Why is my dog biting his leg, causing a bald patch and black skin?

Question

Hello, My 8 month old fawn/champagne Staffordshire Bull Terrier Floyd has a terrible bald patch up his back right limb reaching up to his rib cage. The skin isn't sore to touch and doesn't have any cuts or puss. Floyd does frequently bite at this leg but nowhere else, we are concerned he may have Alopecia X as the skin has turned a black colour. When he was 3 months old he had a small bald patch on his head which has now cleared up. We have also regularly wormed and flead him too. Please help. Pet's info: Dog | Staffordshire Bull Terrier | Male | unneutered | 8 months and 9 days old

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! 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. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed.  There are medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch.   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!

Why is my dog biting his leg, causing a bald patch and black skin?

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