Nina is a 85lb spayed, 4 year old boxer. The fur on her back is thinning in certain areas, not uniform in shape, now its spreading down her sides. It is very visible and now appears as though her skin is getting darker. She gets about 1.5 hours outside each day. She doesn't seem to be itching. I took her to the vet and he drew blood for a thyroid test, resulting in a 1 level, the lowest in the acceptable range. He also took a skin scraping which revealed no parasites. She seems to be normal, eating and drinking well. Any ideas as to what it may be or what I can do would be very much appreciated! Thank you.
Thinning coat on the back
- Thread starter TLavine
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It sounds like your baby has seasonal alopecia. My Sadie Rose has it. I give her melatonin tablets in the winter. I give her one 3-mg tablet per day and that does seem to help. Sadie is 96 pounds. Your description is exactly what Sadie has. It doesn't hurt the dog at all; it just makes our babies look a little strange... and the skin is darker underneath. It will get better soon as spring and summer are on their way. You might try the melatonin tablets. They've helped Sadie. Her seasonal alopecia was way worse last year than this year. Take care.
My Delilah has something of that sort too...I think??? She keeps losing hair on her sides and back and the skin is darker. She also has open sores . We took her to the vet and they think she might have some sort of bacteria infection and gave her antibiotics. Did your pups have any open sores??? Thanks.
Unlikely - seasonal alopecia is hair loss only, it doesn't result in sores. Although, I dare say, it's perfectly possible that she can have both seasonal alopecia and some other skin condition or infection.
When you say "keeps losing" - what do mean exactly? Is it once a year, or is this something more frequent? As you'd guess from the name, seasonal alopecia is something that generally happens once a year. Most often during the winter, when there is less natural sunlight and more time spent under artificial light. If your girl is losing hair more frequently than that, or on a constant basis, then the problem is more likely to be something else. And again, the open sores really are indicative of some other problem going on.
Thank you for your comments, I will keep watching it. Spring in just around the corner here in Southern Oregon.
brownidgirl
Boxer Pal
Where do you get the melatonin tablets? From the vet? I have a female that has had this happen to her twice. The first time was in the winter and then it got better and her hair grew back. The vet said it was probably alopetia. She has it again and I was worried it was someting more serious but, now that I think about it, it was winter when she got it last time. Does diet help??
matrok
Completely Boxer Crazy
I think Leila has this too. Coincidently, we are in the Vancouver area so weather has been pretty similiar to So-OR. We haven't given her anything but if she gets better in the next few months then we know what to do in the future for this issue. I have really noticed that the back of her hind legs have gotten darker in the last couple months. Her hair is relatively thin and she plays a ton with her new brother who is 8 months, he has very thick hair. She has little "war wounds" from time to time that once they scab, the hair falls off and regrows. This doesn't help the situation. :(
sinbad'smom
Super Boxer
Sinbad has this also. I thought it might be his thyroid but my vet said it wasn't.
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