Hair growth; Is this normal????

[Bboys mom]

Hello, I am a first time Yorkie parent and have a question on my baby boy's hair. He is six months old and the hair down his back about half way is almost nonexistent. The rest of his hair is very thin, but getting long. Is this normal? He is a pure breed and both his parents have normal looking hair. He is 2.5lbs and is very healthy. I knew he would be very tiny, both parents, and their prior litters, are all in the 3-3.5lb range. "Bully" (Bboy), is very adorable, has beautiful coloring, and very very loving. I am just worried about his hair and fear it may never come in completely, or become any thicker. I comb him everyday and he also gets Omega 3 daily. Is there something I could be doing to help his hair come in any quicker?

[chachi]

He could just have a silky coat that is thinner and slower to grow but is the desired coat with yorkies

[Bboys mom]

Thank you, I was terribly worried that he would never have all of his hair.

[Maximo]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. Do you have some photos you can share of Bully? I agree with Chachi, could be that he has a silk coat which can appear sparse at first and slower growing.

Is the hair on his back that appears shorter possibly in line with his wee wee? If he is a leg lifter and hits his coat, this can cause damage and make the hair break/appear shorter.

[Bboys mom]

His hair that is very very short, has never even came in yet. It starts between shoulder blades and right down middle of his back, including tail area. What is left of his tail, lol. I will post pics of him when I return home later on today. You all are so helpful, I appreciate your comments very much.

[Nancy1999]

Some dogs are small, because of genetics, some are small because of physical problems. How do you know that he's very healthy? Has his liver been tested? If what your describing is true, " hair down his back about half way is almost nonexistent", this is not normal at all, even with those dogs whose hair is thin. The hair itself is thin, not there is barely any hair. What does your vet say about the condition? I would not supplement, until I found out what was causing the problem. Are you feeding a good quality puppy food? I personally would get a through vet check, if you catch some problems early enough, you can prevent damage from being done.

[ritapatt]

Do you use topical flea treatments? My Wheaten terrier had hair loss because of them.

[Verbena]

I agree . . Can you post a pic. I think your pup has a silky coat

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Verbena

I agree . . Can you post a pic. I think your pup has a silky coat

Joey has a silky coat, but never was his hair on his back "almost nonexistent." Silky hair is usually thinner than a cotton coat, but they still have a lot of hair, the strands of hair are thinner. This isn't normal.

[Bboys mom]

I really feel totally stupid asking, but could someone tell me how to post a pic on here of him? My laptop went to electronic heaven several months ago, so I use my cell phone for everything. My vet gave him clean bill of health, also she told me that any type of Purina puppy food is fine to feed him, and is only food I have ever given him and never given him table scraps. Our vet also approved the Omega 3 and is currently getting 1ml dose daily. I have never used a topical flea treatment, and probably will never be able to use that type of flea treatment since he is under 4lbs, and is unlikely he will ever reach a weight of 4lbs. I only use a mixture of distilled white vinegar and water to deter fleas. I only lightly mist him with that mixture on rare occasions. I am highly allergic to insect bites, so I am extra cautious with Bully as well. I use a mild puppy shampoo as well. I do remember when I purchased Bully from the breeder, she mentioned that the vet who she uses was excited about this litter being an all "Blue" litter. She told me that type of litter is rare. This being my first Yorkie, I don't even know what that means. I have done a ton of reading about Yorkies, but still haven't read anything about a "Blue' litter.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Bboys mom

I really feel totally stupid asking, but could someone tell me how to post a pic on here of him? My laptop went to electronic heaven several months ago, so I use my cell phone for everything. My vet gave him clean bill of health, also she told me that any type of Purina puppy food is fine to feed him, and is only food I have ever given him and never given him table scraps. Our vet also approved the Omega 3 and is currently getting 1ml dose daily. I have never used a topical flea treatment, and probably will never be able to use that type of flea treatment since he is under 4lbs, and is unlikely he will ever reach a weight of 4lbs. I only use a mixture of distilled white vinegar and water to deter fleas. I only lightly mist him with that mixture on rare occasions. I am highly allergic to insect bites, so I am extra cautious with Bully as well. I use a mild puppy shampoo as well. I do remember when I purchased Bully from the breeder, she mentioned that the vet who she uses was excited about this litter being an all "Blue" litter. She told me that type of litter is rare. This being my first Yorkie, I don't even know what that means. I have done a ton of reading about Yorkies, but still haven't read anything about a "Blue' litter.

