Schnauzers can be prone to skin problems as many of you may know. Some of the common hair and skin issues are easily identifiable, like Schnauzer Comedone Syndrome, Seborrhea, or thyroid and gland problems, while others can remain a mystery.
Teddie, a Miniature Schnauzer who is 4 1/2 years old, has a lovely well mannered affectionate personality, but recently has developed two areas on her back where the soft haired coat has deteriorated revealing a coarse hair close to the skin.
The Vet has looked at it and is unsure what the cause may be and has had a culture done which came back negative. The Vet has said not to worry about the bald spot. Not knowing what is causing this hair loss/change is, by its nature, still a concern.
If you have any experience or tips on how to treat a bald spot or if you recognize the condition from the picture please tell us about it in the comment section below.
UPDATE: Some more flattering images of Teddie the Miniature Schnauzer…
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Tags: Bald Spot, Dog, Friends, Hair, Health, Mini Schnauzer, Schnauzer, Teddie, vet
April 7th, 2010 at 9:51 am
My mother’s schnauzer actually had bald spots on her back. The hair grew back in when they coincidentally switched from a metal water dish (I think it was aluminum, not stainless steel) to a plastic one. Different situation from Teddie since he’s losing the overcoat and not bald, but something to consider.
As for schnauzer bumps (comedone syndrome), I noticed my 8-mo old pup seemed to be getting them (never officially diagnosed) over the winter when her coat was long. After the first spring haircut and some time outside, they cleared right up.
April 8th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
I don’t know how to help Teddy, but I hope his hair grows back soon!
June 12th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
I think I might be able to shed some light on Teddie’s hair issue! I recently adopted a mini schnauzer who came into rescue with bald spots on her rump. They said it was flea allergy dermatitis that caused her to lose her hair. When the fleas cleared up, the hair grew back. Chloe’s coat is very soft and pure silver, but the new hair on her rump was wirey,lots of brown in the mix and layed very flat.
Schnauzers naturally have a wirey coat that gets “destroyed” with grooming with clippers. A show schnauzer has its coat manually “stripped” – which involves taking the soft undercoat out and encouraging the growth of the wirey coat. These dogs will have a wirey flat coated back – just like the spots on your dog’s back.
For example: my mom’s 9 month old mini schnauzer puppy has an extremely wirey salt and pepper coat that has a fair amount of brown mixed in down the middle of his back. Over time – and many groomings, his coat will eventually take on a softer feel and turn more “grey” than salt and pepper.
So, back to my theory. When a schnauzer’s hair grows back after a skin issue has caused the dog to lose its hair, it’s growing back as new schnauzer hair (just like a puppy). Naturally, that would be the breed’s wirey coat.
I noticed that you keep Teddie long on his back. If you’d like to blend the new patches of hair and change its texture over time, I’d recommend getting him a schnauzer cut until the hair is clipped enough to change its texture to match the rest of the soft hair on his back. If you don’t have these patches clipped, they will not take on the same texture and color as the rest of the dog’s back.
Chloe has been groomed 3 times since her wirey hair grew back in, and while it is slightly more wirey than her soft silky hair – it is barely noticeable now. The brown coloring is gone, too.
No idea what caused Teddie to lose his hair, but I think this is the explanation for the new hair and its funny texture.
Best of luck to you!
June 17th, 2010 at 9:52 am
My 2 1/2 year old schnauzer has the same condition. It began just 2 weeks ago. His hair was a soft light liver color and he is growing a splotchy course dark chocolate area on his back. See
http://picasaweb.google.com/11.....2643770898
June 17th, 2010 at 10:23 am
The vet says that his skin and hair growth is healthy. My groomer said that this happens for Schnauzers sometimes. I think it might be a breeding glitch.
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:35 pm
When we adopted Dirk (miniature + standard) from a Schnauzer rescue facility three years ago, he had those “bumps” down his back. We started feeding him food and treats without wheat, and the bumps have never re-surfaced. If he doesn’t have an allergy or sensitivity to wheat, I’d be surprised. No bald spots yet. I hope Teddie’s hair comes back. Good luck!
July 9th, 2010 at 8:46 am
My schnauzer’s hair is still turning dark. It’s very interesting. How is Teddie doing? Are his spots getting larger?
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_jv9ZmsGZ.....20hair.jpg
August 5th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
i am so, so happy to see these pictures of teddie!! i have been trying to find out what is going on with lola for weeks!! she has spots that look just like teddie’s! and a few more are coming in… all along the rear of her back. i was worried it may be a thyroid thing since she is pretty hefty, but her thyroid was checked last year and it was fine…
i want her to look normal again!!!
