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Why is my dog suddenly losing hair in patches all over and so itchy?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Miniature Schnauzer | Male | neutered | 35 lbs

Approx month ago hawk attempted to lift dog out of yard but too heavy. This observed through window. Resulted in missing patch of hair. Wk ago small patch missing by outer leg. Both healed. Yesterday he was fine. Today patches of missing hair all over. No dogs can come in nor can he go out. No diet change. Always suffered itchiness. Not more intense. No pain. Attacks or medical?

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on June 7th, 2019

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

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