Fur Loss In Fall?

[Guest bubbagum]

Hi All, new member and wondering if others have experienced fur loss in fall. It's new to us and we've had greys for 10 years or so. We think it could be stress. We live in WI, so it's going to get cold soon! We just need reassurance and to know if anyone's tried melatonin for this, as our vet suggested.

[OwnedBySummer]

New dog? Could be an allergy? Losing a poor quality kennel coat? Mine recently lost a whackload of fur, from the back of her hind legs and under her neck, and the sides of her back legs and shoulders had been starting to thin. I took away her cedar-infused Costco bed and switched her to grain-free food. So I don't know which was the problem, however, her fur has now grown back. It has been suggested to me that it may just have been a natural shedding of her kennel coat (I got her May 1, 2010 and the bare spots and thinning were obvious by mid July-August). I did put her on melatonin for about 3 or 4 weeks but she got very lethargic, as some do. So melatonin wasn't for her. I found she did better with a daily teaspoon of human-grade fish oil from a natural food store. Her coat is beautiful and lush and shiny now. Good luck with your pup!

Edited September 24, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[Batmom]

Chances are your vet is correct. They do shed both spring and fall. Some hounds, the fall shed isn't very noticeable, others it is.

[OwnedBySummer]

I "assumed" it was patchy. If it's all over and they still have a coat... I'd go with Batmom and say it's probably the fall shed.

[Guest snakes]

both of mine just went though a major shedding time and only now have thier balder or thin patches. i have noticed it happens around this time each year.

[Guest bubbagum]

New dog? Could be an allergy? Losing a poor quality kennel coat? Mine recently lost a whackload of fur, from the back of her hind legs and under her neck, and the sides of her back legs and shoulders had been starting to thin. I took away her cedar-infused Costco bed and switched her to grain-free food. So I don't know which was the problem, however, her fur has now grown back. It has been suggested to me that it may just have been a natural shedding of her kennel coat (I got her May 1, 2010 and the bare spots and thinning were obvious by mid July-August). I did put her on melatonin for about 3 or 4 weeks but she got very lethargic, as some do. So melatonin wasn't for her. I found she did better with a daily teaspoon of human-grade fish oil from a natural food store. Her coat is beautiful and lush and shiny now. Good luck with your pup!

 

Thanks for the quick response. No, he's not new. We've had him about 2 years. He is losing fur from the same areas you mentioned. H'es white with one black spot, so now we're calling him our pink dog. Thanks for the tips on melatonin. Since we are watching for further syptoms, that may not be the thing to add now. Fish oil sounds good. We've used it off and on.

[Guest KennelMom]

Chances are your vet is correct. They do shed both spring and fall. Some hounds, the fall shed isn't very noticeable, others it is.

 

very likely.

 

I'd do fish oil before melatonin. I'd also try grain free food before melatonin. Mostly I'd just 'wait and see.' When I was a new dog owner I took my first greyhound to the vet for "excessive shedding"...I was really worried. Spent tons of money and ran lots of tests and it ended up being *drum roll* seasonal shedding. Sometimes I wonder how some of our dogs aren't bald with their fall or spring sheds.

 

The skin should be a normal color though. If it's pink, that might make me lean towards allergy of some sort. Patchiness is also not something you usually see with seasonal shedding (except maybe on the hiney). Allergies usually also come with itching, scratching, knitting various areas of their bodies, often the feet. Anything like that?

Edited September 24, 2010 by KennelMom

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

Spencer is my big shedder and he does his biggest shedding in the Fall. He's one of the rare Greys that has soft bunny fur undercoat. He looks nakey to me so it always amazes me how much hair he loses and in clumps too! The Furminator is a blessing during these times!

[OwnedBySummer]

Aaaaah, the Furminator! I love my Furminator!

[Guest BooBooMama]

Hi All, new member and wondering if others have experienced fur loss in fall. It's new to us and we've had greys for 10 years or so. We think it could be stress. We live in WI, so it's going to get cold soon! We just need reassurance and to know if anyone's tried melatonin for this, as our vet suggested.

 

I am going through the same thing and I live in WI also! Deeni is my 4rth greyhound and I have never experienced a GH with a thin coat in Fall before this. She started shedding in August and it seems to have stopped but her fur is still so thin. She is white with red patches and her skin has ticking. When I adopted her in spring her legs were pure white. Now I can see through to her skin so they look white with black spots! My vet thinks this may have something to do with the strange climate we experienced this past spring and summer- so hot and humid and we have not yet experienced our first fall freeze. I already add salmon oil to her food and I feed her raw (no grains) and her skin looks great (no dry patches, rashes, hot sport, etc.) just a nice healthy pink. She doesn't sneeze nor scratch herself so I do not think it is allergy related. Her health in general is good and she did not develop a 'bald butt'.