August 7th, 2010 at 9:00 am
My silver miniature just started this summer having the exact spots that Teddie does. She never lost the hair in the spots and since she is 7 years old, I don’t think it is a grooming issue. I took her to t he vet and spent 140 dollars having tons of blood work done and all came back normal. The vet has no idea what is wrong. I am going to give her a healthy coat vitamin that you can make yourself and add to the food. It is 1 C each of Brewers Yeast, Lecithin granules and Kelp powder. Just add 1-2 teaspoons daily.
August 14th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Our schnauzer Butch had the same spots. The groomer told me to take him off wheat, and just like Dirk, they cleared right up. ANYTIME he gets into something with just a bit of wheat in it, he breaks right out and loses a patch of hair. He digs and digs at them. We use neosporin on them to help him get through it. You’d be suprised…most treats and food have wheat or wheat gluten in them because it’s a good cheap filler.
September 19th, 2010 at 5:20 am
A tablet of brewers yeast may help…we always used it for our cats and ive given it to my mini Tucker. He gobbles it right up like a treat. Word of advice though…dont buy it in the pet isle, buy it in the “people” vitamin isle, there is no difference in formula its just less expensive when its not marketed for pets. It promotes healthy skin and hair.
March 21st, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Hi
I have a standard schaunzer Maggi-Marie who is 6 years old.
She has bald spots every spring on her hips that are quite large…
she looses her fur completly in the spots and it grows back
in last August/September. My vet said that he saw it in Boxers and it could be hormonal. She is very active – about 45 lbs and very healthy…her skins is black so her spots look like black fur. I wouldn’t trade her even with her sprng bald spots – to say the least it is quite a conversation piece!!!!!
May 28th, 2011 at 8:05 am
So glad i came to this site. My SS came out with a spot just like this. I accused my husband of shaving that spot but he denied it. We have been waiting for the hair to grow back but not happening. What is the dog food that doesn’t have wheat for a filler? I don’t want this to spread, Nick the Prince is so beautiful and looked embarrassed when I asked him about that spot. These are perfect dogs, I’ve never been so happy with a dog as I am Nick. I just want the best for him. Thanks for all the letters about this.
June 16th, 2011 at 12:09 am
My Miniature Schnauzer is 15 weeks old. She is on Eukanuba(there is wheat in) and I gave her a few drops Frontline 2 weeks ago. She has the same bald spots as Teddie. What do I do?
August 2nd, 2011 at 8:20 pm
What a joy to find this site. I have three mini schnauzers and my sister has one from the line. They all have recently had these spots on their back grow in. They never lost hair but they are very prominant spots of darker guard hairs on their backs. I changed all of their food about three months ago and am wondering if that could be the culprit. My male is a SP aged 3 years, my two females are mother and daughter, the mom being 5 years and the daughter 1 year. Her brother is the other schnauzer. My 3 yr. old male is from a completely different line and not related at all to the other 3. It must be the food since they all started getting the darker hair spots around the same time. I will keep posting after I change their food and if I see any relults.
August 5th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
I am SO relieved to find this site!! My little 1.5 year old schnoodle has developed the same exact spots as Teddie in the last 3 weeks. It originally started with one small spot right between his shoulder blades and now that original spot has grown to about 3-4″ and it seems like his hair all on top of his spine is turning… I went to the vet immediately, and had the same exact puzzled results from them after spending lots, just like the others…
The only thing I can think about is that we switched his food to all natural, Natures Made small bites. It doesn t have any wheat though, it has brown rice. He used to get chef michael’s filet mignon but seemed to be getting tired of it, wouldnt eat much etc… Now his eating is back to normal but he’s losing his softest hair… Some people say that schnauzers go through a phase like that, is that possible?
September 4th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Hello my name is eric and I’m trying to see what can i with my schnauzer because his color is black buy his been changing to brown all his body no spot just changed color to brown up to his neck his head is still black so if you can help me with anything please e-mail me or letg me know in the comments thanks and love For the schnauzer
September 16th, 2011 at 6:22 am
I too am thrilled I found this site! Amos, my 3 year old mini schnauzer had two hot spots near his tail and when the hair came back in, it looks like he has a beard on his bottom! He is predominantly silver with a small amount of white on his beard and chest. He is quite beautiful, but those spots on his bottom just scream “look here”!
I feed Natural Balance for the “less waste” property, but will check the ingredients for wheat. He also has the bumps on his back that flair up. I keep him in a puppy cut with the hair about an inch long all over. Lately, he has seemed to have dry skin, so I started giving him a tablespoon of coconut oil each feeding and he loves it.
