Bald patch?

volchitsa

Hi
Does anyone have any idea what this could be, in a young (2 1/2 year old) dog in perfect health so far anyway?
It's on her "elbow", doesn't seem to irritate her, at least we don't see her scratching there, but does seem to be getting a little bigger. Been there about a week now. We were away on holidays, and now we're back, our vet is away!
So I don't know if it's just an irritation that I can treat with something or if it needs proper medication.

volchitsa

Here's another, taken from a little further away:

Bells21

Any chance there could've been a little scab or something similar there? One of ours had a scab at the top of his head recently and when it was knocked off the hair came with it and he has a little bald spot now. The skin doesn't appear irritated or anything from the pictures you shared.

Dubs1990

My lad has one on each leg around the elbow area, it seems to be a hard skin type of thing that I put down to him lying on the concrete step out the back. It never bothers him and I don't see him scratch it.

volchitsa

No definitely no recent cut or scab there.

@Dubs: my o/h said that when he first saw it, that it was just rubbed from lying, but it's only on one side, which makes me doubt it a bit. I'll keep an eye to see if anything similar is developing on the other side (she's just come in from outside and into her crate for a rest so I don't want to disturb her).

sillysmiles

To me it does look like the mark from lying on concrete - almost like a callous.

volchitsa

So a callous seems to be the likeliest thing then. I can't think where she lies on concrete very much but she does lie on the tar which gets nice and warm apparently and I suppose there are other "hard" places around here, the back yard has a section that is mostly gravel for example.

My son pointed out that she does have something on the other side too, but it isn't nearly as big. Still, it's in 3 little sections, so that does seem to bear out the "rubbing" hypothesis.

Thanks a lot for the replies, you've put my mind at rest. I'll keep an eye just in case, but it makes sense that it's just a callous.

volchitsa

volchitsa wrote: »

So a callous seems to be the likeliest thing then. I can't think where she lies on concrete very much but she does lie on the tar which gets nice and warm apparently and I suppose there are other "hard" places around here, the back yard has a section that is mostly gravel for example.

My son pointed out that she does have something on the other side too, but it isn't nearly as big. Still, it's in 3 little sections, so that does seem to bear out the "rubbing" hypothesis.

Thanks a lot for the replies, you've put my mind at rest. I'll keep an eye just in case, but it makes sense that it's just a callous.

Hey. The pics are a bit dark but looks like a callous to me.

Khali has one as well and like yours only on one side. She doesn't do much lying on hard ground (I say this while she's snoring on a blanket thats on top of a large cushion that's resting on the sofa!) So I was confused too but my vet confirmed. Khalis actually got a bit inflamed and cracked and the vet gave me some isaderm, which cleared that up.

I believe you can rub oils (coconut oil or Vaseline maybe) into it to keep it soft but I don't bother as Khalis isn't big enough to be an issue. But do keep an eye for any cracking or bleeding.

andreac

That's just a pressure sore area. Lots of bigger dogs get them lying on hard ground etc. All my rotties have them even though they have big fancy beds and couches to lie on. You can try rubbing some coconut oil in to them to soften them but they aren't anything to be worried about.

volchitsa

With the heat, she's been sleeping out on the tiled floor a lot instead on in her crate, so I'm thinking if it's due to pressure and not necessarily to a rough surface then that may well explain it.
Thanks again.

(I can't see any sign that it's bothering her at all, it just looked odd.)

Graces7

volchitsa wrote: »

No definitely no recent cut or scab there.

@Dubs: my o/h said that when he first saw it, that it was just rubbed from lying, but it's only on one side, which makes me doubt it a bit. I'll keep an eye to see if anything similar is developing on the other side (she's just come in from outside and into her crate for a rest so I don't want to disturb her).

What breed of dog please? My dog is half JRT and they like to sit kind of lopsided so only one side would be affected .

volchitsa

She's a sheepdog mix. Mostly smooth collie. The size of a German Shepherd but lighter boned, she's about 26kg. I'd imagine heavier dogs would be more likely to suffer from pressure sores, though maybe there's no fat to protect her either?

Your point about her being asymmetrical is a good one - I haven't really noticed her sitting crooked, but I've noticed her sort of running a bit crookedly. Hard to explain exactly, but she might well favour one side over the other. She probably does sit more on one side too.