kbarnlund Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 My female recently had pups. In the last week, she has developed extremely dry skin and has been itching so much that her hair has fallen out on her entire hind end. I feed her science diet sensitive skin dog food and bathe her in Natural Care (Veterinarian's Best) Itch Relief Hot spot Shampoo. Does anyone have any suggestions on anything else to try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 When the mom is nursing, it often takes everything out of her system. So it's not at all uncommon for her hair to get really dry and brittle, and mostly break off--this usually occurs when she has pretty much finished nursing. If she is otherwise healthy, she'll grow new hair back in soon. But if she normally has allergies, then I don't know... Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbarnlund Posted January 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 No allergies that I know of. In the past she had flea allergies, but since then we have kept up with Advantage. Since the pups, we have her on a flea treatment that is okay for nursing pups. But no sign of fleas. Thanks for your response. I have a tendency to worry. Especially when my beautiful border is half hairless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 If she doesn't have allergies, why is she on an allergy diet? Science Diet isn't the best food - it has a number of artificial preservatives and byproducts - perhaps that may hove something to do with the hair loss? What was her coat like prior to having the pups? Have you looked into adding fish body oil or safflower oil to her food to up the omega 3s/Vitamin E? That might help restore the skin and coat a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbarnlund Posted January 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 As I said, in the past she had a flea allergy and the vet recommended the Science diet food. Ever since then, we have kept her on the same food. Her hair before she had the pups was a very shiny/thick coat. Do you know if places like Petsmart would carry the fish oil and Vitamin E? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Petsmart wouldn't, but I get vitamin E from Walmart or Kmart and I know some people go there for the fish oil as well (be sure it's fish body oil not just fish oil). For safflower oil, I just go to the grocery store and it's near the cooking oil section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartdog Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 You need to be careful choosing oils. Safflower oil has gone from being naturally high linoleic to high oleic. Linoleic fatty acid is a polyunsaturate .Oleic fatty acid is a monounsaturate. Dogs need linoleic fatty acid. In addition,an oil can actually say cold pressed and be over heated in the processing. When a polyunsaturated oil is heated it is turned into a trans fatty acid. There are 2 brands of safflower oil that are high linoleic they are Rapunzel and Flora. Your local health food store should be able to find them or you can google them. Here is a good article on oils... Safflower Oil Here is an article on the difference between high linoleic and oleic Safflower oils. web page The following is an article from Wendy Volhard "Not All Fats Are Created Equal Fat is either saturated or polyunsaturated and your dog needs both. Together they supply the essential fatty acids (EFA's), necessary to maintain good health. In the manufacturing of the majority of dog foods, fat is sprayed on as the last ingredient. Fat makes the dog food palatable, like potato chips and French fries. Saturated fat comes from animal sources and is used for energy. For dogs that get a great deal of exercise or participate in competitive events, the food has to be high in animal fat. Not enough animal fat in the diet can create: lack of energy heart problems growth deficits dry skin cell damage Too much animal fat in the diet creates: obesity mammary gland tumors cancer of the colon and rectum Polyunsaturated fat comes from vegetable sources, such as flax seed oil, safflower oil, wheat germ oil, olive and corn oil. It is needed by your dog for skin and coat. Too little of this fat can produce skin lesions on the belly, thighs and between the shoulder blades. If your dog has a dry coat you may need to add some oil to his food. Linoleic acid is one of the three essential fatty acids that have to be provided daily in your dog's food. Cold pressed Safflower and flax seed oil provide the best source of linoleic acid and are the least allergenic. They are better than corn oil which contains only a tiny amount of lineoleic acid. " To read the rest go to web page You would need to call the oil manufacturer and ask if they use heat processing in the manufacturing process. Look for cold pressed, high linoleic oils. You might be better off going with a flax/borage oil Just make sure it is fresh ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 If her coat before pups was fine, then it sounds like it's just the wear and stress of the pups... Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julia Hunt Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 How old are the puppies? When they are about 6 weeks I would expect her hair to be coming out in handfuls, that's when my bitch loses her coat whether she actually had a litter or not. We are going through that at the moment, I can get a grocery bag of hair out of her twice a day and still there's hair all over the carpet. Julia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbarnlund Posted January 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 The pups are 4 1/2 weeks old. Is it typical for them to be itchy as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Sounds like diet insufficiency to keep up with the output. Feed some healtier food for a while. You have the fleas under control? Don`t shortchange her needs. Help her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbarnlund Posted January 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 She eats Science diet Dog food. The vet recommended it a while back and she has been on it ever since. Any particular type you are suggesting? Yes, fleas are under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 I wouldn't feed my dogs SD and I am a vet student. They hook vets early during school by giving them free food (dog food and human food), products and other stuff. I just don't know many dogs who even do ok on it. The brands I like are Eagle Pack (Power formula) and Innova (Puppy and Evo). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbarnlund Posted January 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 There are no local retailers in my area that sell the two types mentioned. Do you know of any others that would be better than Science Diet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleofarm Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 My bitch had pups 11 weeks ago and I was determined that she would not lose her coat like supposedly "all" of them do. So far so good. She is on a very high quality kibble with many good supplements but what I added while she was still pregnant was the Solid Gold Sea Kelp. They even mention using it for that particular reason in their advertising. Her hair has thinned slightly along her back legs but nothing at all like you see on many bitches after a litter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Here are some ideas on some brands. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_re...index.php/cat/1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 The vets usually sell "medi-cal development" which should be good for your girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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