Alopecia in Weimaraners

[fyreside]

My 7 1/2 year old weimaraner is going bald. She has lost all the hair from her chest, stomach, abdominal area and the inside of her stifle area. There is no hair regrowth only pink skin. This started last year during winter and I thought it was related to the coat that she was wearing that covered this area - rubbing the fur off. This year I used a different coat that only covers her back - still the hair loss seems to continue. Needless to say she feels the cold dreadfully. I have had her thyroid tested - normal. She does not have fleas or any other types of mites (demodectic or sarcoptes). No allergies that I'm aware of - she is mainly an inside dog. Apart from the loss of hair she is in excellent health and eating well. The hair loss is in the wrong areas to be Cushings, but I'll have her tested for that anyway. The rest of her coat is shiny.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why or what I can do to treat her as I don't want a naked weim.

TIA

Marg

[greyghost]

How awful for you both. A friend of mine went through a similar thing. She did all sorts of tests and paid hundreds out for treatment to no avail. In the end she changed his food back onto his original food. She had been giving him the low calorie one and the only thing we could think of is that there was not enough oil in the diet food.

You could try some evening primrose oil 1,000mg a day. Maybe try adding a bit of olive oil to his food.

I will get Muriel to come on with some advice. Fingers crossed it is nothing serious.

[fyreside]

Thanks for this advice, I'll add evening primrose to her diet.

I'm wondering if it could be a hormone imbalance (lack of oestrogen) as she was spayed about 18 months ago.

[greyghost]

If it is hormone related then the EPO will help balance them.

[Muriel]

Hi Marg,
First thought is Thyroid, I know you've had it checked, but - have you had Jean Dodds test her Thyroid? The normal tests are notoriously suspect as far as I'm aware, Dr Dodds will do a thorough check, worth having it sent to her, she's in USA, I'll look out the site if someone else doesn't come up with it first, but your vet should know of her. Adding Kelp could be a good idea, it's a good supplement anyway and if she is underactive, it'll help balance it.

Me, I'd add in the Evening Primrose, Kelp, garlic etc and look at her food. What's she eating? Have you thought about real food?

What do you mean by mainly an inside dog? Doesn't she get out for walks etc?

Do you have a Homeopathic Vet you can talk to as well? Even by email for advice?

[anne]

Dodds contact info is 714-891-2022 www.hemopet.com. We are lucky to have her out here in California.

I do know of a Weim line with alopecia. Thyroid was checked and it wasn't a thyroid problem.

I understand that alopecia is related to the dilute genes (of course all Weims are dilutes) in other breeds.

Hope you figure it out....

[greyghost]

That site was under construction. Try this one:

www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM

[Cheryl]

That is how Slade has always been. But, he has food and seasonal allergies. The honey therapy has finally kicked in and food change but continues to have nearly bald underside, too.

Slade is finally symptom free this year, he'll turn 3 on Sept 8th:) I will add kelp to his diet to see if that helps:) I don't think he needs oil as he's fed salmon most of the year?

I'll be sending in Misty's thyroid panel to Dr. Dodd's soon, she was really shivering this morning. She quit after I fed them and we went for a jaunt. She shouldn't be shivering as its our summer but she does frequently and I haven't had luck getting the vet lately. Will try for the draw again, today!

[christina]

Hello Marg,

I only just read this .... Sorry to question this, but I have heard owners say time and time again that their vets told them that the thyroid test was normal - and they got it wrong. If you have a copy of the thyroid test, could you please post it on here? I am by no means an expert in interpreting those results, but I would be very interested to see the figures. If a full panel had not been done, I would strongly recommend to send blood to Dr. Dodds. - One more consideration.... Has your dog been spayed? - if not, there is an optimal time to have the thyroids tested for intact bitches, since at certain times in relation to their seasons the hormones would be in too much upheaval to give a reliable test result. I'll try to find the article.... - ah - got it:

www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ThyroidDisease.htm
Extract:
Anestrus is a time when the female sexual cycle is quiescent, thereby removing any influence of sex hormones on baseline thyroid function. This period generally begins 12 weeks from the onset of the previous heat and lasts one month or longer. The interpretation of results from baseline thyroid profiles in intact females is more reliable when they are tested in anestrus. Testing for health screening is performed at 12-16 weeks from the onset of the previous heat.

If it were indeed not the thyroids, then there must be another reason, and (having ruled out fleas and mites and allergies) losing coat to my mind means that your dog must have some kind of endocrine problem. I have got a Weim - Kimber - whose suffers from a number of autoimmune diseases which go under the umbrella diagnosis of "Endocrinopathy". One of those conditions is "Alopecia X", which means nobody knows what it is - too little research apparently, since it's so rare. But his coat simply does not grow - period. He has some half-hearted growing spurt every 3-4 years, then everything just stops for another 3-4 years. He is now 9 years old and his coat has been in an active growing cycle perhaps 2 or 3 times in his whole life. The rest of the time the old coat just got thinner and thinner, harsh, orange, prickly - ugly, worn and broken off.... He was near naked on his hind legs and both sides of his trunk recently ... right now he goes through one of those rare growing cycles - long may it last !!

Please, if possible, would you post your dogs thyroid results (with norm ranges please) ? You can email me privately, if you prefer [e-mail]
If you haven't got copies of the results, then please ask your vet for them. It would be a good idea to start a health folder for your dog. It can be invaluable for looking back or for getting a second opinion. Jean Dodds is always happy to give you her professional opinion, if you email her with the results.

Best wishes,
Christina

[christina]

****I'm wondering if it could be a hormone imbalance (lack of oestrogen) as she was spayed about 18 months ago

Hello Marg,

What a dummy I am !!! - Sorry, I missed this comment completely. Please dismiss my question about spaying....

As you say, it is highly likely that the spaying could have played a major part - though it is also possible that as well as the change of hormones the stress of the operation might have triggered something. I would still be very interested in seeing the thyroid results.

Something you could try in addition to Evening Primrose Oil is "Missing Link" - It's a food supplement in powder form. One of its many components is Kelp, which should help all round, particularly sluggish thyroids (if they are). Although, if you are planning to have another thyroid panel with Jean Dodds, I would have that done first before supplementing with Missing Link, as the Kelp in it would have the effect of increasing the thyroid figures - sometimes quite significantly. This would in general be a good thing - but not if you are trying to establish the true level of thyroxine in the body.

Christina

[aktyson]

I have friends who's Weim went almost completely bald as a young dog. They treated her with melatonin and she grew a full and thick coat again. She's at least 11 now and has not had any more trouble with hair loss.

Anne

[greyghost]

Just doing some research into Melatonin:

www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1487