Today I noticed that my dog was licking underneath her right leg. When I checked her, I noticed that underneath her right leg she did not have any hair unlike her left side were she has hair. What can this be and is it something I should be concerned about? She is 5 years old and a Shih Tzu.
By Nelson from Hackensack, NJ
There are many causes of this type of behavior including behavioral, allergic, and endocrine disorders to name a few. It is important to be adament about sharing information in detail with your Veterinarian such as when she is doing this behavior, type of diet fed, and the use of flea and tick products. Sometimes the smallest things such as a change of environment, household cleaners, and or laundry detergent can cause upsets. Other problems can be psychogenic grooming due to a need not being met. These cases are quite difficult to pinpoint but, are not impossible. I would suggest keeping a diary of behaviors and changes and presenting them to your vet. It may sound a little freaky but, the more information we have, the more able we are to get to the root of the problem! Good luck! :) SEUT RVT
It sounds to me your dog is still traumatized by the surgery and her nerves are getting the best of her which would cause her to lose her fur and as for the vomiting it is probably caused by her ingesting her hair like fur balls to a cat when they clean themselves.. When she goes to the vet again love her while she is there so she won't be so upset cause she remembers what happened the last time she went there, take her home and pay lots of attention to her and give her a special treat.
I agree with the last person keep a journal of any changes in her environment and her habits. Good Luck and God Bless!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Why is my 15 month old Lurcher bitch losing hair on her front and rear legs? She has also started to lick her legs, no other part of her body is affected by this.
By rainbow1972 from England
I believe your dog has mange. It is a treatable skin disease but you must see a vet to cure it. Certain types of mange can also be passed onto the puppies from the mother.
It's possible that your dog has food allergies. My dog loses hair if I feed her certain dog foods. I was making all her dog food last winter, but I quit doing that for the summer. Right now, I'm giving her an all natural dog food and she's doing very well, but the food is expensive. I'll probably go back to making my own dog food when the weather cools off again.
Dermatitis mange or allergy. My nieces dog had hair loss and the vet told hers was due to allergies. He recommended the same allergy antihistamine that can be bought in the dollar stores for people once a day. If it is allergies, be sure to get the pills with out the heavy red die. In people the heavy red die gives what feels like a urinary track infection to some people. But when tested usually no urinary track infection shows. So why risk the discomfort for your dog.
My daughter has a beautiful dog with dermatitis mange. In an instance like this there are different things that can be done. For one a good bath using a flee tick and lice shampoo on the chance microscopic bugs are to blame, another is changing the food to lamb and rice. Some vet's say dog's have an allergic reaction to the beef in food. Also my daughter gives her dog omega three capsules. The same kind that people take. It puts oil in his skin and makes for a beautiful coat.
What was really interesting is when one of my daughters dogs got into the pine pitch, she used baby oil to get it out before bathing. She had to bath him twice, but he smelled good for several days after word. And his hair was beautiful!
P.S. If the dog has chewed and scratched him self raw in places, a vet may order an antibiotic to help heal it. Good luck with your dog.
I have a 9 yr. old Chow, who is losing her fur, on her bottom and now along the sides of her body. The vet gave me medicine for allergies, but it is not working. Someone told me to try Gold Bond powder and another said give her vitamin A. She does not scratch the areas, and it is not irritated.
By Ann
I'm surprised by how many people use rather radical methods because a dog is shedding. While you always want to check with a vet, there is probably a very simple solution! Most people tend to feed their dogs lots of dry food, and very little wet food, if any at all. This simply reduces the amount of oil and fat they get in their diet. Like all animals with hair, dogs need this oil and fat to help them maintain a healthy coat.
Use eggs, olive oil, or other oily/fatty replacements with their food to help create a healthy coat. You don't need to buy any fancy products, just a little olive oil on the dry food can have a noticeable effect.
Some dogs are allergic to wheat or corn in their food. Corn is very common in most dog foods and treats, and if there is an allergy, the dog's hair will fall out and they will begin scratching. Our dog is allergic to corn and we started buying a natural, corn-free food at our local pet store and it helped tremendously. Also, we started bathing him with a gentle oatmeal shampoo to keep his skin from drying out.
I've had my Pom-Chi for just about 2 months, he's only 3 1/2 months old. The past couple weeks I've noticed that he has been chewing on his skin on his front legs a lot and when he does that it has an odd sound like cartilage cracking. He has been itching constantly and it looks like he has dandruff! He has been loosing hair too on his stomach, chest, and front armpits. It's very thin. He is black and the hair there looks grey and if I pull gently on it, it comes out very easily.
I am very worried about my little baby:( I took him to the vet and we did tests for mites and they came out negative. She said that the normal hair loss for Pomeranians was on their legs and heads. He isn't losing any of that hair so it is an odd place for that.
I'm going to switch his food and get different shampoo to see if that will help, but please please help me! I'm very sad my little baby has to suffer like this.
