What Is Good For Dog Hair Loss

Hair Loss Caused By Infection

Sometimes a bacterial or fungal infection in dogs can also cause hair loss. For example, ringworm can cause the deterioration of hair.

When your dog loses hair because of ringworm, the hair loss pattern is often circular, but it can also be random in shape, and there may or may not be redness of the skin.

Ringworm is typically an itchy condition, and certain species can be contagious to humans . Please seek veterinary attention if you see this symptom on your pet.

Is Your Dog Losing Hair 6 Potential Causes And What To Do About It

For most dog parents, the endless cycle of vacuuming pet hair is nothing new. Some dogs shed year-round while others shed more profusely between seasons. Its a common struggle to eliminate fur from your floors, furniture, and even your clothes.

But if your dog is developing thinner hair or even patchy spots, you might be wondering, Is my dog losing hair? This guide can help you determine if your pup is simply shedding a regular amount of hair or losing more than normal and what you can do about it.

How To Prevent Hair Loss In Dogs

Once you know what can be responsible for a dog losing hair, it becomes easier to prevent it. While you can’t stop genetic diseases and certain causes, you can prevent others.

For example, you can use flea control to avoid an allergic reaction to fleas. If your dog has food allergies or environmental triggers, you can avoid the triggers.

If your pup has itchy skin, you can use a medicated shampoo so he doesn’t hurt his skin by scratching it.

It would help if you also made it a point to take your dog to a doctor of veterinary medicine at the first sign of hair loss.

This gives them the chance to inspect your dog’s coat and treat the inflamed skin or hair loss before it gets worse.

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Symptoms Of Alopecia In Dogs

Depending on the cause of the alopecia, there may be accompanying symptoms including:

• Mild to severe scratching

• Skin that is red, inflamed, thickened, oozing, bleeding, malodorous, or pigmented

• Skin with papules , pustules , plaques, or hives.

If the alopecia is caused by parasites, they may or may not be visible. Fleas, ticks, and lice can be seen with the naked eye mites and fungal elements such as ringworm cannot be seen. Often the dog will cause trauma to their skin by excessive scratching, causing open wounds. Many dogs will have other affected areas, such as ears and feet, particularly with certain allergies.

Hair Loss From Skin Conditions Or Infections

Just like humans, dogs can get dry, cracked skin or skin infections. These conditions can cause your dogs skin to be extremely itchy. Dogs will often lick, scratch or itch themselves to relieve the discomfort, and over time this can lead to hair loss.

Dogs with bacterial or fungal skin infections usually have an underlying allergy component as well. Bites from other animals as well as cuts and abrasions can also lead to skin infections.

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Natural Treatment Options For Hair Loss In Dogs

Hair loss in dogs is a solvable problem, and you can easily fix it with some simple and effective home remedies.

Treatment with home remedies is a gradual process, and you cannot expect to see the results overnight. Have patience, and improvement will follow.

Here are 10 home remedies for hair loss in dogs.

Stop Grooming Your Dog So Often

Did you know that overgrooming your dog can cause skin and coat issues? Your lets body is designed to keep itself pretty clean, so you need to bathe your dog less than youd expect. Of course, there are exceptionslike a muddy trip to the dog parkwhich require a rinse straight away. But, if your dog isnt dirty and wont be tracking mud or a mess into your house, resist the urge to bath him too often.

Excessive bathing, shampooing, and even brushing can actually cause dogs to lose their fur. Instead, discuss a grooming routine with your Vet. Theyll be able to let you know how often you should be bathing your dog based on his health needs and his unique coat.

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Be Consistent About Changing Filters

Obviously, frequent filter changes are a must, and for heavily shedding dogs, you might even want to change filters more often than the company recommends.

Perhaps the most important thing you can do to stay ahead of shedding is to think ahead.

My suggestion for most owners is to learn about your dog and the breed before making a decision on adopting the pet. You need to understand the requirements for that pet in terms of veterinary care, nutrition, and maintenance, says Dr. Denish.

