Why is my overweight dog losing patches of fur? Is it diet or age?

This looks like it may be from an allergy. I would check for fleas first due to distribution of lesions and then consider the food. Your vet can examine it and see if there is a secondary infection that needs to be treated

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Weight loss can be a sign of intestinal worms, organ dysfunction or disease (pancreatic insufficiency, liver shunts, kidney disease, liver inflammation/infection, etc.), food allergies or poor diet, and many other conditions. Hair loss can be due to parasites (mange, fleas, etc.), hypothyroidism, allergies (food or environment), immune diseases, etc. Given that Kalu is 2 years old, I would start by getting him dewormed and also get a product that treats for fleas, ticks and mange. See if his problems resolve. If they do not, then see your vet about testing. Best of luck with Kalu!

I’m so sorry to hear about Sargeant. Though your question focuses on the skin, I must insert that weight loss in any dog - but an older dog particularly- is very concerning. Liver, kidney, and heart disease, as well as cancer are the things I would want to rule out first. If you have not yet run a basic blood panel on Sargeant, I would highly encourage it. In terms of the skin, underlying allergies can cause repeated skin infections and hair loss. If Sargeant is itchy, talk to your vet about possibly pursuing allergy treatments. A trial treatment for mites is also a good idea. Finally ringworm, auto-immune disease, and others are possibilities. Best of luck to you and Sargeant!

There is no way to tell what the problem is just by looking at some photos. The list for reasons for hair loss in dogs (alopecia) is a mile long. Some common possibilities: * alopecia X * hormones * pemphigus * autoimmune * ringworm * mange mites * bacterial or fungal disease * many, many, more You will need to take her to a vet for an exam and some testing to figure this out. Some of these conditions are contagious and some are not. I cannot tell you without knowing her diagnosis.

Hello. I am sorry that Aria isn't feeling well. Weight loss and hair loss are a concern for a dog, especially at 2 years of age. Many things can cause this including metabolic diseases, viruses, parasites, bacterial infection, and also gastric causes. I would suggest having Aria seen by a vet. They will check her skin for fleas and also check her for worms. They may want to do bloodwork as well. Good luck with her!

With the weight loss as well as the skin condition I would recommend a blood test to rule out internal diseases such as liver disease as well as a skin scrape and possible biopsy in order to fully investigate the underlying cause and to guide the most appropriate treatment

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.