in need of advice

[BabyHaley]

we are in Toronto

[gemy]

Originally Posted by BabyHaley

we are in Toronto

Welcome fellow TO'er

[adawnelliott]

Originally Posted by BabyHaley

Hi my name is Sherri and I am mom to a morkie girl named Hailey. I know I don't have an actual yorkie but I am in need of advice so I thought I would give this place a try. Hailey is 13 weeks old and sweet as can be I truly believed the women I bought her from was decent but 2 weeks later I now know the truth. First off miss Hailey has giardia which she is being treated for. The second issue is her hair, it seems to be thinning, like really thinning you can see her pink skin. The vet says she is healthy but what healthy pup loses their hair? Her hair is really dry and breaks easily. If anyone has any advice please let me know, I have 2 other dogs and 3 cats and I don't want them getting sick and I don't want Hailey to suffer either.

Hey Sherri. I would definitely switch her to a grain free food regardless, because in the wild, dogs wouldn't eat grains. Most dogs do have grain allergies, although they are so mild that most owners may never notice because it may never present clinical symptoms. Signs of a food allergy can be as subtle as licking the paws a lot. (They can develop secondary yeast infections also from this.)

I would also give her fish oil on her food. That's great for the skin and the coat and most dogs tolerate it extremely well. That will also help her hair stop breaking. In any animal, humans included, hair and skin is always the last to get nutrients, so if the hair and skin aren't healthy, you can bet that something somewhere in the diet needs tweaking. Unrefined virgin organic coconut oil works great too; you can either put it on her food and/or on her skin. I would do both, because it will do more good internally by helping her skin/hair grow in stronger so that dryness won't even be a problem. (Humans can use this on the skin/hair too! Or ingest it as well!)

Lastly, like others mentioned, a liver function test, a thyroid test, and a skin scraping may also be in order.

Hope she is well!