seasonal flank alopecia
help!! does or has anyone heard of seasonal flank alopecia we think out lovely 2yr old Nell is suffering from it and wondered if anyone knew anything about it please your assistance would be much appreciated  |
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| It sounds like it may have something to do with a seasonal allergy or something but I'm not sure. Are there any hot spots associated with your case? |
| According to this site it is caused by lack of sunlight:
http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/se ... opecia.htm Good luck, please let us know what happens. |
| thanks for your help
i checked out the wedsite and it does sound like what she has got role on the 23rd march. we are however having her checked for thyroid and cushings just in case thanks once again |
Interesting info. I've never heard of it.  |
| I have 2 boys who are hypothyroids but their hair didn't come out in the pattern that was described. Luke had his mainly on his rump, and his hair was getting thin. Rosco's hair didn't get thin but he had what looked like small shaved patches on his sides. If it's determined that Nell has it, all she will need is 2 pills (L-thyroxine) daily for life. other symptoms include weight gain and lethargy. Sorry, all I know about Cushings is that it's the opposite of Addisons. |
| My 8th boxerdog, Max has this skin issue. I brought this rescue dog home when he was almost 3. Year 4 his hair started falling off and in place of the missing hair his skin got almost black.
My vet who has treated numerous boxers was not alarmed. Said it was common with the boxer. He said his hair would grow back the following year. It grew back and in year 6 his hair fell out again about the same time it had the year before. Max is now 8 years old and he has not had his hair fall out the last few years. Max is my first dog of 8 dogs that has had it. I had forgotten all about it until I was doing some google searches. If this is what it is, and not something else......don't sweat it. The dog is not in pain.......and who cares what they look like. Their heart is still mushy!..... |
| Joanie- You've got a bit of experience with this then... was hair loss always bilateral or on both sides?
I've got 2 sheepies with bald spots but only on one side. We had talked about this condition but it didn't seem to fit. http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/KayteePanda-Bald.jpg Thyroid testing came back last week (T4 done in office and complete testing through MSU AGAIN) did not indicate low thyroid. Panda has just been diagnosed with allergies and will start shots but skin biopsies did not show an allergic cause for the hair loss. Mange has also been ruled out along with anything contageous. We're having one more test done on Kaytee to rule out anything any immune problems. So I'm just curious to learn if there is ever hair loss on just one side with this condition. Thanks! |
Hi .. just thought I would chip in with what I have actually discovered from experience 
I have a Staffy who started lossing hair bi-laterally a couple of months after she was spayed. First reaction by the vet was that it was hormonal ...... many appointments / tests later (and much money spent!) it transpired that she was healthier than me! Online research indicated Seasonal Bilateral Alopecia ... she lost hair / fur down both flanks dramatically, and it thinned out generally. NO treatment worked ... and we tried all sorts, including 'alternative' medicines etc ... nothing! T'internet lead me to believe that melatonin may be the answer ... its used in the USA for treatment, but not licensed in the UK. A new (VERY old, very experienced ) vet concurred that this may be the way forward.
Jump back to last July ... remember ... constant sunshine all month? Dali the doggy literally spent the bulk of each and every day in the sunshine, all month. Like us, her skin produces melatonin naturally on exposure to sunlight. Result? 100% regrowth within 4 weeks!!!
Unfortunately, hair loss began again as sunshine became scarce, but I'm now as convinced as I can be that melatonin treatment is the way forward, and I'm seeking a supplier online. Paradoxically, it's unlicensed in the UK, I cannot buy it over a counter, yet it is freely available online via mail order fron UK companies!  |
bestdogsx4 wrote: According to this site it is caused by lack of sunlight:
http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/se ... opecia.htm Good luck, please let us know what happens. Cool info posted... learned something new
I had no idea about the link to sunlight... interesting! |
| Sunlight causes an increase of MELANIN the pigment in the skin, and a decrease of MELATONIN a hormone that circulates in the blood. They are quite different despite the similarities in their names.
Melatonin is suppressed during daylight so that people (and, presumably dogs) aren't sleepy during the day. Melatonin levels are highest at night, and have been shown to be suppressed by light entering the eye. Acording to papers at the NIH, serum melatonin has an extremely short half-life of about 1 hour, meaning it is used up and goes away very quickly. Increasing melatonin by supplementation during the day would be counter-intuitive to increasing sunlight which would lower the amount of melatonin. It would make your dog sleepy, too.
I'm not saying there is no way that this could work, just that it is counter-intuitive. The sunlight might have other benefits, like killing a fungus or bacteria living on the dog, or even tanning the dog so that hair loss is less evident. But good luck! I hope it works, and either way, please be sure to let us know! PS Maybe the best aproach to re-creating long sunny days would be to take your dog to a tanning booth, however the risks of ultra violet exposure (to both of you!) might outweigh any benefits like long luxurious hair. |
| would the special lights used for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) perhaps help? Dogs can get SAD too, by the way, I know 2 who have been diagnosed with it. |
ravenmoonart wrote: would the special lights used for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) perhaps help? Dogs can get SAD too, by the way, I know 2 who have been diagnosed with it.
I was going to ask that too. It sounds so similar that you'd think it would work. |
bestdogsx4 wrote: According to this site it is caused by lack of sunlight:
http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/se ... opecia.htm thanx for this, i have had 2 boxers with this condition, i got told off the vet it is common in boxers, but never went into too much detail, this was very helpful. |
| Hi - I have a Ridgeback which has seasonal flank alopecia and have bought Melatonin on the net as it's not prescribed UK. We've been giving her these (started out on 3mg and then 6mg per day after a couple of months) for about nine months now and the hair re-growth has been very effective we think - but it could also be coincidence! She was, however, balding at an alarming rate ( both flanks were bald and a new patch was appearing across her lower back joining the two existing patches). Tests had shown her negative for mite infestation or thyroid deficiency. Melatonin seemed to halt the hair loss and the older patches with no hair have now got a fine covering, with the last patch to appear having regrown well. I am tempted to stop using Melatonin during the summer months and re-introduce it in September. Our Ridge is not terribly energetic so we've not noticed her to be quieter or more sleepy since using this medication - certainly hasn't seemed to have a detrimental effect on her at all. I decided to try it as all else has failed, and start off low dose and increase to guage the effects and optimum dosage. Thought it may be of interest ........ |
| Yep my boy Deebo has it too. The vet gave us a name of a vitamin and we have been giving it to him. But i just read that there is no cure. Just have to wait it out and see if the hair comes back. |
| I have a 2 year old female ridgeback who for the last two years developed season flank alpopecia on both her sides over the winter months. After the first year the alpopecia disappeared by summer. This year, at the suggestion of my vet, I used melatonin 3mg twice a day starting in February and the alpopecia has almost entirely disappeared. My ridgeback is in great health, full of energy with no signs of any negative effect from the alpopecia other than the appearance issue associated with the bald spots. My vet did not suggest any testing as my girl is otherwise in great health. I am not convinced the melatonin did anything to eliminate the baldness as it took about the same time for the aplopecia to disappear this year as it did when I did not use the melatonin. I do note that at times by girl is a bit drowsy from the melatonin and on those days I just give her 1 pill. |
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