My dog has bald spots and gray, crusty skin. What could it be?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 40 lbs
My dog has developed bald spots along one side. The skin where the hair fell out has turned gray and a little crusty. The hair loss in larger than the gray spot with normal looking skin surrounding the spot. Do you know what this is, or might be?
5 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on March 30th, 2021
Hello there, Round, circular patches of hair loss are often indicative of a severe skin infection. Simon needs to see his veterinarian this week. They will recommend testing some of his skin to see if bacteria or fungus is causing these lesions to know which medications to use. They may also recommend medicated shampoos. There may be an underlying predisposing factor in this skin infection, such as an allergy to an animal protein in his diet or the environment. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
13Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on September 7th, 2019
These crusty and alopecic (bald) lesions could be due to an allergy or an infective disease (parasitic, fungal). First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to ask the vet to perform a skin scrape and other dermatological tests (like hair plug and culture). I would consider Leishmania as a differential as well and check it on blood sample. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on March 25th, 2018
It is very red compared to the surround area. He may have an allergy to rubbing against something or getting bitten or stung rubbing it. I would give him a bath to help rinse the area. If it bothers him or continues to spread or get worse then I would him seen
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on August 1st, 2017
It may be small skin infection if he rubbed against something. If it is just the single spot, you can bathe him in mediated shampoo or dawn soap to help scrub the dry spots then apply neosporin afterwards to keep the skin soft and minimize flakes. If it spreads or does not improve in the next day or so then you will need to bring him to your vet
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on August 6th, 2017
It looks like Dug could have a skin infection. They are typically caused by bacteria or fungus, and can also be secondary to allergies. Make sure Dug is on a good flea preventive, and you can use a medicated shampoo to see if that helps, but if it's not getting better he may need to see a vet. They may do a couple of tests to figure out what's causing the infection and put him on medication to help.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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