Hi Beth,
there is a number of conditions that can cause hair loss. Little patches would make me think infection but you say your vet ruled that out? (both bacterial and fungal?) Gland/hormonal disorders can also cause hair loss but typically not in this type of pattern.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2111&aid=421
Age by itself is not a disease, but with age things might not be working as well as they used to. There still should be a discernible cause, though, IMO.
Is this issue in any way seasonal?
Makes me think of Jasmine, though. Twice she developed a bald patch in different areas, which didn’t seem to have any reason for it. For lack of any better explanation, her vet put her on Melatonin and the fur grew right back.
Hi Krista,
Thank you for the thoughtful response, your point is a great area of focus I had not thought of. Dog food analysis EQUIPMENT manufactures are developing various new lines of food safety devices targeted at smaller manufacturing operations. I was wondering why there was a large representation of this type of equipment at the the last Supply Side West trade show we attended and I think you have provided the answer. Our motive for the original question arouse from the discovery of numerous small unknown dog food manufactures during one our normal twitter search campaigns designed to find new companies entering the dog nutrition space. We are trying to figure out if dog owners value and plan on using these very small organizations, if so our staff will begin studying what companies are best and why. A quick evaluation of a companies quality control systems would be the first criteria for determining if a dog food warranted further study. Again thank you for this valuable input.