Should I worry about my dog's hair thinning between shoulder blades?

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I have not ever seen Frontline cause hair loss. However, I have seen Frontline cause reactions on the skin. This is a topical product that you used and anytime a topical product is used it has the chance to cause a reaction or irritation which may include hair loss. You can try and wash the area where the front line was applied with a oatmeal based shampoo and rinse it very well or just wait and see if after 4 weeks the problem still persists. If it continues to spread or does not resolve then I would recommend having a veterinarian examine this so that the most appropriate Diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hi there. This would not be a common or expected side effect of Bravecto, so I would be suspicious that something else is probably causing the itching and hair loss. If it continues, I would recommend taking Tinker to the vet for an exam. Possible causes would include allergies (food allergies, or an allergy to something in the environment), a bacterial or fungal skin infection, or skin mites (mange). Your veterinarian can do some simple skin tests if needed to help diagnose the problem and get him started on appropriate treatment.

Daisy Doodle may be suffering from a mite infection (either demodicosis or a sarcoptes mite infection). The hair loss on the back and head would point to that. This could also be a fungal or bacterial infection. Best to have your veterinarian examine your dog's skin. A mite infection is easily treated with either an avermectin injection or Bravecto chew (which also protects against fleas and ticks), a fungal infection will need fungicidal medication and a bacterial infection is usually cured with prescription antibiotics.

Hello and thank you for your post! A patch of hair loss could indicate multiple things. I am assuming that she is quite Young since you are calling her a puppy. If she is very young, she might have a patch of hair loss due to skin mites called Demodex. This patch could also be infectious, bacterial or fungal. I would suggest getting her seen by her veterinarian to have diagnostic tests performed to see what the primary cause of this patch of hair loss is. Your veterinarian will likely scrape the skin in that affected area as an initial test. Depending on the cause, that will be able to prescribe the most appropriate treatments for this. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any other concerns that you may have. I am also available via text or phone consultation.

I have seen this as a reaction to certain spot-on flea/tick treatments, vaccines and microchipping. If any of these were recently done, then I would be most suspicious of them being the cause. The skin appears a red, which indicates that something is irritating it and it appears oily, but I'm assuming that's from the antibiotic ointment. For now, it's best to just keep the area clean with a medicated cat shampoo. You can get this at the pet store. I would clean it once daily and not put the antibiotic cream on it. Use cool water when washing and rinsing to give some relief. You can stop the daily cleanings when the skin appears healthy again and the hair is obviously growing back. If the hair loss continues and the skin appears worse, then it's best to have a vet look at it, because it may need special treatment. I hope that helps and Phoebe gets better soon.

It is possible that your puppy is having a little bit of hair thinning, but it's not something that you have to address right away. Especially if it's barely noticeable. The reason I say this is because puppies are highly susceptible to overpopulation of Demodexx mites, which can cause localized or generalized hair loss with secondary infections. However if the hair loss remains in one area (localized) there is a chance Penelope can resolve this on her own as her immune system develops. Keep an eye on things for now to see how things develop, and if the hair loss worsens and forms actual patches of alopecia then it's time to see a vet at that point for skin testing and proper treatment. Also even though you don't see fleas it doesn't mean that they are not there lurking beneath the hair. They can be very inconspicuous, so it's best just to keep Penelope on monthly flea prevention, even if she just goes outside to potty. Because it's a fact that 40% of indoor dogs still get fleas, and that can lead to itching and thinning of hair also.