Losing top coat

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delladooo
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Losing top coat

Post by delladooo »

Help :? :( :?
MiMi is losing her top coat down her right side and seems to be itching quite a bit. It seems to only be down the one side and I have no explanation. Her undercoat is all still there and I can't see any redness on her skin. I want to avoid the vets if possible but have no idea what to do. Thoughts???? :shock:

Adding: She's very itchy this morning. I'm going to give her a bath later see if it helps any. The fur loss is still down one side but seems to be falling out quite rapidly, there's little clumps on the carpet and I watched her pull a small clump out.
Theo400

Re: Losing top coat

Post by Theo400 »

Hi Delladooo

I will try to help, I know a little about coat problems as Theo had a bad itchy coat and it was an allergic reaction.

a few things to consider has she recently started a new diet or eaten something new
has she got any lumps on her skin.
is she up to date with flea products

honestly I would take her to the vets to be on the safe side but I would think if there is anything that is new that could be making her itch.

Good luck and I hope Mimi gets better soon
delladooo
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by delladooo »

Theo400 wrote:Hi Delladooo

I will try to help, I know a little about coat problems as Theo had a bad itchy coat and it was an allergic reaction.

a few things to consider has she recently started a new diet or eaten something new
has she got any lumps on her skin.
is she up to date with flea products

honestly I would take her to the vets to be on the safe side but I would think if there is anything that is new that could be making her itch.

Good luck and I hope Mimi gets better soon
Hi, thanks for the reply.

She's had nothing new in a while
No lumps
up to date with flea

After some reading we think it's possibly chicken which is her staple at the moment. We're going to cut that out in a hope it'll improve and go from there. Whilst I'm not against going to the vets when needed, I know they're just going to prescribe multiple flea treatments and steroids as that's what they did for Laufey this summer (we suspect a pollen allergy for him as it disappeared with the weather) and I don't want to shove all the chemicals on her unless we really have to :?
Theo400

Re: Losing top coat

Post by Theo400 »

Hi Delladooo

well it doesn't sound series if there is no lumps etc. I would try not giving her chicken. Theo had a reaction to rice and rabbit so he can not have these. a lot of dogs can become allergic to chicken both my friends great Dane cant stand chicken.

lets hope its that :)
delladooo
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by delladooo »

Thanks for the reassurance at least! Obviously the undercoat is what keeps her warm but worried about her in the cold it's her being so little.
Chicken is off the menu (for her) for now and we'll see what happens
Theo400

Re: Losing top coat

Post by Theo400 »

Hi Delladooo

how is Mimi doing was it the chicken?
delladooo
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by delladooo »

It wasn't the chicken unfortunately. We have an appointment at the vets in an hour where I hope we'll at least be closer to the answer. We're taking both of them. We've narrowed it down to suspecting an environmental allergy (although no idea what it could be, maybe dust mites) or connected to their flea treatment (although this is dubious as they're both 'out of date' with their treatments as I don't really like chemical treatments) so we'll see. Fingers crossed we get some answers
Theo400

Re: Losing top coat

Post by Theo400 »

Hi Delladooo

well environmental is a big contender I forgot about that one, my grandma has a westie and he's allergic to grass, dust and debris from the hoover.

I hope you get some answers for Mimi :)
delladooo
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by delladooo »

Right, so we took both MiMi and Laufey to the vets this morning as they're both itchy but he's not lost any fur. He's insured and she isn't.

The vet was reluctant to say it's allergies as, in her experience, dogs under 6 months don't usually develop allergies. Laufey is going in tomorrow to be sedated to get skin biopsies and bloods taken for allergy testing and other skin samples. She thought MiMi's anal glands were very full and expressed them (she also had smelly breath). She suspects fleas, as I expected, but I'm still very reluctant to say it's fleas (unless a flea allergy) because the cats, rabbits and guinea pigs aren't affected and when the cats have fleas they itch and there is flea dirt all over. She didn't say anything against out diet choice, just asked if this was something only happening since the change (it's not).

It's possible that their itching is unrelated and that hers could be anal gland related whilst his an allergy but I'm not very fully convinced of this although it's definitely possible. Currently the plan is to do diagnostic tests on Laufey and find out the reasons behind his itching and then try to extrapolate to her itching if possible. We were also told that it was possibly her anal glands making her itch so keep and eye and see if that improves now. Hopefully, if it is her glands, it won't be a long term issue and is just because they're not emptying properly at the minute as she's on reduced bone as she can't chew with no teeth.

I also asked about Laufey eating so much grass and hay and whilst she's not concerned about either, suggested it might be wise to discourage the hay eating so as it doesn't cause a blockage.

I'll definitely keep you updated and keep this here for future reference for myself too :)
Theo400

Re: Losing top coat

Post by Theo400 »

Hi Delladooo

thanks for letting us know. it could be fleas although I would be shocked as if the cats are not itchy then why have they not got fleas if it is that. I never knew you could have itchiness with there annual glands. I wish both of them luck and hope you get to the bottom of it.
JudyN
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by JudyN »

I hope you can get to the bottom of it soon - possibly literally, in Mimi's case :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
delladooo
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by delladooo »

Theo400 wrote:thanks for letting us know. it could be fleas although I would be shocked as if the cats are not itchy then why have they not got fleas if it is that. I never knew you could have itchiness with there annual glands. I wish both of them luck and hope you get to the bottom of it.
This is why I was reluctant to say it was fleas to begin with; when the cats get them they itch too and there's flea dirt on the beds where they sleep but there simply isn't... The vet isn't sure it's the anal glands, just threw it out there as a possibility, as the itching is really in the wrong place - MiMi has lost fur down her ribs and sides whereas if it is anal glands it's usually as they chew / itch at their bum. That said there's always exceptions to the rules.
JudyN wrote:I hope you can get to the bottom of it soon - possibly literally, in Mimi's case :lol:
:lol: Wouldn't that just be the icing on the cake! They've been asleep for the past few hours (I assume) as we went out; helping a friend set up a new shop. Just got in and their itching is already driving us all crazy. She seems no better but I'm not sure how long anal gland itching would be present for afterwards so I wasn't hopeful anyway.

If I'm honest I really don't want to take him tomorrow, leaving him there all morning to be anaesthetised, again, and his skin and blood taken but we can't leave them and there's no way around getting the tests done. It does mean I'm going to have to use his pet insurance though and I've never had to claim on it before so no idea how - that could be novel at least :lol: :?
Sanna
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by Sanna »

Just bring the for and the vets will for you (at least mine does) ;) good luck Laufey!
delladooo
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by delladooo »

Sanna wrote:Just bring the for and the vets will for you (at least mine does) ;) good luck Laufey!
pardon? :? I'm generally pretty good at working out typos but I'm very confused :lol:
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Nettle
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Re: Losing top coat

Post by Nettle »

Have you actually checked for fleas as in used a flea comb all over the dogs and cats? Would be awful to put L through all that when the issue is fleas.

We are still finding dogs with harvest mites, so don't rule those out either.
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