Thin coat..Melatonin issue?

[swatman]

Hey everyone, I know coat issues have been talked about at length but I think something unique may be going on with my boy Ramos. His coat since October has thinned in areas, he does not scratch or itch and has tested negative for mange, We are waiting results for his thyroid tests but having had a hypo boxer in the past and given his lines I don't believe he has a thyroid issue. He eats Wellness and that is a recent change from Euk. and no improvement nor any other signs of allergies. He has been taking Nu-pro sppliments regularly and is presently taking fish oil caps (3 weeks) with no marked improvement. I came across another Boxer owner who said her dog had a mealtonin issue (pops up in winter with less sunlight) and this caused a loss of coat. Has anyone out there experienced this or something similar? I let my vet. know and his books did'nt mention Boxers with regard to this and there was very little at all on the subject (old book). Just curious, he is being groomed for conformation and this presents a big problem, obviously bigger if there is something more serious going on. Thanks
Mike
___________________________________________________
Kaiser 1989-2000, beautiful flashy fawn boy, waiting at the bridge
Gunther 1999-2004 beautiful flashy brindle boy, waiting at the bridge
Jacquets Ramos, 8 mo old flashy brindle crazyman

 

[gmacleod]

Well possibly it's a melatonin issue - though that generally presents as seasonal flank allopecia (ie. bald patches on the flanks, otherwise good coat). You could do a search on that term for more information.

Wellness is a much better food than Eukanuba, certainly. But it already contains fish oils... Personally, if it were my dog, I'd knock off the supplements and see if that brings about an improvement. Too much of a good thing can be worse than not enough

 

[Oscar's Mom]

Recently I noticed that the insides of Oscar's back legs doesn't have much hair. There is hair it's just really thin and fine. He has always had thin hair in that area but it just seems more noticeable right now.

Where is the thin hair on your pup?

Myra

 

[swatman]

I have discontinued his nu-pro before for aprox. two weeks...no change, I usually give him half of what the directions call for to avoid over-supplementation. I think I'm going to discontinue the nu-pro again as well as the fish oil, I missed that in the ingredients for wellness.
Myra, his thinning is occurring mainly along his topline and somewhat on his flanks. It is not clumpy yet just thin. His flash on his paws is also very thin, this was not the case when we got him three months ago. I have only started researching the subject of seasonal allopecia, so that's where I'm at right now. His underlying skin is not black in color either but that doesn't mean too much I guess. As far as the inside of his legs, his hair is very fine and thin, however all of my boys have had virtually little to no hair on the inside of their legs

 

[LizzysDad]

Seasonal Alopecia

Swatman- My Lizzy had thinning of the hair on her left side flank, then progressed to her right, started almost without notice, then, gradually, I noticed how thin it actually was getting, and a black tint to the skin soon followed. Took her immediately to the vet, and mange was tested, and vet suggested flea dermititis, or irritation. Not satisfied with that answer, I tried the $30 prescription shampoo anyway, and had some results, but only several (3-5) weeks after the treatments. The spot never left. Now, Lizzy spent most of her days outside when I lived in NY, and when I moved to Nashville 3yrs ago I didn't have a big backyard she could stay out in all day when I was at work....so she was inside all day, and would lay in the sun at the sliding door. However, after her condition persisted for more than a year, and several vets unsuccessfully treated, I read of a melatonin deficiency(sp?) in a magazine I bought at an airport. Called my vet and asked what he thought, faxed him the article, he said why not, give it a try....
Melatonin supplement showed visible improvements within two weeks, and full improvement within a month. She looked great! Your Ramos' symptoms sound quite similar to Lizzys, and that supplement wouldn't hurt to try, just check with your vet to be sure. I think Lizzy was accustomed to 8hrs of sun for 4yrs, then subjected to the house when I moved (and beneficial UV rays are filtered through glass), so getting just a hour or so wasn't sufficent.
Good Luck! Keep me posted on his progress!

 

[Littlepaddin]

We had this problem with out older girl. We had every test there was, paid out well into 3-figures to the vet to be told that there was nothing could be done but she was healthy and just live with it. Our vet would not prescribe Melatonin.

After nearly giving up on ever having the hair grow back I picked up a weekly dog paper and saw an advert for a herbal company. I sent them an email detailing the problem, received a reply the next day, yes they could help. For a very small price _ I got a tub of their herbal ointment [Phytobalm] which I massaged into the bald areas every day once a day. It didnt happen overnight but the h air started to grow back and after 10 - 12 weeks even the very first stubborn bit where the skin had gone black, had covered over. Thankfully she has never had the problem since. When I said to my vet about it, he was scathing and said that if I had massaged the area every day for three months it would have did the same thing - yet when they were taking my money, they never volunteered that information!!

Hiltonherbs really are the most helpful company and are world wide. I suggest you send them an email and ask their advice. Details

www.hiltonherbs.com

 

[swatman]

Thank you Lizzysdad and Littlepadin, I am in the process of trying some recommendations and will let you know. My vet when I asked him about melatonin looked puzzled, and even looked it up in one of his books but came up with nothing related to boxers. This was before I knew what the actual name of this syndrome/disease was. Did either one of your pups exhibit thinning flash? The flash on his paws and muzzle appears thin with very pink skin underneath and his skin hasnt' turned black, yet ,along his topline nor on his flanks where his brindling has thinned.
Mike

 

[snowicki]

Both of our boys have had the seasonal affective disorder. Buster had it a year before Bandit had it. It did not return this year for Buster but did very slightly for Bandit....I started the Melatonin to try to head it off early. Here is a web site that gives great info on seasonal flank alopecia http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/seasonalalopecia.htm. Hope this helps!!

Shannon