Kelli_n_Boston Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 Boston's hair is getting so thin she's starting to show her skin underneath in spots. I've checked her for fleas and what not but I don't find anything. She's had such a hard time with her diet I think that might be the problem because she's back to puking again. Vet said last time to change to nutro so we did 7 mths ago. now she doesn't want to eat the nutro and the puking is back along with the severe hair loss. I could make a wig out of the hair on my bed. anyone have any ideas??? ------------------ ~Dum Vivimus, Vivamus~ Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPoole Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 Even when we had Tacoma on Nutro, he still ripped is hair out. Tacoma is a very itchy dog and has chewed himself from the age of 6 months. I added brewers yeast supplements and has helped greatly. As far as the food goes, I think we have tried 6 different kinds for him. The other dogs don't have any trouble that goodness. Hope this helps a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookcove Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 Have you checked for tick disease? That's always my first thought when I hear about massive hair loss because I had two cases here in succession where hair loss/itchiness was the only real acute symptom. One had erhlichia, the other Lyme. A course of doxycycline cleared it right up. ------------------ Rebecca Brook Cove Farm, NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 First, I would have a complete check up done on the dog, blood work, etc. If everything shows up OK, look at nutrition. I would put her on a quality food. Sorry, Purina, Science Diet, Pedigree, Alpo, & so on, are not what I consider quality. If her hair loss is that severe, look at raw feeding---myself, I feed 2 of my dogs "morigins" (raw diet). If you decide to stay with dry, I like Solid Gold, Flint River Ranch, and although I haven't tried it, but heard lots of good about it, Canidae. If she turns her nose up, too bad. Pick up the food after 20 minutes, and it doesn't get put down again until next feeding. They're not going to let themselves starve to death. Good Luck. Vicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PairDogx1.5 Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 I think it's more than just the food. If it hasn't been done already, hopefully the complete work-up will include a skin scraping, blood work as was mentioned, etc. Does anyone else think there seem to be alot more hot-spot/skin problems this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikw Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 Is she's spayed? Intact bitches will blow their coats after their cycles and look like hell for about 2 months. Some people swear by BARF diet for picky eaters with skin and other disorders. There are also few raw diets marketed,one is Amore Raw dog food and another called ~mORIGINS. You could get their URL's from Google search. ------------------ Inci Willard Clearville,PA 814-784-3414 ikw@pennswoods.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli_n_Boston Posted November 8, 2002 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2002 She's been spayed at 6mths so I don't think that's the issue. I am going to have her checked by the vet again, there's a guy at the pet store that has 3 bc's of his own and he was telling me he had a similiar problem. He recommended a vet to me that specializes in these things but I'm going to have to wait. hubby's corporation just did cutbacks and he got the ax so funds are too low for a trip to the vet's office right now. I did start somethign though...I started giving her green beans, rice and tuna and I've noticed the hair loss seems to be less. the guy at the store also gave me a sample bag of some holostic dog food. she likes it and it's very expensive. LOL. If you have any other suggestions that I can try until I can afford to get her to the vet I'd appreciate it. Thanks again. Kelli & Boston ------------------ ~Dum Vivimus, Vivamus~ Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted November 8, 2002 Report Share Posted November 8, 2002 If her problem is indeed nutrition oriented, then my advice is, it is more expensive in the long run to feed cheap. If you see an improvement in her with a better diet, go with the better diet. However, I would still get her into the vets just to rule anything else out. When the body is stressed (I'm talking dog here), the first thing it let's go of is hair. That stress can be anything from a cheap, lousy diet, to hormonal fluctuations, to any number of other things going on inside, that we can't see, but manifests itself in profuse hair loss. So the advice still stands---better quality food & check up with the vet. Good Luck. Vicki P.S. I work a second job to feed my dogs the way I think they should be fed, so I don't give that bit of advice lightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.