My sib had coarse fun on her hindquarters since a puppy.  At about 4.5 I noticed fur gone and black skin on her left side.  She now has the same on her right side but not as bad. It almost looks like broken coat.

She Isn’t biting or scratching.  Vet thought alopecia and put her on melotin which didn’t do anything.  Skin vet thought zinc deficiency and put her on zinc supplements.  Did that for 7 months with no success.  Skin vet suggested micro needling.  No thanks sounded painful.  

Skin vet did see some fur growth but minimal and the bad fur on her left side seems to be growing.  Does anyone have suggestions?

https://m.petmd.com/dog/conditions/alopecia-x-dogs-what-black-skin-disease

Thank you amymeme. We had tried. Melatonin with no success however the article you’ve given suggests additional options. Once my state is back open for Vet visits we shall schedule.

Not sure if this is relevant, but just to share my experience. When our Sib was about 8 months old, his wooly puppy fur changed to straight fur, and an area over the shoulders was darker - we called it his cape. I also ran into another Sib owner whose Sib was having itchy skin. She changed his food brand and the problem went away.

Iaifran thank you. We had a wooly who lost much of her undercoat at 11 years. The pictures of our 6 year old with hair loss and black skin seems to be consistent with Alopecia X. I wondered about food as well. I’ve only tried one other food trial with no changes other than she didn’t like it. I appreciate your thoughts.