does my dog have skin cancer

hi my little dog bron has been itchying for who knows how long no fleas on her etc as i prenvent those. she has dark patched of large areas of skin and her fur is falling out. she doesnt want to play with her friend mac the other dog we have. she prefers to lay down quielty instead. if mac wants to play then she will bark and get aggressive with him. is she ill?

[slippery31]

go to this site www.peteducation.com it should help you figure out why your dog is having hair loss and dark patched skin areas. I was going to type it, but it is a lot of info about your situation concerning certain dogs. Hope this helps some.

[ginger899]

This doesn't quite sound like skin cancer, but PLEASE don't take my word for it! Usually skin cancer presents as a sore or lump, or ulcerated area which doesn't heal, and may grow bigger. These can itch, yes, and that can cause the dog to bite or scratch at the affected area.
But there is definitely something wrong here, and your dog needs to get this sorted out. It is obviously making her miserable, and probably exhausted from all the itching. She most likely can't sleep properly because of it. So it would be wise to take her to the vet to get this checked. There are a few possible reasons for this widespread itching and skin discoloration.

I'm wondering if this could possibly be an allergy to something? Or it could be caused by the mange mite, which lives just beneath the skin surface. Does the skin smell weird?

[Red931]

It sounds like your dog may have an infection. Is the dog eating? Is it drinking excessively? What is the breed of the dog? How old is the dog? Knowing these things helps more than most people realize. Some breeds are more prone to certain types of skin infections.

I would make a trip to the Vet to be safe. The dog probably needs an antibiotic as well a some medicated shampoo depending what is found. You also want a blood test done so the the dog's WBC and RBC can be evaluated.

I don't think your dog has cancer. It is probably a rash do to infection or allergy.

Good Luck.....and take the dog to the Vet.

[Ghilly]

Bron needs to be seen by the vet.  The symptoms you describe can be caused by a few different things, and only a veterinary examination will be able to tell for sure whether or not Bron has any of them.  

As far as the itching goes, just because there are no fleas on the dog at the moment does not mean she could not be tortured by fleas.  Some dogs are just so sensitive to flea bites that even one bite is enough to start them into a frenzy of itching.  Fleas don't spend all of their time on the dog.  They go everywhere in the house and yard, and will jump on the dog when they need a blood meal.  So just because there are no fleas on her when you check doesn't mean she doesn't have flea bite dermatitis.

A skin scraping will tell whether the dark patches on the skin are actually a form of some type of disease or if it's just her natural pigmentation that you are now able to see because her haircoat has gotten thin.  At any rate, the only way to tell, as I said before, is for her to be examined by a vet.  Make an appointment ASAP so that you can get her on the road to feeling better before the warmer and then hot weather sets in.  Dogs have a difficult enough time staying comfortable in the heat without the added discomfort of itching and skin problems.  

Please post back and let us know what the vet says.  Good luck!

Ghilly