Ollie Is Losing Hair Under His Neck

[IAMs]

We've had Ollie since last November. He was 4 months old when we adopted him, so he's almost one year old now (July 15th). He's always had great looking fur... no issues at all.

Over the last couple days, I've noticed that he's losing what appears to be a LOT of hair on the underside of his neck. We thought it was possibly just from his collar, but he's been wearing the same collar for months, and the hair loss has only recently showed itself. Aside from the underside of his neck, it also appears he's losing hair on his legs and belly.

Here's a picture of Ollie laying on the bed (zoomed out for perspective):

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab112/greyhoundguy/Greytalk/9AD8EF37-C1FF-4DC9-8CD5-4538E2700E07_zpsculezobe.jpg

Here's another picture, reframed for a better look.

Here's a third picture, this one was taken as he roached for us (so you can see the other side).

The only changes we've made lately have been in their diet. We switched from Nutro Choice to Nature's Domain (aka Taste of the Wild). Since the switch, Ashe has seemingly stopped showing any allergic issues (which we would see before in the form of red dots on his underbelly). To us, it seems like a much higher quality food... but could it be the reason for Ollie's hair loss?

We could add in coconut oil (which I read about in a few other posts), but other than that -- I'm at a loss.

Any ideas?

-Joel

[Guest Houston1219]

We had the exact same situation. No changes in collar but it just suddenly became hard not to notice. We went the all natural route and started making "nakkie time" a routine, and eventually the norm unless we were going out, etc. it took a few months of this but grew back in beautifully. We bought a $3 small dog buckle collar to use for tags and leave it on really loose. I think it's maybe a half inch?

 

It could have been happening for a long time, it's just advanced far enough that you notice it now? That was the case with Houston.

[PrairieProf]

I would guess collar + summer shedding. The other hair loss fits that too -- this is your first summer with Ollie. It is very very likely to be seasonal, not medical or food related.

[3greytjoys]

Agree re: collar and summer shedding. It's fairly common for Greyhounds to have thin fur. Many adoption groups hold "bald butt" contests during Greyhound gatherings. One of our hounds has never had fur under his neck, belly or thighs, and only wears a harness for leash walks. He's 12.5 y.o. and has cleared many vet checks in his lifetime. It's typically cosmetic and nothing to worry about.

 

I'm not a big fan of adding coconut oil to dog food (or people food) because it's a saturated fat. Too much fat can cause medical problems for dogs. Good quality kibble foods are manufactured with a balanced amount of oils.

 

Side note: Like people, it's good to be careful about pets not spending too much time in direct sun to avoid sun-related cancers (especially lighter colored pets).

[Hawthorn]

Do you use spot-on flea/tick treatments? Some of these can cause alopecia. Frontline is one. I found this out when my two both started losing hair around their necks. I read the information leaflet for Frontline and sure enough alopecia is stated as one of the possible side effects. When I reduced use of Frontline the hair grew back.

[DocsDoctor]

I've nothing to add about possible causes, others have already covered that well, but just wanted to suggest using a house/ tag collar with a satin lining. I remember noticing this problem with Doc our first summer. Switching from a webbing to a satin-lined house collar definitely helped, as did leaving it relatively loose.

[4My2Greys]

I seem to remember someone else posting about the same problem and one of the more knowledgeable GT'ers hound healthwise (I think tbhounds ?) mentioned the possibility of Cushing's disease I think. Here's a link that describes the symptoms. If he has or starts showing any of the other symptoms I would have him tested for it.

 

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2114&aid=416

[Guest june]

I've nothing to add about possible causes, others have already covered that well, but just wanted to suggest using a house/ tag collar with a satin lining. I remember noticing this problem with Doc our first summer. Switching from a webbing to a satin-lined house collar definitely helped, as did leaving it relatively loose.

Nova had a very similar problem. I now use a leather walking collar (fish tail martingale), satin lined tag collar and tag bag. Neck hair has grown back in now that her tags are not bouncing all over her neck when she runs.

Edited July 13, 2014 by june

[IAMs]

Do you use spot-on flea/tick treatments? Some of these can cause alopecia. Frontline is one. I found this out when my two both started losing hair around their necks. I read the information leaflet for Frontline and sure enough alopecia is stated as one of the possible side effects. When I reduced use of Frontline the hair grew back.

