Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
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.
Your little pup needs more fiber in his diet. Most dog foods overlook it as a necessity in the diet. Keep in mind, however, that excessive dietary fiber can have negative effects, including gas, increased stool volume or density, and loose stools. My god mother had a Yorkie pup who did the same thing. After a few weeks on a more nutritious diet your pups hair should grow back.
If your puppy is part smooth coat chi then they a lot of times have no hair in those areas. We have mixed Chi's with Peqs,and poodles. Their hair is also sparce in some areas. I wouldn't worry unless you see a rash or something. The picture is of Moses he is a Chi/Poodle mix. The best of both. I gave him as a birthday gift to my best friend.
If you can find it, try a product called "The Missing Link". It is a dietary supplement. It worked wonders for my Bischon with a similar problem. I purchased it a 1800pedmeds.com, but I recently found it a Petsmart as well.
Not sure why no one has suggested an assessment by a vet. To me, if you are concerned, that's the first place to go. To me, hair loss on a pup seems relatively serious and might need professional care. If expense is a problem, you could try the suggestions about improving the nutrition of his diet,by supplements or fibre.
Sounds to me like he has mange. I would take him to a vet, cause there are different kind of mange. It is easily cured and you will have a very happy puppy on your hands.
Sounds like you bought the puppy at a pet store, ie. puppy mill puppy. Yes, definitely go to a vet.Hair loss is serious.
I agree...get him to a vet.
Please take your puppy to a vet. He needs to be examined by a professional.
I agree with the diet; make sure he has omega 3's in it for the dry skin. Put some tea tree in his shampoo. If it's mange or anything else like that, the tea tree will kill it and still be gentle on his skin.
It's possible that with the curing of the itching, the hair will be allowed to grow back.
If there doesn't seem to be any problem other than a little dermatitis and a little hairloss (in other words, no redness, raw areas, etc) I'd try getting rid of the itching and work on fixing up the flaking skin.
If you arean't seeing a difference in a week or two, I'd take your little one to the vet. It's possible there's a mange problem. Mange can be caused by a few things, nervousness, a fungal skin infection (caused by having been allowed to be dirty... like fecal kind of dirty) or by a tiny tiny reddish mite called a mange mite.
My yorkie did the same thing, he was allergic to the dog food. I changed it and his hair grew back out.
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.
My 2 month old puppy's fur is falling from her legs, chest, neck, face, and ear. How do I get it to grow back? Please help me? and what is the reason?
I have a 9 month old Great Dane. When he was about 12 weeks old he started to lose hair on his head. We got that under control now it's on the sides of his face under his eyes, on his jowls, his armpits, and on his elbows where he lays.
I took him to the vet and she said he'll grow out of it, but I don't see him growing out of it. He also has this reddish rash on his chest/stomach.
I have a 10 year old Chihuahua who recently, in the last 2 months, started losing his hair on his back. When I give him baths he starts scratching really badly afterwards and his skin starts flaking. I use Sergeant's flea and tick shampoo. What can I use to help his dry skin so he doesn't scratch so much after a bath?
He has to eat wet foods because his jaw isn't strong enough to chew hard food anymore. Can I use cocoa butter on his dry skin or will it hurt him?
Our Pug is 5 months old and is suffering with severe itching and hair fall. We have been using Star Coat syrup and Clodoc powder from 15 days, but I can't observe any change. So, I request you to kindly suggest some remedies in the form of sprays.
By Subramanyam P
Someone said it could be mange. What is this?
By Elaine from Kent
