I have a 1yr old male chihuahua. He could be mixed with terrier. I've had him since he was weaned. I feed my him Purina Little Bites and have done so since I got him. For probably 5 months now, he's had very dry, flaky skin on the lower half of his back. He is starting to lose a lot of hair on his back, around the base of his tail, and on his sides (where his back legs meet his body). The hair loss is not in patches, it is just general thinning of the hair. There is no rash, or bumps, but he has caused a few sores (2-3 since this began). Initially, I thought this could be an allergic reaction to a spot-on flea treatment, so I have stopped using flea treatments; it has not gotten better. I thought "Maybe he has worms?" so I wormed him with my wormers from the vet. Between the 2, it should have killed any kind of worms besides heartworms. Again, no change. After scratching so much caused a sore, I used a hot spot shampoo on him-didnt help. I have tried Oatmeal shampoos, sensitive skin shampoos, etc. The routine now consists of dandruff shampoo, an organic conditioner, & once I've rinsed him, I soak him in baby oil, rub it in really well, then use a towel to dry him off & remove excess baby oil. This combo really helps (better than anything else used so far) for a couple days. We see no dry skin & he doesn't dig excessively. I apply the baby oil in between baths as well. Yes, he gets fleas due to my not wanting to put anything on him. I bathe him in Dawn to get rid of the fleas, but do not use Dawn at every bath, as I'm sure it is drying and I follow it with conditioner & the baby oil. I do
not think this could be anything contagious because I also have a 5yr old female Chi with absolutely no skin problems. They play together constantly & sleep together. Does this sound like an allergy? Or some disorder? Or is scratching excessively (due to dry skin) causing his hair loss? I didn't bring anything new into the house when this began, the only thing different was my applying the flea treatment. Oh and, while at the vet for his rabies shot, I mentioned this problem and was pretty much just blown off. He said it was just dander, that some dogs have more than others, & offered no testing-which I didn't even know was an option until I began searching for help. I can see why he'd think it is just dry skin, as it isn't accompanied with anything other than hair loss, but still!
