Max my Rat Terrrier (now 12 weeks old) has started thinning and loosing some of his hair on his shoulders, legs, bottom, and other areas.  He isn't raw however.  I brough him home at 8 weeks old and his coat seemed thicker and even brighter.  He plays a lot (outside only) on the cement, grass, garden, rocks, you name it.  I'm wondering if this is just wear and tear.  I've never owned a short haired dog before.  I feed him a toal raw food diet which he totally loves vs. dry dog food.  He seems very healthy and energetic.  I don't want to take him to a vet just for this issue.  I would appreciate any comments.  I can even send pictures to anyone who might have experience in this.  Thanks in advance.

Hi and welcome to you and Max. I don't feed a raw diet, however others here do, so maybe they'll have advice. I do remember reading that with a raw foods diet you need to add supplements. Are you doing this? If not, your pup is probably just needing this, and once you add them he'll be o.k. Some one more knowledgeable than me should answer you soon. Good luck.

Could possibly be mange.    You might want to ask over at ourdogsonline in the nutrition forum.  Lots of raw feeders with plenty of knowledge over there and it's run by the woman who started  www.dogfoodproject.com . (Mordanna)

http://www.ourdogsonline.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/cfrm

I was thinking maybe mange also. Couldn't hurt to have the vet get a scraping to rule it out. Vitamins too like Deb mentioned.

Thanks for replying and offering your suggestions.  I've found some good info.  All the best to you and your dog also.