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My dog has a bad odor and scabby, flaking, dry skin. What's wrong?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Female | spayed | 6 years and 1 month old | 40 lbs

my pit bulls skin is very dry, and has a bad odor and has scabby looking patches flaking off ?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

Published on April 23rd, 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. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. 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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Other Answers

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    Answered By Vanessa Yeager DVM MPH

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 22nd, 2017

    Hello and thank you for your question. Flaky, crusty, and/or itchy skin can have have many causes. Flea allergy causing flea dermatitis can be a factor, as can a mite infection, bacterial infection, or fungal infection. Other times, what you have described may be due to a endocrine disorder such as hypothyroidism. Having a skin scrape done at your veterinarian will aide in a definitive diagnosis. Your veterinarian may also want to run blood work to rule out any endocrine disorders. Depending on what the diagnosis is, your veterinarian will Rx the appropriate medication which may come in an oral and /or topical form.

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