such as fleas or mites, or allergies have caused the irritation in this spot. Given that it's bright red, it may be infected, and I would have her seen by a vet to have the patch examined and diagnosed so it can be treated. To keep her from licking at it until you can have her seen by a vet, I would put an Ecollar on her. You can get one from a pet store or you can make one yourself at home: http://dogsaholic.com/care/homemade-dog-cone.html

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