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My Golden Retriever has bald spots and a skin infection. What to do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Male | unneutered | 6 months and 21 days old | 44 lbs

Hey My Golden Retriever Has Some Kind Of Infection And The Hair Is Not Growing At Some Spots

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ana M, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 12th, 2019

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Jojo. I agree that the skin does appear infected. He should see his veterinarian for skin testing. Mites such as demodex are common in young animals. Ringworm can cause crusty lesions and hairloss as well. Finally, an allergy to his diet is possible or to something in environment. Allergies are generally accompanied by intense itching. In the meantime, you can bathe him with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner such as an oatmeal or fatty acid based formula to soothe the skin. I hope this information helps!

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    Answered By David Darvishian

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 13th, 2017

    Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Pablo. This doesn't sound like normal shedding. Sounds like he may be suffering from some type of skin and hair coat problem commonly called dermatitis which is caused by many things. Causes include external parasites (fleas, ticks, mites, lice, etc), allergies (inhaled, fleas, food, contact), contact irritants, toxin exposure, primary bacterial infection, fungal infection, nutritional/intestinal parasite problems, etc. I would advise taking Pablo to your vet and give them a thorough history and they will perform a detailed examination. Once that is done, they can discuss a diagnostic/treatment approach to the problems that detect. Skin tests usually involve skin scrapes, Woods Lamp exam, fungal culture, skin cytology, etc. They may even advise fecal/blood tests to characterize the problem further. Once a diagnosis is made a sound treatment plan can be put into action. This could include antibiotics, topical treatments (medicated shampoo/conditioner), anti itch medicines, pain medicines, etc. Good luck with Pablo and I hope he gets to a complete recovery soon

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