standard poodle hair loss

Question
QUESTION: I have a 9 1/2 years old female standard poodle.  She recently went to the groomer.  Since returning she seems to be losong the hair on her ears.  Even when I brush them it seems to be coming out alot more than normal.  She went to the same groomer as she always has.  On the outside of the ears underneath the thinning hair it kind of looks like dark dirt.  She recently had her annual physical and had a clean bill of health but that was before the hair thinning.

ANSWER: Hello Christine,
Sounds to me like it could be a Hotspot there if you see dark scabbing underneath the thinning hair.  Does the "dark dirt" look bumpy or scabby, or is it smooth.  Scabby spots can mean a Hot Spot.  Hot Spots can be caused by alot of things such as Allergies, Flea Dermatitis, Sun exposure, or from Medications.  Allergies are common in dogs and you tend to see alot of Poodles with Allergies, some to foods, and some to their enviorment (yards, trees, weeds, etc).
A spot on the dog will itch and the dog will scratch or itch it, which can cause hair loss.  

Check your dog all over to see if she has any of the dark dirt any place else.  If so, it could be flea dander.  This is flea droppings that look like dirt in the dogs hair.  You may not be able to see fleas in your dogs coat if it is long and may just think that your dog is getting dirty.  Check to see if there is any dirt any place else, and if you see any, look around the dogs tail area.  This is where fleas like to hang out and is a good place to look if you supect that your dog has fleas.  

Other than that, you could try feeding her Wild Caught Salmon Oil in her food.  The Salmon Oil helps regrow hair and is what Show Poodle people use to help their dogs grow into their coat.  

Give this a try and if you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response Kim.  I did call the groomer to make sure that she had not changed shampoo and she did not.  The spot is smooth not bumpy or scabby looking, so I do not believe it is hot spots. It also does not appear to be fleas...Her hair is quite short at this time .  I did check her body over and it just appears to be on the top of both ears.  My question is where do I purchase Wild Caught Salmon Oil?
Thanks,
Christine

Answer
Hello again,
You should be able to pick it up at Health Marts or places like WalGreens.  You might be able to find it at Wal-Mart and discount stores, but you run the risk of the Oil not being pure Salmon Oil.  

I hope this helps you some and thanks again for using AllExperts.com
Kim