Hi
I am after a bit of advice. I have a Staffie who is 8 months old ... a few weeks ago a small round bald patch appeared at the bottom of his back above his tail .. and he would chase his tail around trying to get at it.

I took him to the vet and he had his glands squeezed which I was told was why he was chasing his tail and had self inflicted the bald patch...

Its about 3 weeks later and the bald patch has not grown back and the skin that is exposed has done a little dry .. I bathed him yesterday and noticed that some of the surrounding hair was coming out a bit (may be normal shedding tho).

THe other night he also started chasing his foot ... he even bit it and made it bleed.

Other than this his coat is in brilliant condition, silky and the skin is healthy etc. He is up to date on all worming treatments (from the vets) and flea treatments (johnson 4 fleas). He doesnt appear to be bothered by it too much!

I have booked to go to the vets on Tuesday morning - has anyone come across anything similar .... is there anything i can do at home to help before we go vets?

This in no way a professional opinion...just a loving per owners! (just to clarify)

It MAY be something as simple as an allergy.

My dog Biggles (Cairn) has a few allergies, and before we knew this he used to lick his front paws excessively and pull the hair out, he also chased his tail and used to try and scratch his back on our pebble dashed garage.

Just a though... dog allergies can include :

Fleas

Atopic Dermatitis - caused by the dog’s immune system hypersensitivity to common substance around them, such as dust mites or mold

Bacterial Allergies - Bacterial allergies will cause hair loss that looks similar to ring worm. The areas that are infected need to be treated with antibiotics.

Inhalants (tree, grass, weed, dust mites, molds, and chemicals)

Food (fish, eggs, whey, milk, chicken, pork, beef, corn, wheat, soy products, chemical preservatives, and artificial sugars in their meal)

Food is the least common type of allergies in dogs. Some of the common items that may cause a reaction are wood bedding, grass, plants, and flea collars.

You might want to check out this page as it will give you more information...

The best thing you can do, it keep a diary of everything you Staffie does, everything he eats, absolutely everything you notice about him. Usually something that you wouldn't even think about can be the key to an allergy.

I hope you lil one gets back to his full coated self!

It always seems scary when there's something wrong with your dog, but if you can get it sorted your staffie will thank you for it!!

Our labs had similar hair loss about 3 weeks ago but not to the point of being bald , just very thin abouve the tail , at first like you we put it down to excessive seasonal molting , but when i asked our vet and mentioned could it be mange she said this was most likely and that thier next dose of stronghols would sort it out as stronghold does worms and skin parasites such as mange mites and fleas ect . It has all cleared up now and hair has resumed almost normal thinkness .
They can pick this mite up from exposure most commonly to areas where fox,s frequent our girls love rolling in what i can only assume is fox poo in the park , and when the weather is wet they dive into any muddy puddle where the fox,s may also have been . This is only a sudgestion you may want to run it by your vet foe his / her opinion .
Other problems as in post above include allergies to food ect , also dogs display a nevouse bitting when stressed about something , be it a change in home situations or new member of the family new dog nest door just some of the things that could be upsetting him causing him to bite himself out of anxiety , i had a cross that did this many years ago we lived in a not to happy household and he picked up on the atmosphere . good luck in getting to the bottom of his problem.
Andrea

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Hi
thanks for the suggestions - i am going to start a little diary as suggested over the next couple of days before we go to the vet on Tuesday.

I did wonder if he had dermatitis it seems like he is itchy. I cant think that there is anything else that has changed - diet is the same and he has a quilt an d blankets he has had since we got him which i wash in the same washing powder.

I was worried about fleas, i have checked him thoroughly and cant see any signs and i use the flea treatments (but ones from pet shops)!

I noticed this morning he has been running his ears across the carpet although they (or the side of this face) is itchy .... I have cleaned them out this morning with warm water which seems to have stopped it..

I will take him to the vets Tuesday and see what they say ..
thanks for the advice

The main thing with allergies, is they can happen even of there's no change, that's why they don't seem to add up. Something that helps with itching is popping a bag of frozen peas or similar on the area... if they'll sit still for long enough!

Hope your pooch gets better soon

has the vet checked for a fungal infection? Our pup has a bald spot on the top of her head and one on her paw and a Vet just diagnosed fungus. Our vet where I live didn't check for fungal infectgion but wanted to do a skin scrape for £200.

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All your Base are belong to us!

my dog also have this problem before... cause by some food allergy... so im very careful feeding any kind food..

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Dog Fences | Dog Door

Hi
thought i would share a little post vet update. The vet is pretty sure that he as a allergy to pollen and grass. He has a course of tablets to remove the itching and he is having a skin scrape done on Monday.

Should then be able to confirm if it is allergy and treat it, they have also offered to do blood tests in a few weeks so we can work out exactly what he is allergic to!!

Will keep you updated
Becky

At least you (kind of) know what's wrong now

Allergies are VERY common in dogs, and it's just very unfortunate that it's not often symptomatic in an obvious sense (itching and such).

Bigs hugs for your staffie, I'm sure he'll be feeling sorry for himself, although if the weather is like it is where I am now, at least it will be a bit better for him

Thanks Orange .... he seems fine which i am please about .. apart from the odd sly nibble of his toes and rubbing his eyes he is happily playing with his toys!!

He does have an old sock on his back paw where he bit himself and has cream on .. so very funny!!

Bless him