Dog Community

Bad Hair, Won't grow back after cut too short

Posted : 6/13/2006 9:12:39 PM

Any help for some hair that isn't growing back in well after a groomer cut it too short?

Hubby took our dog to his regular groomer a few months back and when he brought Andy home his forehead was cut down short for about an inch behind his eyes then the hair was taller. This had never happened before in the year that we had been taking Andy there for grooming but we never got a straight answer on what happened that time. Now the hair is not growning back like the rest of the hair. Its more stiff and calicky than the surrounding hair and its growing towards his face. He has been groomed (haircut) twice since the offending haircut and the rest of the hair on his head grows and within 2 weeks of the haircut you can see that the rest of the hair is much longer than the spot on his forhead that was cut so short.

What can I do to help the hair come back in like normal hair? He is already on grizzly salmon oil and gets Nupro on his food occasionally and gets yougurt occassionally and his meals are Nature's Variety Raw Frozen meats. I also give him a raw egg once in a while. Andy is a Bichon mix and no, we no longer go to that groomer.

cavowner

Posted : 6/14/2006 2:30:15 AM

Generally the only difference between a good & bad hair cut is a few weeks, I really don't think the haircut had anything to do with the change, maybe just age. I know I've had some horrendous haircuts in my life, none were permanent.[

]

It may well be the natural growth pattern for your dog, even pure breds differ.
You are doing everything you can in the way of food & extras and you have a beaut looking pup, relax and enjoy him.
Best.

andys_momma

Posted : 6/14/2006 8:37:18 AM

That is definitely not the case here. Its been several months since the bad haircut and the hair that was cut short now has a wiry texture and is not growing out as it should.

Heather

outdoorschik

Posted : 6/14/2006 11:54:52 AM

Let me know if you find a solution to your hair issue ....
We have a similar issue... my lab mix was shaved twice for hip surgery.... the areas that were shaved are growing back with bald patches and the resulting hair is wiry/kinky and coarse compared to his normal long smooth fur

andys_momma

Posted : 6/14/2006 6:13:14 PM

Yes, that is exactly what I am talking about! I am hoping someone here will have some advice for us. I just want my cute boys forhead to look normal agian!

Heather

kennel_keeper

Posted : 6/14/2006 7:10:22 PM

In general, I don't feel that cutting the hair "too short" can prevent it from growing back. It may cause a change in texture when repeatedly "shaved", but I don't feel that clipping it to short one time would cause such a drastic change.

My feelings would be that there is an underlying problem that is now surfacing and it's being noticed *because* the hair was clipped short and not re-growing at a proper rate.
Patchy/sparse hair growth or loss can be caused by thyroid issues. It you dog(s) hair is not regrowing properly, then I would immediately think that it is something systemic (within the body's system) that is causing the problem. As we know, hair growth is closely related to overall health, and any imbalance can cause a myrad of symptoms. Hair growth, a dull or lackluster coat, change in hair texture, dry/oily skin, etc. can be signs of thyroid problems.

I would consider getting the T3 & T4 levels checked.

Good luck and keep us posted!

PS: Welcome to the board! What a cutie pie you have

andys_momma

Posted : 6/14/2006 7:27:53 PM

Thanks. Can you believe this adorable loverboy was a stray? Picked up off the street by Chicago animal care and control.

I find it way too coincidental that the hair texture and growth rate changed immediately after the short hair cut. Other groomers have told me this can happen.

Heather

starsenchis

Posted : 6/14/2006 11:30:55 PM

I would try Eqyss Mega-Tek coat rebuilder:
[linkhttp://www.eqyss.com/pet_mega_tek.asp]http://www.eqyss.com/pet_mega_tek.asp[/link]

This company has excellent products and a great reputation.

outdoorschik

Posted : 6/15/2006 9:16:36 AM

kennel_keeper.... I agree with what you're saying, but in my particular situation the rest of the dog is shiny and smooth with a healthy coat, it's just his back end with the issues. At first I thought it was just that his body had to divert its resources to healing the hip breaks and not the fur because the second half had a much more difficult time growing back. Now, we're four months past surgery and his still has coat issues in the back. Maybe i should get him tested for t3 and t4, though I'd be surprised since 3/4's of his body has a thick luxurious coat...

Jenifer Watt

Posted : 6/15/2006 10:35:07 AM

I second getting him checked for Thyroid.
Its suprising how common it is and often
shaving with poor regrowth (not always all
over, sometimes just in spots) is a good
reason to at least have the thyroid checked,
you want full pannel done because the basic
test wont always catch theres something wrong

kennel_keeper

Posted : 6/15/2006 6:10:56 PM

I see these problems OFTEN in the grooming shop.
Some clients say "don't clip so close this time, because the hair isn't growing back right in spots." We advise to have the dogs thyroid checked and more often than not, the results come back showing thyroid issues.
I am not saying that this is always the case, just some thing you might want to check into.

Here's some info

[linkhttp://www.barkbytes.com/medical/med0008.htm]http://www.barkbytes.com/medical/med0008.htm[/link]

Good luck and keep us posted!

DoggyStyle

Posted : 9/3/2012 11:07:30 PM

The same thing just happened with my dog - part Husky - justlikee the dog in the picture. The folks at Pet Smart were pretty honest. They forgot to warn me that - in dogs with dense undercoats (ie two coats: long-johns and mink) like Huskies, Shepherds, etc - there is a definite risk that a very short "Summer Cut" will cause permanent damage to the coat. Something like the dense undercoat grows back before the longer (top/pretty) coat gets a chance and/or the pores of the top/pretty coat "close-up" after a short haircut!!!???!!! The best advice they could offer is to try using a "Ferminator" on the under coat to let the top coat pores breathe. Problem: "Jake" is an outdoor dog and Fall/Winter is on the way. Removing what's left of his "long-johns" seems a bit counter-intuitive. Luckily for the Groomer, Jake's a mutt so no significant liability. Now he and his dad have matching receding hair-lines and can go sweater shopping together. So, short answer: dogs with dense coats in warm climates either sweat it out in the Summer or risk being near-bald in the Winter.

samshine

Posted : 9/5/2012 2:20:24 AM

If you google "canine post shaving alopecia" you will find lots posted on this subject. This site is possibly the most detailed http://www.2ndchance.info/alopeciax.htm

and another http://www.atomic-canine.com/news/2011/03/clipper-alopecia/

debbieStx

Posted : 9/7/2012 7:43:32 AM

I've not seen this happen on a head, but the regrowth of hair on dogs is odd sometimes. Not knowing your dog's breed makeup makes it even more interesting. Sometimes it takes up to a year for coat to really change back. How old is your dog, elderly dogs seem to have more issues. It almost sounds to me like you have the guard hairs growing back, but are lacking the soft undercoat. Don't give up yet, his hair might still return to normal. Checking thyroid is a good idea too. Clippering a hard coated terrier makes the opposite occur. The soft undercoat comes through and the crisp pretty outer coat is gone. With those double coated dogs that have just undercoat coming back I have had sucess with plenty of brushing and bathing post shaving. It seems to open up the coat and allow normal regrowth. I've not been able to make it work really well on the oldtimers that have been shaved a number of times. Just a note, did you know that often on parti colored coats, one color grows in faster then the other?