Why is my dog losing hair and has bald spots on his neck and back?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
My 12 yr old jack russell is going bald losing his hair round his neck and patches on his back ,you can see his skin
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on November 30th, 2019
Lesions like this could be several things including allergies, skin mites, ringworm (which humans can get) or endocrine disease. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Protect the areas from licking or scratching and he may need to wear an Elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesions don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications or recommend some bloodwork. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on June 7th, 2017
Great photos. In his case, I would recommend an oatmeal shampoo and deep brushing. Hair loss can occur from allergies, infections, and metabolic/endocrine diseases. If it continues, I would have his skin checked first infections, and have his thyroid checked as well.
5Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
My 6 year old dog has started losing his hair in circle patches. It only occurs on his back. What could this be?
Those spots on Tank could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get), endocrine disease or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with a medicated dog shampoo every other day and rinse well. Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by his veterinarian who may prescribe medications or diagnostics. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 8 year old American Bulldog has about 10 dime to nickel size bald spot on his back. The are pink like his skin with no scaling, bleeding or anything like that. They are a little rough and some are kind of hard to the touch like a pimple but that
Those spots on Jax could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash his whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching and he may need to wear an Elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesions don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hello I found my dog's hand like this, spot with no hair and she wasn't like that before, so is it a symptom for something dangerous or what it could be?!
That spot on Elma could be several things including allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection, ringworm (which humans can get) or endocrine disease. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not her whole body, just the lesion). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion does not start improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have her examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
New Pet
My jack Russell pup has a couple of spots but there like scabs on his back
Those spots on Enzo could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash his whole body, just those spots). You can also check/treat for fleas. Protect the areas from licking or scratching and he may need to wear an Elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesions don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi.. Charlie is suffering from hair loss and black patches all over his underbody. Is it heat related or something else. I am attaching a few photos. Thanks Frank
The redness and hairloss on Charlie could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash his whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have him examined by his veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Bald spot on my 5 month goldendoodle
Hair loss could be several things including allergies, skin mites, flea bites, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash her whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have Marley examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
6 year old Chorkie has developed small patches on back and when scratched produce white flakes. She rolls on back trying to scratch, but loves if I scratch with nails. Took to groomers today to get coat trimmed close and back spots look like white sp
Those spots on Roxy could be several things including allergies, skin mites, hypothyroidism, ringworm (which humans can get) or a bacterial infection. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesions with soap once a day and rinse well (don't wash her whole body, just those spots). Protect the areas from licking or scratching. If they don't start looking better within about a week or if they get worse, have her examined by the veterinarian who may prescribe medications. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is losing hair in clumps continuously for a while and has started to get bald spots and sore patches. I've changed his food numerous times and nothing seems to work. Also tried skin ointments and regular brushing but that seems to make it wors
This is probably 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 (advocate or advantage), 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). 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.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Hi my 9 year old pug has developed a bit of a bald patch on her tail She's fit and well so just curious for an opinion as why this could appear
That lesion on Lily could be several things including fleas, allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection, ringworm (which humans can get) or endocrine disease. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. You can wash the lesion once a day (not her whole body, just the lesion). Also protect the area from trauma by having your pup wear an elizabethan collar at all times. If the lesion is not improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have her examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog max has been treated for his skin scabbing up several times with pharmaVeb, Benadryl, Gensvet but nothing seems to work. This is make him get ball spots.
Those spots on Max could be several things including allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Parasites are often ruled out with an oral medication like Simparica. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or N
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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