Why does my mini black lab mix have thin spots of hair

Under their arms and inside their legs are usually thinner than the rest of their body, and it depends where on the face.

Does the skin look red and irritated? Has he been scratching or chewing at these areas more than normal? Is there hair LOSS or the hair is just thinner in these areas? Is there any crusting or flaking of the skin in these areas? Anything out of the ordinary you can tell us besides the fur just looks thin?

If the skin is red and irritated and he is scratching or chewing these areas more than normal, he could have a myriad of skin problems (ranging from allergies to yeast infections to mites).

Is he on a monthly flea preventative? If not, I suggest one -- just because he doesn't currently have fleas doesn't necessarily mean he can't/won't ever get them, and some flea preventatives also protect against mites.

Have you noticed him feeling under the weather lately, or does he have any other health problems going on lately? All animals have mites (including humans!), but normally they are in such low numbers they do not cause problems. A suppressed immune system, stress, or illness may cause these mite populations to grow out of control.

But bottom line -- we can not "diagnose" your pet over the internet, especially if we aren't licensed vets. Advice over the internet is no substitute for seeing a vet, so if you're worried, you should see a vet. Even if nothing is wrong, it's better safe than sorry!

I rescued Annie 2 yrs ago I always take my dogs the first week I get them and have a total check, her blood work showed a thyroid problem she is on solxine 2x a day, 1 grey is 1x a day and another grey 2x, and they get a very good holistic kibble not as expensive as you think, my nutritionist told me what the bag says on a super high quality you can cut in 1/2 Anne used to get 4 cups a day now shes 1 in am & 1 pm I also cook a bunch of frozen carrots & string beans 1x a week put them in fridg and she gets some in her food & a bit of wet food, she also gets sliced cored apples and some dog treats Annie is a big dog so you have to adjust the veggies or else yours could get the poops her kibble is Verus fish, potato & omega 3, and a raw marrow bone once a week, outside so messy in the house, when I got her she had patches of thin hair, some almost gone, worms, ear infections, 2 yr later she's around 11 now, we're not sure and people ask me what breeder I went to and her coat is so shiny it almost looks blue, good luck

When I rescued Czar he had many of the same bald spots your are noticing as thinning. Especially the top of his nose. Czar has a yeast infection brought on by hypothyroidism but was originally diagnosed as allergies. The treatment for the infection and a change to a diet high in Omega 3 has brought back quite a bit of the hair especially on his nose.

So your first line of defense is your vet to determine the exact cause. It maybe as simple as a diet change, or administering thyroid medications which are relatively inexpensive.

(Czar is on Eagle Pack Anchovy, Sardine and Salmon holistic select)

First I would take him to the vet to make sure its not mange or something like that. I can only tell you what I experienced with my border collie. She was experiencing severe hair loss all the same spots. To the point of baldness. We adopted her.She had a skin scrapping done by the vet to ck for mange and it was negative. Finally after much research we found out it was allergys to food. After changing her food to Natural Balance which also has a non-allergy type to our delight hair started comeing back.Hair loss can be a sign of food allergy. The scary part was that she also was not getting the nutritions as well. She is a puppy as well. Her coat is so shiny and thick now its unreal compared to when we adopted her! My daughters cats all experienced the same identical symptoms as the dog.The Vet School near her suggested Natural Balance for allergy prone pets. Same thing, wonderful coats, healthy pets again. I still suggest going to your Vet first.After researching all the brands of food out there and seeing all are mostly corn meal based we chose Natural Balance. I can't say enough about it just by seeing my dog so healthy now. Good luck please let us know how your puppy does with an update.