itching and thin hair on a yorkie

Question
QUESTION: I have a 7 month old female Yorkie and she itches and bites herself way too much. She has patches of hair loss on her hind quarters and now on the front of one leg. I took her to a groomer and have bathed her at home with an oatmeal shampoo. But it hasnt helped. What else can I do??? I am abt to take her to a vet. Also her hair has always been very thin. But she is fun to watch because she keeps changing colors. I never knew that a dog could change colors. This is my first Yorkie and I am in my 50's. I hope you can help. Thanks in advance.

ANSWER: Hi Teresa,
Terriers need a very high fat diet and absolutely NO NO NO fleas.   Put her on Comfortis and give her dark meat chicken with the skin with a little rice, OR Omega 3 fatty acids every day.   You should see a big improvement.  If the comfortis doesn't seem to be working go to Advantage.
nancy

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QUESTION: She doesnt have any fleas. there arnt any fleas here in Utah they cant survive our temps. My friend thinks it might be a form of mange. What is comfortis? is that a food or a medicine? I have been feeding her smartblend healthy puppy formula by Purina One with Lamb as the first ingredient dry dog food. I recently started cutting open a fish oil capsule and squirting it over her food. How many fish oil capsules should I be giving her on a daily basis? Ok what is Advantage?  Thanks for your help! I havent seen any other Yorkies with the thin straight hair like hers. Is this normal?  Other then what you already told me abt the food...is there a different food that I should be feeding her like a different kind of hard food or a moist food...dont know which is better for her. Thanks again! Teresa

Answer
the fish oil pill is perfect.  If it was demodatic mange is usually starts around the eyes, it could be scarcoptic.  Since this is serious, you may want to have a vet do a scraping.  If it is mange you will need a special type of medicine to help her.  I am sending you a page of pictures with mange.  See if anything looks like your dog.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Dog+Mange&FORM=IQFRRS#x0y589

nancy