My dog has sudden hair loss, ear odor, and flaky skin. What's wrong?

Question

Sudden hair loss in less than a month. inside of ears became pinkish/warm with a fishy odor. Thought it was mites so applied drops that had worked wonders before. Odor went away, but inside of ears became dry, flaky skin/dandruff & some itchyness. Within the following month patches of hair on the face/head became dry brittle grayish and fell off leaving clean hairless areas( no scratches or wounds of any kind just bare skin) + lost hair on nose/around eyes/mouth. 6y.o. akita. VERY worried :(. Pet's info: Dog | Akita | Male | neutered | 6 years and 4 months old | 115 lbs

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! He is adorable! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. 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!

My dog has sudden hair loss, ear odor, and flaky skin. What's wrong?

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