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05-30-2008, 05:21 PM | #1 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 13
| Yorkie with Alopecia? Hello everyone. I'm looking for some info/words on encouragement here. My 22 week old Sadie has been shedding like crazy for weeks now. I took her to the vet about 4 weeks ago and again last night and basically he tells me that she has Alopecia. We had done a 4 week round with "fish oil pills" which didn't work. Has anyone ever heard of this? Does anyone have a furr baby with this condition? My heart breaks and of course we're all so attached to her. I contacted the breeder and she never even heard of it herself. She's willing to replace my girl, but I'm devastated at the thought of returning her only to get a new baby. I feel sooo guilty Anyhow, thanks for letting me vent, but I'm soo sad right now. Christine |
Welcome Guest! | |
05-30-2008, 05:25 PM | #2 |
YT 2000 Club Member | Ah Christine, I'm so sorry to hear this. I don't know of anything to do for it, does your vet? I know years and years ago we had a toy rat terrier and he started losing gobs of hair. I took him to the vet and the vet said it was stress. We had just moved from the house we lived in when we got him, actually to another state, and this is when it happend. He said it was because Jake got so stressed out with the move and all, that when he got adjusted and settled, he should start growing it back, and he did. I hope your lil one grows his or hers back.
__________________ ~Tracy~ |
05-30-2008, 05:33 PM | #3 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 13
| Thank you Tracy. Unfortunately the only other option I have, is to give her 3 mil of "Melatonin" per day and give that a shot. I just feel like its to much for such a small dog. She only weighs 3lbs right now and I'm pretty unsure. The vet didn't sound very convinced that she would regrow her hair, but more so that she will continue to loose. I would hope that she's not stressed as she's a spunky little girl. She's so active and otherwise very healthy. I'm just at a loss |
05-30-2008, 05:44 PM | #4 |
YT 2000 Club Member | Awe, poor lil girlie. I don't know anything about the med you listed up there, have your researched it for side effects and what not? I'd do that before giving it to her. Perhaps some others here will have some suggestions of things that would work. Jake didn't "seem" stressed out to us, he was always running around playing, but then one night when I was resting from unpacking, I picked him up to pet him and I freaked out! I was COVERED in hair. I mean, I'd run my hand along his back and it just came out in handfuls. I was so upset I called my sister who gave me the number to her vet and I called him in the middle of the night, lol. He actually went into his office to so he could check Jake out. Have you done any research to try and find other causes of hair loss in yorkies? Did the vet do a skin scrapping to rule out any kind of mange? I sure hope you can get to the bottom of this for your lil one and get her the help she needs.
__________________ ~Tracy~ |
05-30-2008, 05:53 PM | #5 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 13
| Actually he didn't perform any type of testing on her. He probably should have now that you mentioned it, I should have thought of that as well. Could the diagnosis be wrong? I really trust my vet, he seems very knowledgable and he's a great guy. I haven't really checked into the "Melatonin" all to much but I can say that its for humans and not dogs, which is even more of a reason I don't really want to go that route. Sadie is doing the same that your Jake did. All I have to do is pick her up and run my hand through her and I'm covered in hair. To make matters worse, she stays in a room when we're not home that has light tile and its everywhere! |
05-30-2008, 05:59 PM | #6 |
YT 2000 Club Member | Not to undermind your vet or any vet for that matter, but I'd highly suggest going back to the vet with your furbaby and requesting a skin scrapping be done. I had problems with Maggy May losing some of her hair as well, but it wasn't like Jakes. Maggy going bald on top of her head and then it went to above and around her eyes, the skin scrapping revealed demodex mites and she had to be on meds for a good two months, cause it spread from her head to around her eyes. The only med I used on her was Goodwinal ointment, our vet didn't wanna give anything any stronger because she already was so sick and her immune system was way down. I would seriously request a skin scrapping though, I mean, how can any vet rule out any kind of mange without doing a skin scraping?
__________________ ~Tracy~ |
05-30-2008, 06:00 PM | #7 |
YT 2000 Club Member | How old is she by the way? How long have you had her, have you changed her food recently or giving her anything different than she normally has? Food and treat wise? I'm wondering to if this could be allergy related. What kind of food does she eat?
__________________ ~Tracy~ |
05-30-2008, 06:04 PM | #8 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mid Michigan
Posts: 1,510
| I would get a second opinion, I had a golden that lost all the hair on half his body and he had some rare thing ??? cant think of the name. We gave him meds and rub on cream and in 3 months you never knew he was a bald dog.
