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Post by honeybees on Aug 27, 2011 6:15:12 GMT
My GSD has just turned 8. Over the last couple of days she has begun losing fist-fulls of hair. She has never shed this much hair before and it just keeps coming! I fear she will be bald in a couple of days.  She is healthy & happy; her coat, apart from it falling out, is nice and glossy ... Have booked her in too see the vet on Tuesday morning. I just wondered if as a dog ages do they lose more hair or if there is any ailments/diseases that cause hair loss? Any explanations/guesses would be most appreciated before I end up with a giant Chienese Crested!!  |
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Milliesmum
H G Addict
COCKERP00S RULE!!!
Posts: 23,901
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Post by Milliesmum on Aug 27, 2011 20:46:25 GMT
Has her diet changed? Could it be some kind of allergy?
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Post by honeybees on Aug 27, 2011 23:38:40 GMT
Thank you for the reply..
Her diet has not changed in 3 years - put her on the senior stuff when she started having trouble with her joints.
Have started adding a flex supplement - wonder whether this could be it ...
She is off to the groomers tommorow... will ask them RE allergy, as they may be able to tell from her skin (if they can get to it!)
Think i'm just scaring myself that it could be the dreaded 'C' word ...
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dazycutter
Happy to help
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his Tongue.
Posts: 7,933
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Post by dazycutter on Aug 28, 2011 18:54:35 GMT
possibly cushings... unlike horses, dogs loose their hair
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Post by JaysMum on Aug 28, 2011 22:38:11 GMT
possibly cushings... unlike horses, dogs loose their hair Not always.. friends dog needed regular clips to remove hers.... she was cushinoid for 5 yrs til she was PTS  with complications |
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dazycutter
Happy to help
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his Tongue.
Posts: 7,933
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Post by dazycutter on Aug 29, 2011 18:43:35 GMT
possibly cushings... unlike horses, dogs loose their hair Not always.. friends dog needed regular clips to remove hers.... she was cushinoid for 5 yrs til she was PTS with complications sorry to hear that, I too lost a dog with this, plus other complications....but classic symptoms of cushings in dogs is hair loss and slow re growth after clipping... I think you will find that if you research the disease, there is no evidence that cushings in dogs promotes hair growth |
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Post by honeybees on Aug 29, 2011 18:53:15 GMT
Groomer has suggested same thing, also that she has got a lot of muscle wastage, unfortantely I naively put this down to age until the hair situation began. Will be at the vets tommorow morning  After researching the disease I would have to say Cushings actually makes the dog lose a lot of hair & causes slow re-growth; in fact, from what I read, it's 1 of the main symptoms of the disease. |
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dazycutter
Happy to help
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his Tongue.
Posts: 7,933
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Post by dazycutter on Aug 29, 2011 18:53:29 GMT
dont panic.. it might not be that at all.. they will need to do an ACTH stimulation test to confirm cushings.
Other classic signs are drinking more water, hungry and getting a "pot bellied" appearance.
If it is, it can be well managed, dont panic just yet.. please keep us posted..
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with complications