Thanks for bringing this up because my vet also didn’t have any idea what the strange hair growth was about.
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:38 pm
So glad to find this site. My salt & pepper miniature schauzer recently developed gold spots on his back (no balding though)that have a totally different texture than the rest of his fur. I am going to try some of the suggestions on this site to see if his hair comes back looking like it used to.
October 12th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
it happen to my dog too. it was the frontline! .
October 26th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
I found your site while looking for answers to why my toy poodle had lost hair on her back – that was growing in light brown instead of apricot. So far no answers from the vet. She has food allergies and eats only science diet zd ultra. So confusing! No itching. Does not use frontline- Jo fleas. ??????
October 28th, 2011 at 12:24 am
My 3 year old rescue Mini Schnauzer Elvis the Pest has recently developed some weird bald-ish spots on his back. We went from Southern California to Tennessee for 3 weeks, i changed his food abruptly (from Canidae and Chicken Soup for the Dog’s Soul – chicken and rice, no fillers) to Newman’s own from the grocery store, with some Beneful soft food mixed in. He had a consistently soft (wiry but soft) upper Salt and Pepper coat and a black undercoat. Suddenly within a week or two, his upper coat showed changes. He now has 3 spots on his back where it is has fallen out and there is just the black undercoat. I wondered if it was a weather change since we went to a colder climate and it’s Fall, or his food, or something else. I am really worried about it. It looks like moulting, which is what birds do. I will go to the groomer and get his regular Schnauzer cut which is stripped and flush across his whole back, he is on his regular food again, but is this normal?? I hope he isn’t sick!! I have never seen him go through this before. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. He looks just like Teddy in the pictures. Thank you for any advice.
November 25th, 2011 at 12:25 am
MY 1 year old mini is experiencing the same THING! I JUST WANT HIS NORMAL HAIR BACK. He seems to act the same as always and I am feeding him blue buffalo lamb and rice. He has been on it for 3 mmonths and no change. Did you ever figure this out?
January 19th, 2012 at 11:23 am
My schnauzer had this and it went away without doing anything different.
February 13th, 2012 at 8:45 am
My 7 month mini schnauzer seams healthy except her hair is going brown
she was pepper and salt .Her hair is breaking off you can pull it out.
This is strange as schnauzers do not loose their hair can any one tell me what to do
March 3rd, 2012 at 6:21 pm
My Standard Schnauzer, Mieke, developed bald spots – circular bald spots. She had one a year ago and it finally grew back in. This year the spot was even bigger and more than one appeared. I did some research and discovered that dogs can develop a fungus called ringworm that will cause baldness. I took her to the vet and he checked her for parasites – negative. He then treated her for an allergy but also at my request pulled some hairs from the bald area and dropped them in a test tube of agar to see if anything grew. It takes a good 2 weeks to grow the culture, but a very BRIGHT RED fungus culture grew. She is now on Ketoconizole pills for 30 days and I have to put Miconizole cream on the affected areas. I also went on Amazon and found an Antiseptic and Antifungal shampoo by Synergy Labs that is made for dogs. She has been on the pills and cream for 2 weeks and I can already see hairs growing back in! One note of caution – any fungus is contageous to other animals and humans!
March 15th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Help, I have a 3 year old standard Schnauzer and he has developed semetrical bald spots on the hind area. I thought it was thyroid so took him to the vet for blood work to test for this. Expensive and it came back blood picture perfect. Riley has suffered with reocurring ear infections and so I figured alergies to food. Took him off of poultry and he hasn’t had any more ear infections. I don’t know what to do about the hair loss it seems to be getting worse…. any replies or experience with this that can help me would be greatly appreciated. Riley is a beautiful dog and I just want to make sure he isn’t in any danager health wise. Any food recommendations greatly appreciated HELP PLEASE
May 10th, 2012 at 8:10 pm
so i know this is a schnauzer website but my shih tzu/pomeranian chloe has the same problem. it started out as a bald spot on her side and then the hair grew back darker than her chocolate brown color and it lays flatter than the rest of her coat. then i noticed there were more dark spots like this popping up on her sides and butt. now she is losing her soft topcoat and is just left with the wiry undercoat. I have no idea what is causing it. i’ve been to the vet three times to no avail. also, i use the flea/heartworm medication on her i get from the vet (k9 advantix i think) and she is somehow still getting fleas and i’m wondering if this is somehow contributing to the problem. i am about to shave her because she is starting to look rediculous. other than the hair problem, she is perfectly healthy and happy…..