How To Treat Senior Dog Hair Loss

The first step toward treating senior dog hair loss is figuring out what is causing it by taking your dog to the veterinarian for an exam. The vet will take a comprehensive history, asking you questions about the dogs symptoms.

Screening for hormonal diseases will include a blood panel, Dr. Plant says. The veterinarian may also review the dogs nutritional status.

Depending on your dogs symptoms, other tests might be recommended.

Once the cause of an old dog losing hair has been identified, they might be treated in a variety of ways:

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How Is Seasonal Flank Alopecia Treated

This condition is purely cosmetic therefore, no treatment is necessary.

If you would like to treat this condition for cosmetic reasons however, melatonin is often used for treatment. Your veterinarian can help you determine an appropriate dose, after ruling out other possible causes for your dogs hair loss. Melatonin typically will lead to hair regrowth within 2-3 months. In dogs with a history of recurrent seasonal flank alopecia, melatonin may be started just before the typical time of onset and continued through the remainder of the season.

Severe Cases Of Bald Spots

As evident from the list above, there are plenty of causes that can explain why your dog may suddenly be losing so much hair. Of course, all of the notes above are situations we should be concerned for. Although they are things that can be treated, there are also cases when our dog experiences some of the factors below, which require more attention.

• Behavioral changes Your dog acts differently than it normally does, whether it be walking around, panting heavily, and seeming a bit uncoordinated.

• A strange odor Compared to usual, your dog smells a bit badly, and there is a strange odor coming from it.

• Constant itching If your pup is scratching away at different parts of its body, which leads to further hair loss.

• Infected skin The problem may be quite severe if your dogs bald spots look infected or are extremely red.

Any of the accompanying factors above are signals of bigger issues that you should concerned about. If you notice any of them occurring, you should consequently take your pet to the vet.

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Dog Hair Loss: 5 Reasons Why It Happens And What To Do

It is not uncommon for a dog to suffer from alopecia, dog hair loss. Or hair thinning and loss. This condition is separate from the natural act of shedding fur.

Shedding is when dogs naturally lose their old or damaged hair, with the amount and frequency depending on health and breed.

Alopecia in dogs, or hair loss, is a common disorder that causes partial or complete dog hair loss.

It can affect your pet’s skin and its endocrine system, lymphatic system, and immune system. Alopecia can affect dogs of all ages, breeds, and gender.

For the most part, dog hair loss will be very noticeable to owners, showing up in different patterns and shapes.

It can be sporadic or symmetrical hair loss or maybe shown as bald circles. Both can be accompanied by crusting and inflammation of the dog’s skin.

In sporadic cases, the dog may have scaling of the skin too.

Shedding In Response To Allergies

As with humans, dogs can develop allergic reactions to all kinds of irritants. Your puppys hair loss could be in response to a medication that doesnt agree with him. Otherwise, common environmental stimuli can include pollen, mold or the aforementioned fleas or dust mites, while food allergies may include beef, dairy, wheat, chicken, corn or soy. Youll also want to completely avoid the ASPCAs list of human foods that can be harmful to pets, including alcohol, avocado, chocolate, coffee, citrus, coconut, grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, onions, garlic, raw or undercooked meat, salty snack foods, xylitol and yeast dough.

As with infestations, allergies may cause your dog to start scratching or biting at red areas on his skin. Allergies in dogs are usually treated through new or different medications, changes in diet or immunotherapy unless you can pinpoint a clear cause on your own, youll likely need a professional diagnosis.

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There Are Some Dogs That Are Naturally Hairless

But for most breeds, going bare or bald signals a larger problem at work. When dogs experience hair loss, known as alopecia, it could be a symptom of a medical condition or it could be hereditary. As a pet parent, brush up on the basics of hair loss in dogs, including the different types, causes and treatment options.

Use Topical Olive Oil

We all know that olive oil is good for us, when we get it in our diet.

But did you know it can also help soften the skin when applied topically?

If your dog has patches of dry skin, try applying a little olive oil to those rough patches. Olive oil is great at moisturizing dry, rough skin.

And it even has another, secondary skin benefit: it can smother mites that could be causing your dogs hair loss!

