Rickards is losing alot of fur

    • Gold Top Dog

    Rickards is losing alot of fur

    I'm really worried about Rickards and I'm not sure if I'm just freaking out for no reason or if its something serious going on with him. Hes been losing alot of fur over the last month. Its all over my house in chunks. At first I thought maybe something seasonal, but this doesn't seem normal and hes never shed like this before. I never realized how much he had lost until the other day when I was brushing him and I couldn't feel an undercoat anymore, it was just the top coat left. So I took a really good look at him and his lower chest has so little hair its almost bald in spots and his stomach had nice thick fur before, its all gone now. And from his front shoulders back there is no undercoat at all. He looks so scraggly and naked. The only thing thats changed with him is we got him neutered at the end of June. Could this be causing it? Also there are no sores on his skin that I could see, but it looks dry and has alot of what looks like dandruff.

    He does have a vet appointment on the 25th of this month, I'm going to ask them to do a skin scraping to make sure its not a mite. Are there any other tests I should ask them to do? And do any of you know what could possibly cause such a drastic loss of fur? Thanks.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I would also have a full thyroid panel done.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Neuters can cause hair issues yes. The hormones can trigger a blow. When I had Akitas when they REALLY blew you could see skin and they'd look quite rough. You might just give it some time, if there are no sores or scabbing it might just be hormonal. Maybe the missing testosterone has been unbalance by some estrogen or something?

    You might add some fishy oil or something like that to aid his skin's dry factor. Sometimes inside the A/C can dry the air to the EXTREME causing dry static in humans and dogs...so perhaps consider a humidifier as well.

    The skin scaping is a good idea...might also consider some bloodwork/thyroid to rule out that issue.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Thanks everyone, I'll ask them to do the blood work too. I also forgot to mention in my OP that he is itching alot all over too. I'm really hoping its just the neuter throwing things out of wack. I'm just worried, because hes been through so much already and I don't want to add something else to the list. In the meantime though, what fish oil should I get for him? I'm not familiar with suppliments for dogs. Should I start him on that after the blood work or will it be okay to do before? Thanks again.

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    if you check any of the big name dog supply places I think they all sell fish oil capsules...but I think the ones from GNC are the same. I'd start him now. Since he is itchy I'd also eyeball the food/s he is getting for anything new or novel that might have triggered the itch. Also consider fleas as well or even mosquitos if you have those in your area. Try not to overbathe...but if you do use a nice oatmeal or similar shampoo designed to soothe skin...the soapless shampoo's are nice.

    • Silver

    I've got Samoyeds, so I deal with a similar coat. In my experience, going under anesthesia can trigger a bigger shed than normal. I've also had a couple dogs who had a complete coat change at around that age. It's like they were shedding to prepare for the final version of their adult coat. All old coat must go!

    Hope that's all it is. Does not sound like mange or mites to me. Frequent baths and brushing can speed growth of the new coat if it's just a coat change.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I have been looking into some stuff as well.  Benny has one spot in his left side that has been looking very oily and has lost a bit of fur.  It is almost a bald spot...all of the undercoat is gone from that one spot and  the skin underneath looks funny.  Something I found and am worried about is alopecia.  Apparently that is common among poms and since my Benny is a Petland dog (bought by his previus owner), I am a little concerned about this.  Ask your vet about it too.  Does his skin underneath look ok?  I guess with this particular disease, the skin looks black, which is sort of how Benny's looks in that one spot.  Thats probably not what it is in your case, hopefully it's just a strange reaction to the hormone changes, but it's always good to check!

    • Gold Top Dog

    I just went though this with Benny (My aussie). Turns out he is hypothyroid - so I would have him checked for that!

    Alopecia-X (I'm thinking that's what you're talking about) is also called black skin disease - where the skin with actually turn black, and the dog will lose most of their hair- typically this is corrected by neutering/spaying. Alopecia is just a medical term for 'hairloss'.

    Since starting thyroid meds and fish oil, Benny is not nearly as itchy, and his hair seems to be re-growing nicely

    • Gold Top Dog

    is anyone (human or dog) ELSE itching??  anybuddy have a small really red itchy sore rash??

     the only "mites" that a scrapr typically catches is demodex and this doedn't sound like that -- i'd hesitate to do a scrape -- it makes a nasty sore with little result

    bloodwork FIRST -- anesthesia can skew the liver and THAT can make skin problems.

    **definitely a FULL thyroid panel**  not just T3 & T4 (can be misleading)