chewing off hair?

[Nicole L]

Today my 5 month old doodle was biting at his leg not for very long, just seemed to be getting an "itch".  But I just noticed that his hair on his one leg looked "missing" this afternoon.  I figured it maybe just got matted from him so I looked at it, but I think he actually chewed it off.  It almost looks as if someone took a shaver to the upper/outer front of one of his legs. It is about 6 or 7 inches long by about 3 or so inches wide, an looks like it was just "shaved off"  The skin looks fine, maybe a bit of dandruff?  Nothing is pink or looks to have any sores.  He isn't messing with it at all now and is acting just fine.  Any thoughts what happened?  For what it is worth, we live in Atlanta, GA and I have not changed his food or treats, no table scraps either, nothing new that I can think of.

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

Hot spot?

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

Sorry if this is a dumb obvious question, but are you using any kind of parasite preventative (i.e., Frontline, K9 Advantix, etc.)? You did mention that there were not any sores, but maybe something had been crawling on him that he didn't like.

 

Another idea might be an allergy. In the past, we have had dogs who have been allergic to our mulch. Perhaps your dog is suffering from a contact allergy. We've used an anti-itch spray for dogs. I'm trying to remember the name of it. I think we ordered it from Jeffers Pet.

 

Also, dogs do sometimes develop nervous habits or tics. My dog Daisy constantly has to lick things, if it's her own paw (she has now given herself a hot spot) or me. Usually, it's me and it drives me crazy after awhile.

[Nicole L]

I use Frontline for flee and tick.  I just purchase last month at Costco.

[shelly]

Tori does this sometimes if she has a mat that is bothering her.... if he continues I would have his skin checked.  Careful... he may vomit it up too... like a cat's hairball....LOL

[Stephanie and Jellybean]

We had a problem like this with our pup. The vet tried antibiotics and was hopeful that when she was spayed and wearing the cone she would lose the urge to chew. She didn't. She went right back to it and it goy bigger and bigger. Finally, the vet gave her a shot of steroids and it broke the compulsion. So now the hair is finally growing back and she hasn't touched it since. It has been almost a month.