loss of hair

Question
My beautiful chiauaha male is 14 going on 15. He is very well taking care of and very much loved. Lately i noticed he has patches of hair missing on his back and leg. Being an older dog should his food be changed. Or should he have vitiamns. He's not itchy. He runs and plays like a puppy still.
thanks Cynthia.

Answer
Hi Cynthia,
This is a fairly tricky question to answer as there are a number of causes of hair-loss. If it is not itchy, it is less inclined to be allergies.

If it is a food allergy, usually they will be a little itchy, lick their feet and have redness and inflammation of the skin, so I don't think it will improve with a diet change.

I do like to give older dogs fish oils and supplements for arthritis like PAW Osteosupport, which has green lipped muscle. Great for arthritis, inflammatory disease, the coat (but will not cause hair regrowth unfortunately) and the immune system.

In older dogs thyroid disease and Cushing's disease will cause the type of hair-loss you describe. You can diagnose these with blood tests through your vet. Both area easily treatable diseases. He probably also needs to be checked for mites.

Where are you? Do you have a vet nearby?

Eloise