Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 10/15/2005

Question
I was wondering if you could help me.  I have a 2 year old rotti/pit and she tends to suffer from hots spots, or at least that is what I thought.  I did what I usally do shave, wash, anitbacteria cream several times a day.  But as I inspected her closer I noticed that she had some very thick gray scabs on her sides.  The hair near the base of her tail has always been thin but I thought this was scarring from a previous infection.  I decided this time to shave the entire area since she licks it alot what I found was some patches of black skin that seem much thicker and flaky, she also was covered in small lesions some were scabed over normally, some had a nasty yellow looking crust, and others were oozing.  I thought it might be scabies but she has clean ears, absolutely no sign of walking dandruff, she doesn't have fleas, and I am at a loss as to to how to help her.  I have two other dogs and they show no sign of skin problems.  I hope you can help.

Answer
This may be a bacterial pyoderma.  That is usually secondary to a skin allergy, either a food hypersensitivity or a pollen/mold/mite allergy.  Ask your vet to take a look to see what is causing these lesions.  It amay be that your dog needs an antibiotic capsule and some steroids.