I am going to wait for our first hard freeze and if it does not seem as if her fur is growing back in thicker, I will try melatonin. Keep in touch with me so we can compare notes.

[Guest Tokolos]

Glad to see a post on this. I had Sprinkles at the office with me for the day and noticed hair everywhere. This is our first autumn with the guy, so I wasn't sure if they shed in the fall.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I'm a dog groomer, and I just came home from doing a lo-shed/Furminator on a 10-year-old Chow-Chow doing her fall shed.

 

Ouch.

 

Trust me: most dogs do large sheds in the Spring and the Fall. In each instance, they're tossing the old coat in preparation for growing the new stuff. You'd think dogs wouldn't shed in Fall--that they'd just add more hair as needed--but it doesn't work that way.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Mine have changed coats for summer, and will start getting thick, soft coats in January or February.

[Guest HersheysMom]

My experience is they can shed A LOT, and they can shed at all different times of year. I remember I posted here this past January because Sonie was shedding so much, we would go through five brushfuls at a time. I thought it was odd for her to be shedding in the middle of winter, but she stopped after a few weeks. Unless the hair is not being replaced (i.e. you are seeing bald patches) I wouldn't worry. We just went through another shedding episode with Sonie that started in mid-August and we are just seeing it slow down now.

 

I've had four greys and they all shed to different degrees - not all to this extent. I think it varies dog to dog.

 

Yes, melatonin will grow hair!! My Johnny B had a bald butt and a bald neck. Four weeks on melatonin 2mg/day at night - he's furry now!! I read about it on this board and decided to try it. He's been completely bald in those areas for the past two years, one month on melatonin and he's furry and has a luxurious coat.

[Guest deanna]

how old is rock? with my 2 seniors, they seemed to shed a lot more fluffy fur when they were blowing their coat. james is shedding now. its like husky undercoat coming out of him. he did it last year too.

 

our younger greys shed, but its different.

[Guest bubbagum]

Thanks to all who replied. I really appeciate all of the advice and thoughts on the topic. Rock is 7. This is his first time (had him 2 years) shedding in fall. He has no bald or hot spots and his skin is naturally pink under his white coat. The gray freckling underneath is more pronounced now in the thinner areas. I'm trying fish oil first and if there are no changes in a few months, I'll try the melatonin. He is his normal loveable self otherwise.

 

Again, thanks to all. What a greyt group you are!

[Guest jenmm]

Right now, Hines, Joey, Ross, and Yankee are blowing their coats. I could make an extra dog out of all this extra fur right now. It's seasonal shedding. I've been giving them fish oil and they already eat grain-free food. It's seasonal, not a problem at all.

[Guest MDMD]

My grey just about goes bald every year, had him completely checked out, no issues. As long as his checkup is good enjoy the "less fur".

[Guest HappyHarleysMom]

Harley just did his fall shed three weeks ago. what a hairy mess our house was for about a week or so!

[Guest Sunset123]

This is our first fall, too, and I'm REALLY glad to hear that Arrisa's shedding is normal. We got her in winter of last year and I was struck by how little she was shedding that season. Can't wait to see the thicker coat grow back!

[Guest greytlady93]

It's interesting to read this thread.

 

I find that the fall shedding is usually the worst for my guys. Each of my greys shed different ammounts (the light furred pups are always the worst)and the amount of shedding often varies greatly from year to year.

 

This year is a particularly bad year.

 

Usually, I begin with the furminator and finish with the hound mitt.

[Jerilyn]

Lila has been shedding like crazy too. I assumed it was seasonal, but it is good to get a confirmation of that.

I saw her shake in the sunshine and could see the fur go flying. Looks like we will be brushing everyday for a while.

[Guest HappyHarleysMom]

It's interesting to read this thread.

 

I find that the fall shedding is usually the worst for my guys. Each of my greys shed different ammounts (the light furred pups are always the worst)and the amount of shedding often varies greatly from year to year.

 

This year is a particularly bad year.

 

Usually, I begin with the furminator and finish with the hound mitt.

 

Harley's shedding cycle varies year to year also. Some years were minimal shedding years, but the last two years were extra heavy for shedding during the fall. It came out in droves!

[Guest Sunset123]

Has the shedding slowed down, bubbagum?

 

Arrisa's big fall shed seems to have stopped, and today I was noticing how thick and glossy her fur is after the shedding period. I had been worrying that my dog was balding! I thought I'd check back with this thread to see how your guy was doing.

[Guest bubbagum]

Has the shedding slowed down, bubbagum?

 

Arrisa's big fall shed seems to have stopped, and today I was noticing how thick and glossy her fur is after the shedding period. I had been worrying that my dog was balding! I thought I'd check back with this thread to see how your guy was doing.