Help, my dog is going bald!

Smur

Hi, I have a 10 year old shih tzu male who is going bald! He has always had problems with his skin since he was a pup (we have since concluded that he was probably inbred in some way). Recently, he has started going bald around where his collar is on his neck. I took off his collar for a few weeks to see if that would change anything but it didn't. He is now starting to lose the hair down his back as well.

I have been to the vet about this, he seemed to think it was an allergy to food. So we took the dog off the wet food, and he is now only eating science plan sensitivity food. That is still not making a difference. He is also very uncomfortable when we're giving him a bath, he yelps and cries the whole way even though we use a medicated shampoo.

I want to solve this before I have a completely bald dog!! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

morganafay

I'm guessing the vet has ruled out fleas or other parasites?

Does the collar have any kind of metal on it? We had a dog in college for dog grooming with red skin all around the collar and on his back, and I realised that there were metal studs on his collar and it was probably a nickel allergy. Is the collar still off him?

Is there anything else he could be allergic to? Like a new brand of washing powder you used to wash his bed, or clothes that he touches, or anything?

Also is the bath water too hot or cold? Maybe the shampoo just hurts his sore skin.

Sorry I don't know what it is, but if the vet says an allergy to food but it's not that, then I'd guess an allergy to something else in his environment. It could be lots of things unfortunately

anniehoo

Did your vet suggest testing for Cushings Disease? Its possible to run an allergy panel too which is quite expensive but could rule out the most common allergens that may cause hair loss.

Smur

Thanks for your replies. I just read up on Cushing's disease and many of the symptoms sound like Pip's symptoms - hair loss, increased thirst etc. I will ask my vet to look into it. I might find a different vet actually because when Pip got knocked down a few years ago and fractured his pelvis the vet told me to put him in a box in the shed until he got better :eek:. Needless to say I did not do that!

Georgina012

Best of luck with it, watevr it turns out to be...