Balding Dog

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ChristyA

Super Boxer
Maybe going to a different vet for a 2nd opinion on a few of the problems would be good. I know I've been to a couple different vets until I found one that could treat both my boxer's properly. One of the vets I went to used to say, "Oh a boxer, well they aren't too healthy ya' know" yeah well that vet is HISTORY! Both of my dogs are doing great and both are 9 1/2. I don't know where you are in Ohio but Barberton Vet Clinic is part of a practice that belongs to The Metropolitan Vet Hospital in Copley. They are fabulous.
Goodluck,
ChristyA
Dexter & Sophie both 9 1/2
 

stephiejere

Boxer Pal
My dog Harley has the same thing. We have taken him to the vet and they told us it was the food he was eating. We changed his food to the most expensive food on the Market they sell here in Mexico. I am at a loss because it hasn't helped him at all and the food costs about 95 dollars for a 20lb bag of food. Which is another question I have, how much are we supposed to be feeding him? He just turned 1 year old today and we feed him twice a day and pretty good sized meals.

I know he gets enough to eat but he has EVERYTHING you can think of in his mouth. He chews on his Dog House (the plastic ones for all kinds of weather), his water bowl (plastic as well), he eats the grass, he has rocks in his mouth (in which we have now dug up and we put concrete floors down outside thinking that might have been the problem, my mother in law has seen him eat his poop. He chews on EVERYTHING plastic he can get a hold of and he won't chew his toys. He gets a hold of the wood and chews on it. So basically we have stripped the back yard OF EVERYTHING except his house and his water bowl. I don't know if he is bored. We take him out every night to the park in the grass so we can roll around in it and we run him and play fetch. He runs his heart out because he has so much energy.

I was hoping he has seasonal alopecia as well but it had started with spots on his sides and now has moved almost to everywhere except his face. The white parts on his chest are pink underneath and the brown on his back has turned to black (he doesn't have spots though, as if he were scratching it or as if it bothers him). He is out in the sun all the time playing so I don't know how he could not get enough of it. The vet said it was food allergies and they take him and give him a medicated bath every time I take him there which I don't know is helping or just hurting him more.

I am at a loss too because he looks soooo mistreated and he is a beautiful dog. I am going to have to put some pictures of him up here so you can see but they look EXACTLY like the ones in the Gallery. I was thinking about the Melatonin treatments to see if that helps since its not the food or at least we don't think it is. If it is the food, what food/brands are good for him? Right now he is eating Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food which happens to be the most expensive. That is not point but I just want him to look better. He doesn't act like he hurts, or itches he is always licking and bathing himself. It is really hard for us too because I know there are a bunch of American foods out there, but I don't think I can get a hold of them. Can someone give me some advice??

Stephanie
 

gmacleod

Elusive Moderator
Staff member
My dog Harley has the same thing. We have taken him to the vet and they told us it was the food he was eating...

*If* it is seasonal alopecia, then it is not caused by his food. The closest anyone has ever come to finding a cause for SFA is in relating it to production of the hormone melatonin. That is not a dietary matter.

He's quite young for this condition, and it sounds incredibly widespread... Well, the black skin is actually the only thing that sounds like SFA at all. It would be interesting to see pictures though :)
 

MadiBooZoos

Boxer Pal
My dog also loses her fur at the end of winter for the past 3 years. The first winter she was almost bald! What I do now at the start of seeing the seasonal alopecia is give her a bath and put oatmeal(i make it into a paste) everywhere she gets affected and let it stay on her for about 10 min then rinse it off. Within a week i see her fur come back in and shes fine until next winter/spring. I only have to do that once a year and it works great. Good luck!!
 

sxbl

Boxer Pal
Have you had the dog tested for thyroid function? Bilateral hair loss is a common symptom of this. See your vet and get those levels tested!
 
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