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Red, Scaly Skin, Hair Loss and a Weeping Lump on an Old Jack Russell

by A reader

Reader Question
My Jack Russell is 13 years old. He is very active, eats well, just losing his hearing. He has developed a skin disorder in the last week. He does not scratch. He occasionally licks one of his paws and rubs his face after eating. He is losing hair rapidly and some patches have black spots underneath. He has been flead and has not had contact with other dogs. His diet has not changed. His skin is hard, red and scaly but does not cause him pain. what could it be? He also has a lot of black skin tags some small and some big. He has a big tumour like shape on his leg that is weeping. he used to love laying in the sun on his back. Could it be skin cancer?


Answer from Our Team

Several things could be happening here. Rapid hair loss with hard, red, scaly skin in an old dog can come from an infection, mites, a hormone problem such as Cushing's, or a type of skin lymphoma that often looks just like this: red, scaly, hairless patches in older dogs. Dogs who sunbathe on their backs can also get sun damage and skin cancer on the thinly haired belly.

The weeping lump on his leg needs to be looked at, too. Please book a vet visit soon. Ask about skin scrapings, a skin biopsy of one of the scaly patches, and a needle sample of the leg lump. Black skin tags are often benign, but any that are changing or bleeding should be checked.

Keep him out of strong sun for now, and keep the weeping lump clean and covered so he can't lick it.

See skin cancer in dogs.

This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.

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