Thin fur in spots on OLIVER
 Traci |
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| The thinning of fur in certain spots can be an indication of an underlying medical issue. Has Oliver become lazier? Gaining weight? Might be a thyroid issue - hypothyroidism. (Both of our sheepdogs were/are hypothyroid.) How old is Oliver? It might be a coat transition as well. If you see other skin/fur issues, any itching/scratching, or any new behavioral changes, you might want to have Oliver to vet for a check-up. Laurie and Oscar |
| I agree - totally not a normal OES happening. I would get it checked out...my 1st thought was hypothyroidism also. |
  he does itch alot. No fleas . Is that a indicator too?  |
OESCrazy wrote: he does itch alot. No fleas . Is that a indicator too? Could be an allergy if he is itching. Most vets will try a hit & miss approach of eliminating things either in the food area or the environment. Having had a beautiful dog with an allergy & having gone thru it all, I will tell you that the best way to handle it is to cut to the chase & make an appt. with an allergy/dermatology vet specialist. They can narrow it down quicker with some simple tests & get you on the road to your dog being comfortable. If they are itching alot, they have to be uncomfortable. You may feel the cost of the visit is a bit higher than going to a regular vet but in the long run it will all balance out if not be cheaper as you can get to the root of the problem quicker. Also remember, patience is the key if it is an allergy. It takes times to build up the system to overcome the allergy, keep it at bay & it wil be a continuing process. Not really all that expensive in the long run but a new habit that you & you dog need to aquire. Took a few months for my girl too start to feel comfortable, a year to get her back into the show ring. After that she finished her championship & went on to earn her obedience title & OESCA veratiltiy award. Things she & I would have never have been able to do otherwise as she was so fixated on itching & chewing & scratching that she couldn't concentrate. |
| Glacier has this problem and even with thyoid meds she has still not grown hair in those areas, just peach fuzz. She doesn't show signs of allergies, no chewing, scratching, obsessive behavior.......but now I wonder if there might be an allergy problem. Start with the thyroid, make sure they do the whole panel, not just the quick test. We've discussed Dr. Dobbs here often enough and her work on OES and thyroid. |
| It could be some other hormonal problem. Thyroid gets blamed for everything, but it's not always the culprit. I seem to recall that hair loss can also be characteristic of Cushings, but I think there would usually be other symptoms as well. We had a rescue dog who came in with symmetrical hair thinning/loss. Vet tested and thyroid was fine. In the rescue dog's case I think vet decided it was probably seasonal flank alopecia, also somehow hormone related if I'm not mistaken. Her hair grew back and last I saw her she was as fuzzy as the next OES. Same time of year, too. So there are a variety of suspects. Kristine |
Oh great, another test and pill for Glacier?  I think she'll remain Old Baldy back there, tho there is no better dog for taking pills.......she adores them all : pee pills, upset tummy pills, arthritis pain pills, cranberry. |
SheepieBoss wrote: Oh great, another test and pill for Glacier? I think she'll remain Old Baldy back there, tho there is no better dog for taking pills.......she adores them all : pee pills, upset tummy pills, arthritis pain pills, cranberry. At least she cooperates   The seasonal flank thing, no meds for that. Well, some suggest melatonin, but i don't think it's necessarily a proven therapy. And sunlight. Which you probably have more of than some of us anyway! Especially this time of year KB |
| Worth a shot, while not beef flavored like Rimadyl, I'm sure we won't say no to another dab of PB. She's a hoot with fish oil capsules "hmm, doggie chewing gum." |
So right now I think and am convinced that Oliver has allergies. I have watched him for the past couple of days and he is reaching back and grabbing at the spots of hair and ripping it out, in a attempt ot itch with his mouth. A couple of weeks ago Dh brought home a cheap bag of food to my dismay. We fed it to him to satisfiy DH. Ofcourse Oliver didn't let me down and show that there is a difference, . So I am hoping that since he has been back on food for the past couple of weeks that maybe this will clear up. He is on Science Diet right now. Just the normal one. Do you think that I should try the allergie one?? Traci  |
| It might be worth putting him on the allergy diet to get things settled down. You could try some omega 3 fatty acids too. Either cod liver oil on his food or fish oil capsules. Hope it settles down for you.  |
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