Help, Hair Loss

[Guest jfroggirl76]

We brought Piper home October 27, 2007. We picked her up off of the breeding farm, and slowly she has been loosing her hair. When we brought her home she had NO bare spots with missing hair. She has been home for almost 4 months now and she has lost her hair off of her butt, tummy, chest & neck.

 

Last week we were over our adoption coordinator’s house and she pointed out how bald Piper has become, and asked if we had her thyroid tested and we have not as of yet. We do have a dog that has a thyroid problem so were familiar with the symptoms. I called the Vet and told them what was going on with Piper’s coat & they asked about her track coat. The vet told me to wait two weeks and see if her hair starts to grow back or if she gets worse.

 

I have since rolled up the Berber carpet and have been trying to have her sit on the soft throw rug when she gets a treat, but Piper is bow legged and sits very weird.

 

We have had some food issues, we started her off on Costco’s chicken & rice but she never had firm poop. So we switched to Nutro’s chicken & rice & Nutro’s large breed, her poop has firmed which is good. Today I bought Nutro’s Natural Choice Adult Chicken, Rice & Oatmeal Formula, hoping that it will help her coat. I also picked up some California Natural supplement.

 

Here is my question, do dogs fresh off of the track/farm shed their track coat 4 months after they come home? When we adopted Wish he was in a foster home for 4 months so we never experienced the hair loss like Piper is experiencing.

 

Here is her bio from the adoption group:

 

Interest Free (Hailey)

 

Color: Brindle

Gender: female

Cat Safe: yes

Date of Birth: 04/12/06

Rescue Date: 10/27/07

 

Hailey is a sweet, rooing young girl who's legs were bowed when born and her owner decided trying to race her would be too risky for a possible injury. Her foster family fell in love with her so fast that she is already "home". She is such a good (and loud) singer that they have renamed her Piper! Congratulations to Jenn, Jason, Noah, Wish and Sasha. Piper is the middle dog in their family photo.

 

 

 

EDITED TO ADD THESE PICTURES:

 

 

Edited February 25, 2008 by jfroggirl76

[Guest crazy4greys]

I would get a thyroid test done. Sometimes that is the problem.

 

It was for my 2 greys who went bald and used to full furred. Now their fur is slowly growing back.

[Guest greyvettech]

The same thing happened with both of my greys....Yes, I did the thyroid profile, all values were normal....When I first got Lexi,my oldest, she had full hair on her butt and stomach..now, bald as ever...lol! It seems to happen to a lot of greyhounds and no one can really ever answer why- not even your Veterinarian- especially when all labs test come back unremarkable....I think it has to do a lot with nerves and food change but I think there is more to it...My Vet, that I work for, could not really ever come to the conclusion ither...I think diet, more so, plays a big part in this.....

[Guest charmsmom]

It could be the thyroid, but it could also be adjusting to the food and lower protein levels. On her neck, it may be from a collar rubbing the fur off. A lot of greys can't handle the nylon-webbed collars. Either way, I hope it gets solved!!

[Guest jfroggirl76]

Here is just something I was thinking about, if Piper does in fact have a thyroid problem would she just start to show problems such as hair loss in 4 months? I hope that makes sense.

[Guest charmsmom]

If you mean would the symptoms just appear, yes. It's very possible. As a human with hypothyroidism, I didn't have it all my life. After my pregnancy, my thyroid just quit working. It happens a lot. It's possible that it just quit.

[Batmom]

I'd wait 2-3 more months and see how she does. They *do* blow their track/farm coat, and that can indeed take a few months. Plus, it's just starting to be shedding season. On top of all that, the stress of adjusting to "life on the outside" can temporarily affect thyroid values. So unless you see other symptoms, I'd wait a bit.

 

FWIW, my dogs look like her most of the time. A bit hairier in winter, but they're starting the great spring shed now.

[Guest jfroggirl76]

Piper has have severe SA, that's part of the reason why we adopted her, she does NOT like it when people/dogs are away from her. Her SA was so severe that she chewed the wire of the gate to her pad on the farm chipping the insides of her teeth. We had to stop crating her while we were @ work because she was doing the same thing with the wire crate. So now we muzzle her while we are gone (she likes to pull plugs out of the wall ect...) & leave her babygated with our other girl while we are away.

 

Piper has NOT shown any other symptoms of a thyroid problem other then hair loss. Our other dog who has had a thyroid problem for the last 7 years was drinking water excesslive and had weight gain along with hair loss.

 

Piper has only been here for 4 months so I can't really say what is out of the norm since she is still adjusting.

Edited February 25, 2008 by jfroggirl76

[DocsDoctor]

It's a greyhound thing, not by any means always an indication of thyroid problems. When people comment on Doc's bald patches on his bottom I tell them its the greyhound equivalent of 'male pattern baldness'! His thyroid levels are fine and he has a lovely glossy coat, just thin in places - at the moment also on his shoulders, just where these rub against the fleece lining of his outdoor coat when he is exercising.

 

So I would second waiting a couple of months to see how her spring coat grows in. You might like to try a fish oil supplement meanwhile, that will be very good for the general condition of her coat in any case. Doc gets (and loves!) a tin of oily fish such as sardines mixed in with his dry food a couple of times a week, and a cod liver oil capsule every day.

 

Edited to make it clear that Doc has bald patches on his bottom...

Edited February 25, 2008 by DocsDoctor

[Guest jfroggirl76]

This is the supplement that I am adding to her food:

 

Though California Natural pet food is complete and balanced nutrition, there are times when a supplement can help to counter the increased demands of aging, illness, high-energy activity, pregnancy, lactation and the stress associated with travel to shows and boarding.

 

California Natural Skin & Coat Supplement is loaded with natural vitamins and nutritional extracts that provide a full complement of antioxidants to enhance immune system response. Sunflower oil, rich in linoleic acid for healthy skin and coat, and flaxseed for a balanced fatty acid profile, gives dogs or cats the extra nutritional support when it's needed most.

 

 

I am hoping that between this and the Nutro chicken and oatmeal that we will improvement in her coat. I am hoping that she will grow her hair back and that it's just her shedding her track coat.

 

Not the having a thyroid problem is a big deal but I hate having to find inventive ways to give pills!

Edited February 25, 2008 by jfroggirl76

[GeorgeofNE]

I've been reading about this "track coat," and I must say, my dog was at the track kennel for three years, had NO hair on his chest or belly when he came home to me, and now has grown SOME hair on his belly. In other words, he got MORE hair, not less.

 

Is she scratching?? That's a dramatic hair loss.

[Guest jfroggirl76]

No scratching, and I think it is also dramatic hair loss as well. I am going to wait and see how she does on the food and supplement and then in about a month have her thyroid tested. We did recently complete obedience classes where she learned to sit and lay down.

[Guest Redpack]

Hi! I remember when Piper was up for adoption on GHG's site! I have two littermates ....one a brindle who just gets furrier and furrier-- and his brother, a red, who has a naked neck, butt and belly. It varies exactly how much hair he does have, but he is perfectly healthy otherwise. I'm interested in knowing your results because I feed them both Nutro chicken and rice. Maybe a food change is in order for the Dipster!

 

Edited because I can't spell.

Edited February 26, 2008 by Redpack