__________________ Member of Petite Pups United and Spoiled Rotten Club Proud member of the CrAzYcLuB |
05-30-2008, 06:04 PM | #9 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 13
| Your absolutely right. I will call in the am and request that. I know its going to cost us but at this point, anything to keep my little girl. I can't thank you enough for your help. |
05-30-2008, 06:04 PM | #10 |
Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 1,275
| Hi there, I'm sorry you're having trouble with your little one. Causes of Hair Loss (Alopecia) in Dogs Here's a link I found that lists possible causes and treatments for hair loss in dogs. I definitely think that your vet could have ran some tests to rule out any SERIOUS underlying causes. How does he know it's not due to allergies or something? Treatment may not work if you're just treating the symptom and not the underlying cause of the symptom. This link does say that alopecia is characterized by patches of hair loss especially on the head, neck, and body; no itching - does this sound like what your little one has? It also says that the hair usually grows back spontaneously. I hope everything works out okay!
__________________ Janice, Oscar and Baby Ruth "The more people I meet, the more I love my dog." |
05-30-2008, 06:13 PM | #11 | |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 13
| Quote:
Hi Oscar's Mummy. Thank you for the link and your kind words. I now agree that he should have ran test. I didn't realize there were all these different test that we're available. Sadie does, however, have serious thinning starting from her head to the middle of her back and lots of loss on her whole chest with little to no itching. Her hair is also matting a lot even with the brushing. I do plan on calling in the morning and maybe get my vet to do a little more before I go off and send her back to the breeder. I love my Sadie dearly and I can't imagine how devastating it would be to me, my husband and especially our children if we "replaced" her. | |
05-30-2008, 06:13 PM | #12 |
My hairy-legged girls Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: lompoc, ca.
Posts: 12,228
| This is what is says in my Home Veterinary Handbook: GROWTH HORMONE-RESPONSIVE ALOPECIA This is a rare cause of bilateral symmetric hair loss. Growth hormone (somatotropin) is secreted by the pituitary gland. In some cases, for unknown reasons, the pituitary does not manufacture or release adequate concentrations of growth hormone, resulting in coat and skin changes similar to those described for hyerperestrogenism. Symptoms generally appear at puberty, but may occur at any age. This disease has been observed in Pomeranians, Chow Chows, Poodles, Samoyeds, Keeshonds and American Water Spaniels. TREATMENT: It is important to exclude other hormone-dependent causes of hair loss. The treatment of choice for growth hormone-responsive alopecia is neutering. If the coat does not improve, the dog may respond to growth hormone administered subcutaneously three times a week for four to six weeks. Dogs receiving growth hormone must be monitored for the development of diabetes mellitus. TRACTION ALOPECIA Hair loss with baldness occurs in dogs who have had barrettes, rubber bands and other devices used to tie up their hair. When these accessories are applied too tightly or for too long a time, traction on the hair effects the hair follicles, causing the roots to stop growing. This results in an area of hair loss that may be permanent. TREATMENT: The only treatment for a permanent bald spot is to remove it surgically. This would only be done for cosmetic reasons. Alopecia can be prevented by applying traction devices loosely and for short periods, or preferably by not using them at all. |
05-30-2008, 06:16 PM | #13 |
YT 2000 Club Member | I don't know how reasonable your vet it, but a skin scraping really shouldn't cost that much. Our vet doesn't even charge for an office visit when we had to keep taking Maggy May back in to have another scraping done to see if she was all clear yet. It only cost us $8.00 for a skin scraping. Please let us know what the vet says. if he doesn't want to do any testing to try and find answers, I'm afraid I'd have to find a new vet. The other poster is right, you cannot just treat the symptoms, unless of course it's something there is no cure for. Treating the underlying cause is the way to go.
__________________ ~Tracy~ |
05-30-2008, 06:18 PM | #14 | |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Petaluma
Posts: 2,217
| Quote:
This is what I would do first to rule out a low thyroid. Fish oil is good, but won't correct the hair loss but does help. If she does have low thyroid, Soloxine is given twice a day/very inexpensive although you will need to follow up with blood draws to make sure the dosage is correct. If it is thyroid, you will be amazed at the difference in their coat within six weeks. Warmly, Deborah
__________________ Peace and Light, Deborah My Sweet Sophie 1994-2007Welcome, Charlie Barley 4.14.07 & Sofia Bella 9.13.08 http://www.dogster.com/dogs/535291 | |
05-30-2008, 06:24 PM | #15 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 13
| I had posted a reply and it got lost! I'll try again.......First I want to thank everyone for all the responses and wonderful info. I will definitely be calling the vet in the am to see what else he can do. Sadie's hair loss/thinning is pretty significant. It starts at her head down to the middle of her back and her whole chest with little to no itching. The matting is getting pretty bad even though I gently brush her. Like I said, she's very much a part of our family and I can't imagine how devastated I would be, my husband and especially our children I spoke to the breeder and I almost wish she would just reimburse me a portion of what I paid (to help cover treatment cost) then to have to send her back and get a new puppy. But she seems more interested in replacing her than reimbursing me. |
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