Any Other Bald Greys Have Skin Issues?

[RileysLegacy]

So Legs barely has any hair. His whole underside & butt are completely hairless. The rest of his coat is soft and shiny, but it's not very dense. He has been having lots of issues b/c any little thing will cause a cut or irritation. Then he bites at it and causes a hot spot. I think now it has gotten to the point where he's a little OCD about licking/biting. I constantly wake up in the middle of the night to him biting/licking/scratching & it's driving me nuts! I don't think he has allergies or anything medically wrong, I think it's just b/c he's naked! I have tried fish oil, coconut oil, melatonin, etc but he has not grown a single hair in the 1.5 yrs I've had him. I don't really know what I'm asking... just wondering if anyone else with bald greyhounds had any suggestions. Thanks.

 

on another note, it's pretty ridiculous how many people have asked if I cut his hair like this. Yes, I purposely shave his ass :lol

[Trihounds]

HA! Your last comment made me chuckle.

 

I have a hairless greyhound too - on his butt/legs and belly. I attribute it to long term steroid use for his auto immune disease. The rest of his coat is so short that you could hardly see the shaved area on his front leg where he had an IV last week (for a dental). With that, however, he does not lick or get after any particular area on his skin and there are no irritations of any kind.

 

Are you sure legs has no allergies? Have you tried a limited ingredient diet to see if there are any improvements?

[kudzu]

Sorry, no real help on the skin sensitivity issue. My bald girl doesn't have that problem. Only dog I've ever had who insisted on licking, biting, rubbing the list little skin abrasion or irritation was a spaniel mix with long, thick hair. She was loco though.

on another note, it's pretty ridiculous how many people have asked if I cut his hair like this. Yes, I purposely shave his ass :lol

"But the breeder said he was a baboon."

[RileysLegacy]

How would one determine if it's allergies? He eats Nature's Domain from Costco, which is a grain free salmon & sweet potato kibble. He can't tolerate any food with grains, he has a very sensitive stomach.

[sweetdogs]

on another note, it's pretty ridiculous how many people have asked if I cut his hair like this. Yes, I purposely shave his ass :lol

 

My Conor-man is bald, from chin to stern (well, he's got some tufts back there ). From time to time, he does some incessant licking in the pee-pee area. Makes his lower belly & thighs red & raw. When (my) screaming doesn't make it go away, I rub a little animax ointment on the area. One or two applications does the trick. The first time it happened, it was fall & I thought maybe some bugs were lurking in the leaves he had been laying in. But now it's anytime (but not often), so I blame boredom.

[GeorgeofNE]

How would one determine if it's allergies? He eats Nature's Domain from Costco, which is a grain free salmon & sweet potato kibble. He can't tolerate any food with grains, he has a very sensitive stomach.

 

 

No reason to believe it's a FOOD allergy if it is an allergy.

 

Dogs can be allergic to anything, just like people. I know several folks with nearly naked dogs--it's widely believed to be just a quirk of Greyhounds (genetic?) and probably has nothing to do with medications or anything else.

 

None of my friends' naked dogs have itching problems--

 

How you could get a good idea if he does have an allergy is to try him on Benedryl for a few days. If the itching stops, he's probably itching 'cause he's allergic to something. If it doesn't, then he isn't.

[RileysLegacy]

How would one determine if it's allergies? He eats Nature's Domain from Costco, which is a grain free salmon & sweet potato kibble. He can't tolerate any food with grains, he has a very sensitive stomach.

 

 

No reason to believe it's a FOOD allergy if it is an allergy.

 

Dogs can be allergic to anything, just like people. I know several folks with nearly naked dogs--it's widely believed to be just a quirk of Greyhounds (genetic?) and probably has nothing to do with medications or anything else.

 

None of my friends' naked dogs have itching problems--

 

How you could get a good idea if he does have an allergy is to try him on Benedryl for a few days. If the itching stops, he's probably itching 'cause he's allergic to something. If it doesn't, then he isn't.

 

That's a good point, I guess he could be allergic to anything. I will try out the Benedryl. I know being bald is normal for many greyhounds, I'm not blaming it on anything. But Legs clearly gets more cuts, scrapes, bug bites, & rashes than my other dogs who have a full coat of hair.

[NeylasMom]

Have you tried a good quality fish oil? Neyla's hair grew back after a few months off of the track, but when she was diagnosed with osteo I put her on fish oil (2x the recommended dose on the bottle fyi) and her belly got so furry it was ridiculous! I would highly recommend you try that first. I use Icelandic salmon or anchovy/sardine oil (the latter is a bit pricier so I alternate between the two). The best price I've found on them is at Entirely Pets and you can find a coupon code to save a little more on retailmenot.

 

Work up to the dose for his size gradually so as not to cause stomach upset, and if he tolerates it, you could even go a bit higher and go back down to a "maintenance" dose once the fur grows back.

 

Or try a raw diet.

[seeh2o]

Claire has some baldness, not as much as Carl (who I have on melatonin), but I switched them to Iceland Pure fish oil at the beginning of the year and just this morning I noticed how furry she is getting. Carl, not so much, but they are both buttery soft and shiney.

[RileysLegacy]

Have you tried a good quality fish oil? Neyla's hair grew back after a few months off of the track, but when she was diagnosed with osteo I put her on fish oil (2x the recommended dose on the bottle fyi) and her belly got so furry it was ridiculous! I would highly recommend you try that first. I use Icelandic salmon or anchovy/sardine oil (the latter is a bit pricier so I alternate between the two). The best price I've found on them is at Entirely Pets and you can find a coupon code to save a little more on retailmenot.

