My healthy dog is losing hair on his belly and legs. What's the cause?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Hair loss in dogs can be caused by many conditions including bacterial or fungal skin infections, skin mites, allergies, hormonal imbalances, or nutritional deficiencies. You may need to take her to a different veterinarian for a second opinion and additional tests such as blood work. You can also make an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist who can work with you and Alexzi to find to cause of her hair loss.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the pictures you have provided, I would suspect that Princess is suffering from a skin allergy, skin infection or skin parasite infection. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. The veterinarian can check her skin for skin parasites and see if there is a bacterial or fungal infection as well. If you are unable to get to a veterinarian right away, I would recommend the below products, which can be found online quite easily. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Welactin omega 3 fish oil capsules for dogs 2. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved 3. Douxo PS Calm mousse and apply once daily until resolved 4. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to the affected areas twice daily until resolved 5. Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent and apply as directed

Hi there! I'm so sorry to hear about Leo's troubles. Dogs can get itchy and lose hair for a variety of reasons. When a dog comes into the office to see me for itchy skin and hair loss, the first thing I do is make sure they don't have any mites or parasites, or a skin infection of some kind, like a bacterial infection, or even something like ringworm. It's really important to check these things as ringworm and some mites can be contagious to people. Once I make sure these things aren't an issue, I can start considering allergies (which can develop really any time throughout a dog's life), and even some metabolic diseases. Certain hormonal issues can cause hair loss, especially symmetrical hair loss. Therefore depending on the dogs age, and what I'm able to do in one visit, I may run skin tests and labwork all at once. Until you get in to see a veterinarian, the vetericyn plus products are very nice for cleaning the skin. That may help alleviate some discomfort if there is any of that as well. I hope Leo feels better very soon! Best of luck!

I'm sorry to hear of your issues with Jaxx. There are many potential causes for hair loss in dogs including allergies, fleas, mange and hormonal imbalances. Based on the pictures provided, it appears that Jaxx's skin has been inflammed for a while. The skin appears thickened and red. I think this is most likely due to allergies. He may also have a secondary bacterial or yeast infection. A soothing oatmeal bath may help with his discomfort. You can also try an antihistamine such as benadryl. A common dose for this is 1mg per pound of body weight. For example, a 25 pound dog would receive 25mg. If this does not help, I would recommend having him seen by a veterinarian. In some cases, steroids, antibiotics or medicated shampoos may need to be prescribed to resolve this issue.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recommend a vet visit for Toby to assess the cause of his hairloss. Hairloss can be from allergies, parasites, endocrine disorders or breed related alopecia. Depending on what the veterinarian finds during Toby's exam they may recommend diagnostic testing to look for a primary skin disorder or bloodwork to check for endocrine (such as thyroid or adrenal gland) abnormalities. I hope this helps.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There is a variety of reasons that can explain alopecia or hair loss. The causes can easily be differentiated by the clinical signs associated with it and the physical exam findings. If Cookie is only showing some hair loss without scratching or overgrooming then it could conditions such as alopecia areata that can affect dogs and cats and usually resolves on its own. If there is evidence of scratching and you start noticing some redness or irritation associated with it, then other conditions such as allergies are possible. If you notice her overgrooming herself in that area then it could be something like psychogenic alopecia which is more of a behavioral issue. I think that since she is not having overt clinical signs and it is mostly hair loss, I think it is possibly transient and could resolve on its own. You can monitor this closely and if it does not resolve or it worsens then have her examined by your veterinarian. Good luck!