Oh my goodness, I can't imagine why a vet would be excited about this. I think she's referring to "blue born." The term blue born is different than what standard means when it describes coat as "blue and gold." Blue born is a problem with a recessive gene and these dogs can have a host of problems. Some are so sick, they don't live past the age of one, others are only mildly affected, and it may only be cosmetic with little or no hair on the body. They are prone to skin problems and care should be taken so that they don't get sunburned. The breeder should have neutered both dogs who produced this pup and you should do the same. Here's what one sites says:

Yorkie Color Dilution Alopecia - CDA
Alopecia is the term for hair loss and is part of the problem with dilute coat colors, most especially the blue coloring and is a known inherited disease in dogs. This condition could affect any dilute color of dog if they are carrying the genes. The disease is also known as Blue Born Puppies in this breed, and in other breeds has been known as Blue Balding Syndrome or Blue Doberman Syndrome so even more information can be found under those names. These dogs as a rule have red noses or blue noses also. Goldenray Genetics Chocolate Yorkies Red Golden or Yorkie Blue Borns CDA

Sorry to say, no supplement will help this condition, but the Omega 3 might help with the skin and keep it from becoming overly thick.

[Bboys mom]

I tried to upload a pic for you, but it kept saying error,and I tried several times. My dogs nose is very black, and I know that if my dog has that problem, his nose could still be black. Just wanted you to know his nose color. The way my breeder talked about the vet being happy with the litter, I took it as she was pleased with their color. I have pics of Bboy on my Facebook, if you would like to look at my Facebook?? Most of his hair is long, and I can see hair coming in where it isn't as plentiful as the rest. I don't even have a pic on my profile, nor do I know how to fix that. I feel so dumb on here, you would never believe I was a 4.0 student when I was in college for criminal justice! I will eventually figure out how to navigate on here!!

[Bboys mom]

I have been reading about blue born pups, my pup was born with black and brown hair colors. I saw him when he was five weeks old, when we went to meet the litter and make my choice as to which pup I wanted. I read that blue borns are all born greyish in color. Is this true?

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by Bboys mom

I tried to upload a pic for you, but it kept saying error,and I tried several times. My dogs nose is very black, and I know that if my dog has that problem, his nose could still be black. Just wanted you to know his nose color. The way my breeder talked about the vet being happy with the litter, I took it as she was pleased with their color. I have pics of Bboy on my Facebook, if you would like to look at my Facebook?? Most of his hair is long, and I can see hair coming in where it isn't as plentiful as the rest. I don't even have a pic on my profile, nor do I know how to fix that. I feel so dumb on here, you would never believe I was a 4.0 student when I was in college for criminal justice! I will eventually figure out how to navigate on here!!

LOL, no worries! Posting photos here can be a challenge because the photo files have to be resized. There is a maximum file size. Doing this is on a phone is harder than a computer. Sorry I don't have the exact instructions and cannot find the info in the forum for you.

You can private message me links to your Facebook photos and I would be happy to re-size them for you while you are figuring things out. You can also put the photos in Photobucket and post links here.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Bboys mom

I tried to upload a pic for you, but it kept saying error,and I tried several times. My dogs nose is very black, and I know that if my dog has that problem, his nose could still be black. Just wanted you to know his nose color. The way my breeder talked about the vet being happy with the litter, I took it as she was pleased with their color. I have pics of Bboy on my Facebook, if you would like to look at my Facebook?? Most of his hair is long, and I can see hair coming in where it isn't as plentiful as the rest. I don't even have a pic on my profile, nor do I know how to fix that. I feel so dumb on here, you would never believe I was a 4.0 student when I was in college for criminal justice! I will eventually figure out how to navigate on here!!

Unfortunately some breeders would be happy with this, that doesn't mean it's good for the dog. Sorry, I can't help you with the photos, I know you can do it from a phone, but I'm not sure of the details.

Originally Posted by Bboys mom

I have been reading about blue born pups, my pup was born with black and brown hair colors. I saw him when he was five weeks old, when we went to meet the litter and make my choice as to which pup I wanted. I read that blue borns are all born greyish in color. Is this true?

I think a true blue born is greyish, but there a degrees of the condition. Sounds like your baby won't be impacted health-wise, but you should not breed him. Were you planning to breed?