hair of the dog: Why does my dog have hair loss?

Is it losing hair or shedding? It's normal to shed (and it can look like he's losing a lot of hair when he's shedding but it's not really that much).

If he's actually losing clumps of hair, down to the skin it could be anything or everything like lice, fleas, ring worm, mange, mites, allergic reactions, staph infection, worms, an impacted anal gland, some dogs rip out their hair out of boredom, around the neck would suggest the collar is too small (too tight to its neck) or too big or too wide (both of which would cause rubbing against the area, which causes discomfort and the dog scratches the area to rid itself of the discomfort when in turn it's actually tearing out the fur). The list goes on about possible reasons. If you give some more information regarding the areas missing hair, I can give a better idea of what's causing it.

UPDATED......If the majority of the hair loss is on her rump and she had tape worms, the hair loss is probably a result of that. Though you may not have noticed it, everytime she had a bowel movement, she was not only releasing bile but also the worms. Tape worms can grow upwards of 6 to 8 inches. It's so hard to "squeeze" out a tape worm so the only way to get the tape worm out of her bottom was to run her butt along the ground (in an attempt to drag the worms out). Hair missing in this area is also a sign of a blocked anal gland. Offer her a can or two of wet canned food. This is made 70% of water, which will soften her stools and make a bowel movement easier. Normally, a good, soft bowel movement can clear up a blocked anal gland. Consider investing in a tub of Nustock Cream (available at www.jeffers.com). It's farely inexpensive and if applied correctly, hair will begin growing within 3 days.

As for Science Diet......it's actually a very poor quality kibble. Vets often recommend it as good because you purchase it from them which makes them more money. Consider changing your dogs food to a higher quality kibble.

Fleas like the warm, moist spots too so that could be why your dog is "digging" in the webs of his paws. Hot spots (allergies) can be caused by fleas or food allergies too. It's highly possible he's got some hot spots in the webs. Also at Jeffers (the link above) you can buy an anti-septic (anti-itch) spray. I believe it's 3 dollars a bottle. This stuff can be used for just about every itch possible (except an itch caused by a fungus).

Mange is fungal and 99% of the time will begin on the dog's ears. His ears will look like they've been fly-bit, possibly even oozy and/or bloody. He may also appear to have bald spots around his eyes. Mange is pretty obvious so if you've taken the dog to the vet and the vet didn't suggest mange, it probably isn't.

Ring worm is usually a bald circle. The circle will be the color of the dog's skin, possibly even with bumps (or tiny pimple type appearance) in the circle. The outside of the circle (or the circle lining) is usually a white discoloration (this is the tail of the worm--hence, ring worm). A fungaside can clear this up (it's also available at Jeffers). But try the Nustock first--it'll clear up Mange, Hot spots, ring worm and a variety of other issues.