By mtee7
I have a dachshund and have been battling itching, scratching and crusted skin for about 2 1/2 years. Went on GreatDaneLady.com and she had some very good advice about these conditions.
Take your dog for a thryroid test if that turns out good. Go on Nzymes.com and get the nzymes pak for allergies and within 6 months using the above in conjunction with shampoo and 4 Health or Blue dog food she is living a very good life relatively scratch free. Like some one else said the dog food you buy in the grocery store or pet store is full of stuff they don't need. Great Dane Lady is a very good source of information. Good luck!
This sounds a lot like a food allergy. But it also could be thyroid. There are good posts on this site about alternative diets for food allergy. My dog was allergic to many foods and I ended up feeding him brown rice and canned salmon until he died at 17 years old. I had to figure this out on my own. The vets dont study much about alternative diets.. Good luck.
My 5-month-old Bichon Yorkie has thin hair on his legs and back. The vet suggests it is a flea allergy. He acts like it is a death sentence. Can any one give suggestions?
By sandy from Louisa, KY
Dry borax in the carpet like I have directed to many, for the fleas. Good for at least a year plus it is a natural product. Nzymes.com for the enzyme granules that will help in many ways with digestion and health. Besides, it helps make up for the processed foods that we can not totally get away from. Another suggestion is Willard's water in their drinking water as well as a spray on the damaged skin.
Sounds like your pets have a weak immune system. You have to feed your pets good quality food. It will cost a little more but it is worth it. Good quality food for a dog is Evangers, Natural Balance or Merrick. There are others but this is what I feed my dogs. Look at the ingredients and make sure the food does not have any by-products, chemical preservatives, artificial flavors, artificial colors, chemical additives. The first ingredients should always be some kind of meat (turkey, beef, chicken). Give your pets good quality fish oil. I use "Royal Coat Express" from Ark Naturals. Excellent product. Their web site is www.arknaturals.com. Their fur will grown back and it will be thick and healthy.
What's the best home remedy to get fleas off my dogs, and what can i do about them losing their hair?
Charlotte
Please take the dogs to the vet, in addition to an infestation of fleas they could have a medical condition, worms, skin disease, etc.
My indoor dogs are given Frontline (from the Vet) 10 months a year and I have never had a problem.
Please take the dogs to the Vet. They could have a medical condition, worms, etc., in addition of an infestation of fleas. Fleas will suck the blood and make them anemic so you should begin treatment as soon as possible.
My dogs are indoor pets and I give them Frontline (from the Vet) 10 months out of the year and have never had a problem with fleas.
I watch Animal Precint and Animal Cops on the Animal Planet network and whenever they find a dog losing it's hair, it is always something serious, and they tell the owner that the dog has to get to the vet right away and be treated with antibiotics.
I have a female Dachshund that is losing her hair in spots and it isn't ringworm or mange. She itches all the time and scratches all the time. Does any one have any ideas on what it could be? We give her bathes in dog shampoo and she's well taken care of. Spoiled rotten.
My cat lost some hair on his ear right after I adopted him. His ear felt hot and he itched it a lot. I took him to the vet for his adoption check up and found he had ear mites. I went to PetSmart and bought some Petrelief Anti-itch spray. It is supposed to heal "hot spots" and relieve itching and control the spread of lesions. It says to consult a vet if symptoms persist. This stuff was for cats but maybe they make it for dogs as well...Have you contacted your vet? Mine is very good about listening to the problem and giving me ideas on how I can help my cats or dog on my own (if it's not a serious thing.) Then if it persists, I can make an appointment. This has saved me a lot of money over the 20 years I've had my pets at their office (since I was ten!)
My Cairn has the same problem- skin scrapings, thyroid test, and blood work showed nothing. We think it is allergies. She is on an expensive high anti-allergan diet food from the vet. She has flare ups still, though not as bad. She now takes antibotics every weekend and is on 1/4 tab. of prednisone every other day, to help keep the inflammation down. We also have a gentle natural shampoo. Good luck, it is hard when there isn't much we can do to help them.
My dog does have allergies. Once or twice a year he suffers with ear infections, but now he is losing his hair around his ears. I need to know if he has some skin condition or his bedding is causing his hair to out around the ears.
What can I do?
Oh my. Poor pup! Our boy has allergies also and the loss of hair usually results when he is so itchy that he literally rubs the hair off on the furniture. We always take him to the vet if this gets to this point and I suggest that you take your baby to the vet also.
Once you get an answer, you can use it if the situation repeats. We have some special stuff that we have to put into his ears when we have this issue. It is a prescription.
Post back what the vet says! Sending up lots of healing prayers!
We have a 6 year old Pug. He has been having small dark patches in the neck and chest region. There has also been some hair fall. We had put him on some antibiotics, but the problem still recurs after some time. Is there any cure, any foods we should avoid? We had tried hypoallergenic foods, but that didn't work. Now we are giving him a food which contains fish and rice.
