Question by tigris22325: hair loss on my dog…?
I have a rottie who is almost 2. A few months ago he got a hot spot near his nubbie. I took him to the vet and got it cleared up. But even after that he always itches his rear hind area…. sometimes vigorously too. I noticed a funky looking patch on his back right flank yesterday. The hair had thinned out and a good chunk of skin was showing. This morning I shaved the area washed it with a cool wash cloth, applied some antiseptic and then hydro cortisone. I then called the vet and he told me to give him some benadryl and see if he gets any better, the vet thought it was probably an allergy to fleas. I told him that my dog doesn’t have any fleas! I check him regularly and I have two other dogs that are not being affected at all. By this evening more hair has fallen out near his nubbie. So it almost looks like a landing strip. Could it really be Pyroderma or something worse? He starts licking the air when you mess with the areas where the hair has fallen out and then he will roll over into his back with his legs up in the air and grunt while his back legs are moving ninety to nothing like your scratching a sweet spot! What on earth is going on with my dog? He’s been on the same food since Jan. there has been absolutely no new additives to his environment. Help please?

Best answer:

Answer by Zelda Zelda
defintely take him to the vet. he might be allergic to something, food, shampoo maybe. maybe severe shedding

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Question by Berenice Sanchez: What is the best dry dog food for a lab who is loosing a lot of hair?
We just arrived to Japan a few months ago and my 16 month old black lab is loosing alot of hair. We went to a vet in town and they ran tests and said she was OK. We give her Eukanuba for healthy skin and coat and they said it could be her dog food is not giving her enough nutrients with this new climate change. They told me royal canin “Select Skin” is the best for her but the price for a 20kg bag runs around 101 US Dollars. I asked about science diet and they kept insisting on their brand. Is there an alternative dog food that would help my dog with her excessive hair loss or possible allergies to the new climate and not cost as much?
Thank you all for the info….I forgot to mention that my black lab is not spayed and she does have some bald spots around her neck

Best answer:

Answer by Charneyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
I back up Roberts answer

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Question by kc3: Patches of hair loss?
My 2 year old beagle mix has had very red skin for about 6 months.mainly on her belly. Recently she has started to loose patches of her hair. She is still very active and eats regularly. We recently switched her dog food to Califonia Nature..chicken and rice. Even with the food change, there are no new symptoms, but she is still loosing hair in patches. Anyone ever had this problem or have any suggestions. The vet just want to run expensive tests and say it is most likely an allergy.

Best answer:

Answer by K
Does she scratch? If so you can give her a little bit of benedril every night. Maybe childrens benedril if she’s under 50lbs. Check with vet first! That’s what I give my boxer that has allergies.

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Question by Michelle L: Why is my yorkie puppy’s hair so short?
We got a new yorkie puppy about 6 weeks ago, she is 12 weeks now and her hair is very short. She has not been groomed or cut, believe me…she doesn’t need it! My mom wonders if she is a full breed because of this (she has a yorkie also). She has the markings and color of a yorkie and looks like a yorkie in the face and she is CKC registered. My last yorkie had a lot of fluffy hair at this age. Does it vary when their hair starts to grow? We saw the mom but only a picture of the dad, she came from a very clean loving home. The mom seemed very healthy and happy, we even played with her. Our yorkie is very healthy with no allergies or chewing or anything like that, she probably weighs about 3 lbs. now and she eats a natural, holistic dog food. Her ears are not up yet either. Any information would be helpful, we love her just the way she is, but we are just curious.

Best answer:

Answer by amanda g
Puppies mature at different rates so she may need time. I have seen Yorkie’s that have shorter coats and ones with longer coats . She may not get a longer coat until she loses her puppy coat at about 6mo to 1 year. He ears will stand up with time

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Question by NewEra: My lab mix 9 month old puppy is itching and losing hair with bumps on him?
He’s a lab mix, not sure what else he has in him. We got him when he was about 5 months old, he had thinner hair around his eyes then and his hair wasn’t really thick but it didn’t look bad. Over time he’s lost more and more hair, especially around his eyes, under his arm pits, and on the inside of his back legs. In the past few days we’ve noticed he’s losing a lot of hair on his chest now too, and more on his head/face and he’s getting bumps all over almost like hives on the side of his leg…

I brought him to the vet about a month ago, they did a skin scrape and said it wasn’t mange or anything. The vet said she wasn’t sure what it could be, so she adviced me to upgrade my dog food to Nature’s Variety. I did so, and for weeks i’ve been feeding him that so I wouldn’t think it could be an allergy could it? Unless a dog can adapt and BECOME allergic to a dog food?

He’s also been itching a lot today, and biting himself as if it’s itching/irritating him today. I gave him his flea medicine (frontline) but I’m not sure if it could be something to do with fleas? I’m thinking it might be fleas or an allergy? Anyone have any ideas? I plan on bringing him to the vet, but was hoping i could try changing his diet first and see if there is an improvement.
He really started to get bad the past few days. I’ve had him on this dog food for weeks now.

Best answer:

Answer by K
It sounds like an allergy. It could be something in your house. Do you have carpets? Or, strange as it sounds, the dog could be allergic to itself. Highly unlikely but it does happen. My boyfriend’s dog was. She had to get shots on a regular basis to stay comfortable.

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