On our vet's recommendation, we switched to Vectra 3D. It has worked great (mosquitos, too). I checked their site for side effects and nothing was mention about hair loss.

 

I'm hoping that it is just him shedding for the summer. We went to a play day yesterday with our greyhound group, and a LOT of them were shedding a lot of hair. (When we left, the floor seemed covered in hair!!)

 

Thanks for all your support, y'all. As things continue, I'll keep you in the loop.

 

-Joel

[macoduck]

Joel, please check the links in this thread regarding Vectra. It is a nasty product and nearly killed my friend's non-greyhound.

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/274177-vectra/?p=5064752&hl=permethrin&fromsearch=1&do=findComment&comment=5064752

[IndyandHollyluv]

Hi there. This is my experience - so just saying. Of the five greys I adopted, three had thyroid issues and were on meds. Two of the hounds (one black; one brindle) both suffered significant hair loss/thinning on their throat, legs, chest, and butt (as well as other issues). Once squared away on thyroid meds, most of the fur grew back. The black hound (adopted at age 8) had a rather sparse coat to begin with but still there was notable improvement. Just something to consider down the road.

 

Good luck to you and Ollie!

Edited July 13, 2014 by IndyandHollyluv

[3greytjoys]

Agree that some Greyhounds are truly hypothyroid. Seems it's more commonly cosmetic issues. If anyone is concerned about their hound potentially being hypothyroid, please do read this link which includes Greyhound breed specific information to share with your vet: http://www.greythealth.com/hypothyroid.html

[Guest LazyBlaze]

I've nothing to add about possible causes, others have already covered that well, but just wanted to suggest using a house/ tag collar with a satin lining. I remember noticing this problem with Doc our first summer. Switching from a webbing to a satin-lined house collar definitely helped, as did leaving it relatively loose.

 

We had the same experience with Blaze. He gradually got quite bald around his neck with his first collar, but when we switched to a fairly loose velvet house collar lined with satin the hair grew back. The shedding the OP describes sounds to me very much like a combination of some seasonal shedding plus collar rub.

[cleptogrey]

felix has gone thru this on and off in the past. honestly, he has the most hair on his neck right now at age 7 with a plain buckle collar- 1"or the thinner lupine martingales. the lupine products vary in softness, so feel for the softer collars and throw it in the wash a couple of times if he needs a martingale. the only wide martingale that doesn't rub is laser cut silk lined made by mackenzie belts. if the owner of the shop wasn't so generous w/ her discount he wouldn't have it.

 

i would call the manufacturer about the vectra and speak w/ customer service just to see if there could be a correlation between the two. if it is an allergic reaction to the vectra there should be more patches of balding hair? if it is his thyroid his coat in general would not look so go. if it's a sensitivity to his new food, he should have patches everywhere. so, it comes down to contact and wear. is he getting frisky on lead? is the old collar's lining worn? have you called your vet? a phone call doesn't cost. but if it's something else...demodex there would be red raw patches. have you tried a harness?

Edited July 14, 2014 by cleptogrey

[macoduck]

Doing a search for Vectra3D and hair loss finds many complaints like these:

http://vectra-3d.pissedconsumer.com/

 

Contact info for the manufacturer is listed at the bottom of this page:

http://www.drugs.com/vet/vectra-3d.html

 

If you think the thyroid could be the problem be sure to get the full panel done, not just the T4.

 

If you do a search on GT for Melatonin you'll see many owners have had hair growth return on their greyhounds.

Edited July 14, 2014 by macoduck

[IAMs]

I'm not too worried about the Vectra 3D. Both of our pups have been on Vectra 3D for about six months, and we haven't noticed anything like mentioned in the previous threads. There's been no skin irritation, no eye irritation, etc. It's been a good product that has done a good job repelling all the nasty little critters that like to hitchhike on our pups.

 

I'll still look into it, but at this point, we're guessing it's him A) blowing out his coat as the heat of summer gets into full swing, losing his puppy coat , or C) a combination of these two.

 

Again, I'll keep y'all posted.

 

-Joel

[KristenMichele]

I'm having the same issue with my hound. Im 100% sure it's the collar. So instead of the collar I got from rescue I'm buying a softer cotton collar to see if that works. I may do keep it off when not outside

Edited July 14, 2014 by KristenMichele