Can anyone reccommend something for Hair loss? vitamins, supplments, different food, anything. The vet can find no reason that Kirb should be losing hair. No parisites etc. His coat has gone downhill recently. We switched foods from Taste of the Wild to California natural.
:grin:
Winter time seems to bring on dry skin and the associated itching and scratching.
fish oil and vitamin E....plus a shampoo with Selsun Blue
Shampoo him and stick him in the crate for about 15 minutes before you rinse him...helps with the itching.
I'm guessing the vet tested for thyroid/hormonal issues? I have a foster with Cushing's disease. Lots of hair loss and dry skin + other stuff.
The vet said she didn't feel there was any need to do a skin test or stool sample. He had a stool test back in August when his weight started plummeting, but none lately. I'm starting to think I need a second opinion.
Quote from: Go4Kirby on January 27, 2009, 01:17:22 PM
I'm starting to think I need a second opinion.
I'd be inclined to get a second opinion as well! Just my 2 cents!
Demodex and sarcoptic mange mites cause hair loss, but since you said no parasites, I assumed the vet did a skin scraping?? I think I would go for the second opinion.
I really need to spend more time on this board. Everyone is so nice here. We are getting a second opinion. I've been frustrated with our vet lately and this has been an ongoing issue with Kirb that she hasn't really helped much with other than saying give him more food which is what she said on our last two visits. He's still not gaining much weight and still losing hair and he's eating two cups of food a day. Adding wet food really only gave him the poops and bad breath. I hope Dr. Prior can help. He came highly reccommended by my boss. LOL. if he stinks then I'm blaming her.
Is anyone feeding raw food? I'm thinking of going that way....
I've been feeding a raw diet until a few months ago until it got a little to expensive considering that I now have 3 dogs to feed. (2 are mine, 1 is a foster)
http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw_products
My dogs did very well with it but you need to realize that with raw products food safety becomes important. I usually defrosted the food in the microwave so that bacteria has almost no time to grow before I feed them.
My vet made some good points about feeding raw. She said she didn't think you lost much nutrients because of cooking. Indeed we as people are healthier and don't get sick as often because we cook our food. Same goes for the dogs.
but yeah, overall, my dogs loved the raw and did very well with it.
and right behind that I'm going to say that I'm convinced that food rotation is important.
quality food + food rotation = healthy dog
If you don't do anything else, get Kirby a bag of Evo small bites. It's more nutrient dense than most foods. Meaning he gets more nutrients with every cup than he would with other foods.
http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1488
thanks ed
by food rotation do you mean switching it now and then. The vet switched him from Taste of the Wild to California natural puppy food. When I started adding Canned it didn't help much and his breath was horrible.
What does the natures variety average per bag and how long did it last?
Porky has hair loss now and again. His is from allergies. The only thing that has helped him is eating Natural Balance Pet Salmon and Sweet Potato food. His coat is shinier, and he is much less itchy. The only down side, is the food smells and it makes Porky's breath smell awful!
I would definately get a second opinion about the hair loss in your dog. You just can't be sure what is causing it until you have more tests done. I would lean more towards it being a thyroid issue since he can't gain weight as well as losing hair. Please keep us posted on what you find out. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. :dontknow:
Quote from: Go4Kirby on January 29, 2009, 09:31:34 AM
thanks ed
by food rotation do you mean switching it now and then. The vet switched him from Taste of the Wild to California natural puppy food. When I started adding Canned it didn't help much and his breath was horrible.
What does the natures variety average per bag and how long did it last?
food rotation means switching foods every few weeks.
get some evo for sure, like i said it's almost twice as nutrient dense as other brands
as for the natures variety, I usually feed 6 1 ounce medalions once a day to each dog. Theres 48 1 ounce medalions in each bag and the bags cost about 14-15 dollars each. So one bag will last about a week.
http://www.naturesvariety.com/rotation
Thyroid test is a blood test dogs can have hair loss if the Thyroid is low some may also loose weight that would be one test you want done. I give my two Fur Kids Salmon oil capsules from Walmart along with the TOTW dry food since it has been cold they each get a little canned food mixed with a little water nuked to warm it all up over their dry food. They have never had a coat problem and their coats are shinny you may try going to a Dermatologist I had to resort to one when I had Gizmo. She found out the problem straight away and Gizmo was cured for awhile the skin condition came back late in her life.Since she had Doggy Alzheimer's I did not want to put her though the frequent baths and all to cure her again since she was very scared when you did anything to her.
Good Luck at your new vets.