My 7-year-old dog is scratching and losing hair. What's going on?

Question

My 7 yr old pit mix has been healthy but has been scratching alot and has some hair loss near his back legs on his side where he can scratch and also on back of legs, what could cause this and what could I try to help him ? He is otherwise normal, except for being a little bored during rainy or cold weather. I try to give him indoor things to do, treat/food dispenser to work for it and play balls. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | neutered | 7 years and 9 months old | 70 lbs

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

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!

My 7-year-old dog is scratching and losing hair. What's going on?

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