Major Hair loss and skin problems

Two things come to my mind-first, and most common, low thyroid. Second, less common but given the environment you describe maybe even more likely-a yeast infection in his skin. Or even, both.

Here is some information on yeast infections in dogs

http://marvistavet.com/html/body_yeast_infection_of_the_skin.html

http://www.vetinfo.com/canine-yeast-infection.html

The test for thyroid is not cheap but the medication to treat it thankfully is not very expensive. My understanding is that yeast infections can be expensive to diagnose and treat.

And, you do not actually have to put the dog outside to treat a flea problem in the house. You simply need to treat the dog and the environment at the same time.

Good luck with poor Indy.

Hello all!

Angie - did you find out anything in regards to this?

My 4.5 mo old golden boy has started to lose the hair all underneath of his front legs, spreading across his chest.

It started out randomly on his body as little bumps that scabbed. I thought they kind of resembled pimples that had crusted over. They were generally behind his ears.

I started noticing them under his front legs (like where you would say his armpit area is for lack of a better description). He also had some bumps on his chest. I showed a vet - she said its nothing and not to worry.

Well now it is primarily around his legs (all four now) but the front has this dark red/brown/blackish, dried out (like another poster said almost like cradle cap) and it has spread across the front of his chest with some signifigant hair loss. The hair that is left there is almost turning reddish at the root it seems.

Other than that he seems fine! Not lethargic, appetite is great..he does seem a bit down at times but I could be worrying needlessly (he does get sad when he sees us getting ready for work in the morning and that is when I generally notice it lol).

I appreciate any replies to this...I didn't want to start a new thread so I hope this gets some attention

Found nothing!

Hello all!

Angie - did you find out anything in regards to this?

My 4.5 mo old golden boy has started to lose the hair all underneath of his front legs, spreading across his chest.

It started out randomly on his body as little bumps that scabbed. I thought they kind of resembled pimples that had crusted over. They were generally behind his ears.

I started noticing them under his front legs (like where you would say his armpit area is for lack of a better description). He also had some bumps on his chest. I showed a vet - she said its nothing and not to worry.

Well now it is primarily around his legs (all four now) but the front has this dark red/brown/blackish, dried out (like another poster said almost like cradle cap) and it has spread across the front of his chest with some signifigant hair loss. The hair that is left there is almost turning reddish at the root it seems.

Other than that he seems fine! Not lethargic, appetite is great..he does seem a bit down at times but I could be worrying needlessly (he does get sad when he sees us getting ready for work in the morning and that is when I generally notice it lol).

I appreciate any replies to this...I didn't want to start a new thread so I hope this gets some attention [/QUOTE]

Hi, sadly I didn't get an answer from anyone! Physician or groomer. We are still suffering with the blackish patches and hair thinning. It is not thyroid, yeast, or any known bacterial problem. I do note that no matter how much we wash them, there is still a bad odor around the Golden's we combat with deodorizing sprays. I have found that shampoo for dogs that run across skunks does help a bit with the smell. If anyone has any other ideas I will certainly love to see them
Angie