By Sunita
Could be lots of things. Allergy? fungus, food and i suspect this happened immediately after a vaccine. His immune system is possibly failing. Lets try some things that will not harm and see if we can clear this. Please check my past posts for details. We start with a proven supplement I have used with great success on my disabled dogs. No, I don't sell or profit from this. Google and order please Nzymes.com. What they sell truly works. Pictures like you dogs problem and it does work. They will help you with diet info, allergy concerns, anti vaccine info, supplement info and the like. Their add is right on and these are not phony people. Nothing from China.
You might try amber colored Listerine. Amber only in a spray bottle and be sure and get between the toes. You might try coconut oil on the skin and a little in his food. Very promising if it is any organism is a bath in just 1 % chlorhexidine which is a medical scrub. Ask at even Wal Mart for it. Mix with lots of water. it does some amazing things in a short term. No vaccines. You may set his immune system in orbit. Google anti vaccine to find ingredients in vaccines and you will never again trust such idiots. Content mercury, formaldehyde, aluminum, x species pus - get the picture? I have no formal training only experience after helping animals all of my life.
I have a Pomchi (15 weeks old). As soon as we got him at 8 weeks old he started to lose fur on his face and then around his bottom and back legs. The hair on his face has grown back but the hair on his back legs and bottom has not. He has very dry itchy skin on his back also that flakes.
My 5 month old Pit/Lab mix is losing patches of fur. It started with a patch on his head and we just figured he had scrapped it on something in the yard. But it's been a month or two and now that the fleas are coming around he is scratching way more than the other dogs, and he's making the hair loss worse. 
Our other dogs are perfectly fine, they all eat the same food, and I can't afford a vet at the moment.
He is happy and healthy aside from the patches. I've looked up mange and allergy symptoms and what you can buy to help, but like I said, finances are tight, so if there is a home remedy that I can use in the mean time, I'd like to know what is safe. He has such pretty fur. I'd hate for him to lose it all.
Cooper, my Golden, has begun to pull hair out beside his tail and along his tail. When the hair is pulled it reveals red, flakey, raw skin. Without the cone he can't stop himself from licking and pulling hair. This is the second time (he is 5) both in the last 6 months. Where he has healed the skin has turned black. The vet said it could be allergies or bug bites, but we're not sure. Drugs and creams didn't seem to improve the situation. I've been online and I am starting to think yeast. Any ideas of the cause or ideas to help heal? Thanks in advance!
My 7-year old long hair Doxie, has a horrible skin rash on her chest and arm pits. She is losing her fur and has an odor. The vet gave her a cortisone shot about a month ago, but that has not helped the rash. She doesn't scratch as much, but it doesn't look good.
By Marge L from Galloway, NJ
That does sound like itching from allergies or some other skin condition and maybe a longer course of oral steroids would help. But something else to consider, especially if your dog is also tired, is a thyroid condition. When I was a kid, our dachshund started losing hair and gaining weight. The vet kept treating it as a skin condition and wanted to shave off all Snoopy's hair and treat him with special lotions for several weeks. My mom took him to another vet who diagnosed low thyroid hormone. He took a pill every day and was back to normal in no time. He lived to be 15 years old.
My 1 year old Boston Terrier (male) is loosing hair behind his ears. The rest of the body is OK. Can you suggest any home remedies or natural oil? Thanks.
By esther from New York, NY
I respectfully suggest you take your Boston to the vet, first, to determine what the problem is before trying to treat it with home remedies. It's impossible to treat any condition effectively (people or pets) if you don't know what ailment you are treating. Hair loss can be indicative of skin allergies and/or many other ailments, none of which can be treated successfully - with or without home remedies, unless you have a proper diagnosis. Good Luck.
P.S. I've a soft spot for the Boston's as I grew up with them. Hope your pet gets better, soon.
I have a Shih Tzu who had 2 puppies 5 weeks ago. While she was pregnant she looked great. She weighed about 13 pounds at delivery time and her hair was full and thick.
Now that she's had the puppies and been nursing she's lost her "baby weight" and her hair as gotten so thin. It is thin enough that I can see her skin in some areas, mainly down her back. Is this normal? What can I do to get her to gain her weight back and keep her hair from falling out? Please help.
By janet from Mobile, AL
I have a question regarding my Staffy. He's losing hair behind his ears and now it looks like he's losing it round his eyes. He has to see the vet in two weeks, but I was just wondering what this could be and if there was anything I could do for him in the mean time?
Kind regards.
My 11 month old Chow is shedding and there are skin rashes all over his body. He has also black spots on his face and when I remove it, it bleeds.
By Cho from Philippines
I have a 9 year old pekingese and he recently started losing all his hair around the neck. Then my family and I went camping and his hair loss started on his tail and behind the ears. I've noticed his hair starting to fall off everywhere and it's frizzy. This has never happened before and I would take him to the vet, but I'm in a different country with him. Please help!
He is 6 months old and has been having this skin issue for awhile now. He loses hair in patches and is left with red bold spots after. It's mostly on the back and leg area.
I've showered him and he is tick and flea free. I've done some research, but still am not sure what it is.
