Skin disorders top the list at UK vet clinics. Roughly 1 in 8 dogs sees a vet for skin trouble each year (VetCompass, Royal Veterinary College). Here are the patterns owners ask about most. If any of these look like what you're seeing, the tool above gives a personalised read.
Hot Spots
What it looks like: A red, often hairless patch where the skin has gone angry. Sometimes weeping, often warm to the touch.
Common in: Thick-coated breeds, dogs that swim or get caught in the rain, dogs with allergies bubbling away underneath.
Often caused by: A damp coat that didn't dry properly. An insect bite. Scratching from an allergy that broke the skin barrier.
What to do: Clip the fur around it. Clean with a chlorhexidine wash. Stop the licking with a cone or recovery suit. Most heal in three to five days. If it's spreading or weeping more after 48 hours, see a vet.
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Allergic Dermatitis
What it looks like: Pink or red, itchy skin with fur thinned out from scratching. Most common on the belly, paws, ears and around the eyes. Rarely a one-off. It comes back unless you find the trigger.
Common in: Frenchies, Bulldogs, Labradors, Westies, German Shepherds. Any dog with a sensitive skin barrier, really.
Often caused by: Environmental allergens (pollen, dust mites, grass). Food sensitivities. Flea bite hypersensitivity. Contact irritants.
What to do: Wipe paws and belly after every walk. Bathe weekly with a hypoallergenic shampoo. Try a six-week single-protein elimination diet. Skin Detective can tell you whether what you're seeing fits the pattern. If inflammation keeps spreading, see a vet. Chronic allergies often need prescription support.
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Lumps and Bumps
What it looks like: Anything from a soft, movable lipoma under the skin to a small, firm bump on the surface. Most are benign. Visual diagnosis isn't reliable, though, so a 30-second fine needle aspirate at the vet is the only way to know.
Common in: Older dogs especially. Labradors and other large breeds get more lipomas. Cocker Spaniels and Schnauzers are prone to multiple cysts.
Often caused by: Genetics (lipomas, cysts). Blocked sebaceous glands (cysts). Viral infection (papillomas). Rarely, something more serious.
What to do: All new lumps route to a vet in our tool. Even the benign-looking ones need a quick FNA to confirm. Better to check and find it's nothing than wait and find it's something.
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Hyperpigmentation
What it looks like: Darker patches of skin (grey, brown or black), most often in armpits, groin, neck folds, or the belly. The dark colour isn't the problem itself. The underlying inflammation or hormonal shift driving it is.
Common in: Middle-aged and older dogs. Dogs with chronic allergies. Breeds prone to skin folds (Bulldogs, Pugs).
Often caused by: Long-term low-grade allergic inflammation. Friction in skin folds. Hormonal conditions like hypothyroidism or Cushing's. Post-inflammatory pigment from past hot spots.
What to do: Note whether it's spreading. Stable pigment can wait. Spreading pigment with other signs (weight gain, lethargy, fur thinning) is a vet visit, sometimes with a blood test for thyroid and adrenal function.
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Yeast Infections
What it looks like: Greasy, often reddened skin with a distinctive musty smell. Some owners describe it as corn-chip or popcorn-ish. Most often appears in ears, paws, armpits, and skin folds.
Common in: Dogs with allergies. Dogs that swim. Breeds with skin folds or floppy ears (Cocker Spaniels, Bulldogs, Labradors).
Often caused by: Damp environments in folds and between toes. An allergy-compromised skin barrier. Recent antibiotics. A starchy diet.
What to do: Twice-weekly chlorhexidine-and-miconazole shampoo for two to three weeks. Dry thoroughly between toes and folds. Cut starchy treats. If the smell or redness hasn't improved after a fortnight, see a vet. A skin scraping confirms what's actually there.
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Hair Loss Patches
What it looks like: Areas where fur has thinned or come away entirely, sometimes with visible skin underneath. Pattern matters. Symmetric loss tells a different story than a single patch.
Common in: Any breed. Specific patterns point to specific causes (ringworm in young dogs, hormonal alopecia in middle age).
Often caused by: Allergic scratching. Ringworm (fungal, and contagious to humans). Parasitic mites. Hormonal conditions. Focal trauma at one site.
What to do: A photo plus the right context (where on the body, how long, whether it spread to other pets or people in the home) gets you most of the way. Round, scaly, hairless patches are sometimes ringworm. That one's a fast vet check because it's zoonotic.
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