# Hair Loss



## todd pavlus (Apr 30, 2008)

One of my dogs has had some hair loss due to scratching on his ear. This started in late summer, I figured from bug bites. Then he started to lose some hair on the tip of his tail. I thought it might be mites. I took him to the vet, and they took a scraping, and they said it was not mites. Gave him pills for the itching and antibiotics because they thought he might have a small infection due to all the scratching. Now it has been 3 weeks and he is still losing more hair on his ear. Now my pup has started sratching his ear. Anyone got any ideas what this is. I don't want to take him back to the vet yet, since they really did not know what it was in the first place.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Whenever a dog itches its ear, always check in the mouth too. Sometimes they will have injuries in the mouth like a cracked/fractured tooth. They may also need to do additional skin scrapings as we learned it takes multiple skin scrapings to find the little critters. The sarcoptic mange mites that cause hair loss and itching around the ear are sometimes very difficult to get on a single scraping. Like flea bite allergy, if the dog is sensitized, it just takes one bite from the mite for them to get scratching to the point where some self-mutilate. Sarcoptic mites are also contagious to other dogs and to humans. Selamectin (Revolution) and ivermectin can help for those mites. Are they on flea preventative? Flea allergy dermatitis just from one flea bite is very common as well. Hope that helps!


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## todd pavlus (Apr 30, 2008)

They are on frontline plus, and the vet told me that almost always sarcoptic mites are symetrical. In that , if the dog has it on one ear they will always have it on the other.


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## Lisa Preston (Aug 21, 2008)

I've seen an itching prob recur summertime.

I put him on an elimination diet and brought him to the sea for salt water swims and he cleared up in a week. 

It's worth trying a diet attack. Even if the etiology is other, dietary treatment may turn things around. Stop any treat, scrap, etc--no food from anyone but you and go to a fancy-pants clean diet for a few weeks.

You're right to get after the itching prob hard and fast. I've seen it become a behavioral disorder when the dog develops a habit of constant scratching.Miserable for all.

Good luck w/ it.


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## Mary Lehman (Oct 2, 2008)

Any changes behariorally? Might be a good idea to have a Thyroid test run as well. 

I have a 4 yoa Mal that I am going to have thyroid tests on due to itching, 'attitude' and general sleepiness. He is on a predominantly raw diet and we have tried elimination of certain meat proteins to no avail. I've done a bunch of reading today on a site www.itsfortheanimals.com 

In the Thyroid section you can submit blood samples for testing at HemoPet. Supposedly, quicker, cheaper and more accurate than other labs.

I'll let you know what I find out about my boy.


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## Mo Earle (Mar 1, 2008)

Lots of good tips here! and I would definately listen to Maren Bell's advice-we had been battlling serious skin issues-itching,allergic looking dermatitis,hair loss with one of our dogs-used her suggestions, put our dog on Ester-C in addition to her other stuff-(fish oil,temaril etc-that we had been trying all along with little success) and now she is really doing great! Mo


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

todd pavlus said:


> One of my dogs has had some hair loss due to scratching on his ear. This started in late summer, I figured from bug bites. Then he started to lose some hair on the tip of his tail. I thought it might be mites. I took him to the vet, and they took a scraping, and they said it was not mites. Gave him pills for the itching and antibiotics because they thought he might have a small infection due to all the scratching. Now it has been 3 weeks and he is still losing more hair on his ear. Now my pup has started sratching his ear. Anyone got any ideas what this is. I don't want to take him back to the vet yet, since they really did not know what it was in the first place.


Is any area raggedy-looking at the tip (like the edges of the ear flap)? What does the affected area look like? Pustules? Rash?

Also, did the vet mention folliculitis? 

What were the "pills for itching"? Prednisone? Antihistamines?


P.S. If nothing recommended here helps, I want to suggest a referral to a derm vet sooner rather than later. This comes from a lot of my own experience as well as that of many others on web forums. It's a specialty for good reason, IMHO. It took me a while to realize that the extra "cost" was going to save me a lot of money and time (and often, misery for a dog).


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Mo Earle said:


> Lots of good tips here! and I would definately listen to Maren Bell's advice-we had been battlling serious skin issues-itching,allergic looking dermatitis,hair loss with one of our dogs-used her suggestions, put our dog on Ester-C in addition to her other stuff-(fish oil,temaril etc-that we had been trying all along with little success) and now she is really doing great! Mo


Yes, and the fish-oil-plus-E advice is good advice for every dog owner, IMO. It goes double for anyone whose dog has any kind of skin problems/inflammation.


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