Simply massage a small amount of oil into your dogs skin. And be careful not to let them sit on any good furniture in the meantime.

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The Four Causes Of Hair Loss In Dogs

Self-traumaâ

This hair loss occurs when your pet canât stop scratching or chewing, which causes skin damage and eventual hair loss. Allergies, fleas and other parasites can irritate a pet’s skin, and the inevitable scratching may take a toll on their fur. Some pets also have behavioral or psychological issues involving excessive licking or grooming, resulting in hair loss. â

Dog hair loss treatment: There are many potential causes of this type of hair loss. Make sure to talk to your vet to identify the trigger and explore various treatment options.â

Inflammation and infectionâ

Bacterial infections and inhaled allergies are common inflammatory causes of hair loss in dogs. For example, mites that trigger mange and fungal organisms are contagious and can cause hair loss.â

Dog hair loss treatment: Talk to your veterinarian about treating the underlying cause of the inflammation or infection and any potential allergy medications.

Treatment options for inflammation or infections include:

• Antibiotics
• Topical medications like shampoos, wipes, mousses or sprays
• Fatty acid supplements

Treatment options for allergies include:

• Prescription diet
• Allergy medications, like antihistamines or immunosuppressive medications
• Antibiotics for secondary infections
• Immunotherapy
• Topical shampoos, sprays, mousses or wipes

Treatment options for parasites or mites include:

• Flea and tick preventive medications
• Topical shampoos, sprays, mousses or wipes

What Role Does Diet Play In Treatment

If your dog suddenly develops hair loss, you should talk to your veterinarian. You may notice other symptoms like those listed in the previous section, in which case you should report them to your vet as well. The more information you can give your vet, the better he will be able to diagnose your dog. Once you have a diagnosis, you can start the proper form of treatment.

For hair loss that isnt caused by an underlying infection or health problem, it may be an issue of diet. If your dogs diet is low in moisture and omega-3 fatty acids, it could lead to dehydrated skin. Dry skin becomes itchy and the longer it goes on for, the more your dog will react by scratching, licking, and biting the area this can lead to hair loss. In some cases, dog hair loss is simply a matter of an unbalanced diet or a food allergy or sensitivity.

In cases like these, here are some of the dietary changes you might make to improve the health and condition of your dogs skin and coat:

Before you make any changes to your dogs diet, check with your veterinarian. If your veterinarian suspects that a food allergy might be to blame, take a look at the ingredients list for your dogs current food.

When shopping for a new recipe, youll want to avoid the primary protein and carbohydrate look for something your dog hasnt had before or something he hasnt eaten in a while. When you do find a new dog food, take a good 7 or 10 days to transition your dog onto it to minimize digestive upset.

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Hair Loss Caused By Hormonal Imbalances

Sometimes excess hair loss can be caused by Hyperadrenocorticism, also known as Cushings disease. Hypothyroidism , atypical Cushings disease, and other hormonal conditions can create a low rate of hair growth and alopecia occurs.

Hair loss can be termed as a symptom of any of these hormonal diseases. Cushings disease has a large number of symptoms, some of which are increased thirst, increased appetite, increased urination, and a pot-bellied appearance.

Hypothyroidism also has many symptoms, and some of the outward issues may be lethargy, weight gain, and decreased appetite. Atypical Cushings may only present as hair loss but can have some similar symptoms as Cushings disease.

If you notice any of these symptoms along with hair loss, have your veterinarian investigate further as many of these conditions are very treatable.

Can I Stop Hair Loss For Dogs Naturally

There are a number of natural home remedies for dog hair loss and many of these products you may already have in your kitchen or bathroom cabinet. As well as substances with analgesic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and/or antiseptic properties, there are hair loss home remedies that will help boost your pets immune system.

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Whats The Deal With Dog Hair Falling Out In Clumps

There are many potential causes for hair loss in dogs, but large patches of hair loss may be cause for concern. For many causes of hair loss, it develops slowly in several parts of the body or starts with an overall thinning of the hair. When if you notice dog hair falling out in clumps, it could be due to a skin infection or a condition like Cushings disease. Talk to your veterinarian.