My nephew's dog is losing his fur - lots of it. His belly and lower legs up to his flanks is bald. It was bright red, but the redness subsided after the cortisone shot. He is under a vet's care, they have ruled out food allergies. He has been getting steroid shots, but they only help temporarily. Supposedly they have given him every test available and cannot find the cause. So I come to the thousands of you for your thoughts. We are thinking maybe stress (two new babies within a year, needless to say he has fallen to the bottom of the pack for attention) or maybe allergic to the futon he sleeps on. The futon is easy to test, remove it for a few weeks. Stress is harder. Could stress cause hair loss? Looking for anyone with experiences with something like this, particularly when it was hard to diagnose since the Vet has been checking various possibilities for awhile now. Thanks in advance.
Hi Annmarie,
I would recommend consulting with a Veterinary Dermatologist. There are so many conditions that would cause hair loss in dogs, Mange, Hypothyroidism, contact dermatitis, allergies, fleas. A veterinary Dermatologist will give your Nephew the answers he's looking for quickly and be able to make his dog comfortable. Best of luck....please let us know how things turn out.
I second Melody's suggestion. The skin is a very complicated organ, and most general vets only have a general knowledge of the skin. A specialist will have more training and experience with the skin.
Most allergies are inhaled allergies; often the dog has many inhaled allergies, just as humans who are allergic often do. A dermatologist can really assess the possibility of allergies and design a comprehensive way to handle them, such as antihistamine treatment.
I hope that your boy only has a simple problem and a simple solution, but a dermatologist will save the dogs time in finding out the nature of the problem and ending the suffering because when your skin is inflammed, you are miserable all over your body.
Thank you all for your responses. I am going to check with my nephew and have him persue the Thyroid test if he hasn't had it done already. Then I will get him a name of a good Vet Dermatologist.
Appreciate the advice.
Update on Gabe (that's our dear 10 year old losing his fur). He did have a Thyroid panel done, all normal. any suggestions for good Vet Dermatologists in the northern CT lower MA area?
I know of an excellent Veterinary dermatologist in Rhode Island. Dr. Tiffany Tapp. Her # is 401-885-1163. She treats two of my dogs and she is wonderful. Best of luck with your old boy.