 

Work up to the dose for his size gradually so as not to cause stomach upset, and if he tolerates it, you could even go a bit higher and go back down to a "maintenance" dose once the fur grows back.

 

Or try a raw diet.

Jen, yes I have tried fish oil. Unfortunately he can't tolerate a very high dose, he just has such a sensitive tummy. I will, however, try increasing it a tiny bit & see what happens. Maybe if I do it slow enough it will be ok.

 

I wish I could afford to feed raw food is just so expensive here, it's not an option at this time.

[NeylasMom]

Have you tried a good quality fish oil? Neyla's hair grew back after a few months off of the track, but when she was diagnosed with osteo I put her on fish oil (2x the recommended dose on the bottle fyi) and her belly got so furry it was ridiculous! I would highly recommend you try that first. I use Icelandic salmon or anchovy/sardine oil (the latter is a bit pricier so I alternate between the two). The best price I've found on them is at Entirely Pets and you can find a coupon code to save a little more on retailmenot.

 

Work up to the dose for his size gradually so as not to cause stomach upset, and if he tolerates it, you could even go a bit higher and go back down to a "maintenance" dose once the fur grows back.

 

Or try a raw diet.

Jen, yes I have tried fish oil. Unfortunately he can't tolerate a very high dose, he just has such a sensitive tummy. I will, however, try increasing it a tiny bit & see what happens. Maybe if I do it slow enough it will be ok.

 

I wish I could afford to feed raw food is just so expensive here, it's not an option at this time.

Totally understand on the raw.

 

Going slower with the fish oil may help.

[fsugrad]

Claire has some baldness, not as much as Carl (who I have on melatonin), but I switched them to Iceland Pure fish oil at the beginning of the year and just this morning I noticed how furry she is getting. Carl, not so much, but they are both buttery soft and shiney.

Off-topic but you have me wondering...I know several gt'ers give their hounds melatonin and swear it fills in the bald spots...does melatonin make your hound sleepy too? That's what I take sometimes when I have trouble sleeping. Do you give it at night?

Toby has a baboon butt and bald belly but I love it!

[Guest greyhoundgirl1]

Ian suffers from the bald affliction (tummy, thighs and beneath his neck!) He goes through bouts of itching and licking and gets raw patches on his neck. On recommendations of another grey owner, I give him Benedryl when he is particularly itchy or obsessive. I also give him Derm-Tabs ES every day which has Omega 3 & 6 http://www.drugs.com/vet/derm-tabs-es-extra-strength-for-dogs.html

I usually order it through Amazon.(prices much cheaper than vets) Ian also has a sensitive stomach and doesn't seem to have any problems tolerating the derm-tabs. Although they are a bit crumbly.

[MaryJane]

Others have mentioned fish oil and as another suggestion, try adding cooked oatmeal to his food. When I added oatmeal to my dogs food they both got "very furry" especially one who had bare spots on his chest and his butt - they filled right in. The other one had base sides and tummy and he developed a very thick coat. Also helps keep them regular because of the fiber ....

[seeh2o]

I think

Claire has some baldness, not as much as Carl (who I have on melatonin), but I switched them to Iceland Pure fish oil at the beginning of the year and just this morning I noticed how furry she is getting. Carl, not so much, but they are both buttery soft and shiney.

Off-topic but you have me wondering...I know several gt'ers give their hounds melatonin and swear it fills in the bald spots...does melatonin make your hound sleepy too? That's what I take sometimes when I have trouble sleeping. Do you give it at night?

Toby has a baboon butt and bald belly but I love it!

I think it really depends on the dog's body chemistry, it seems to have a calming effect on Carl, but it doesn''t make him dopey or slow at all. A friend of mine didn't like how her dog was on it. You can always give it at night and, if there are any effects, they will sleep through it.

[Greydawg]

Lick-lick-lick.

 

Oh yes, we know that annoying sound in our house! Poor Heisman has developed some kind of allergy/irritation on his paws in the last year or so. I have tried everything to help him... Both homeopathic and veterinary (ointments, lotions, sprays, wipes, benedryl, shots, supplements, boots, socks). We have spent a small fortune trying to manage this problem. His feet have been raw and angry-red where he licks/chews them.

 

Currently, I am cautiously optimistic we may have made some progress, lately. The vet gave sold me Allergroom shampoo, and I bought Bag Balm at the drug store and applied it 2x a day for several weeks (+ socks, because he'd lick it off otherwise). I slowly started to see improvement, and I eased off the frequent application of Bag Balm. So far, dare I even type these words without jinxing myself?, he doesn't lick/chew his feet as much. It has been about two months. His knuckles are now a pale fleshy color, where they used to be beet red. I don't know if the hair will ever grow back on the knuckles.

 

The Allergroom shampoo seemed to calm him (the vet said to bathe him weekly, and I did for a couple of weeks, initially) and it may do the same for your guy.

 

I understand that Bag Balm is an old stand-by formula used on livestock (dairy cow udders, skin abrasions, etc, i believe). If you try it, you may want to put an old t-shirt or boxer shorts on him to keep him from messing with it. Plus, it is greasy, and the clothing will protect your carpet/furniture. Google "bag balm for dogs," for more info, and click on...

 

Good luck!

Edited February 18, 2012 by Greydawg

[Guest IndyHound]

I got Goldie a new crate-mat and a few days later the one bald spot became all red and blotchy. I thought she might be allergic to whatevers in it. but it clears up and will reappear. The vet said not to worry if she's not complaining.