4 Give Lemon Juice A Try
Lemon juice can be used much like apple cider vinegar. Both are acidic liquids that can help fight against bacteria and restore the pH of any problem skin areas.
(Keep in mind, it’s often the problem skin underneath the hair that’s causing the hair loss. Fix the skin, and in many cases you fix the hair loss.)
We all know that olive oil is good for us, when we get it in our diet.
But did you know it can also help soften the skin when applied topically?
If your dog has patches of dry skin, try applying a little olive oil to those rough patches. Olive oil is great at moisturizing dry, rough skin.
And it even has another, secondary skin benefit: it can smother mites that could be causing your dog’s hair loss!
Simply massage a small amount of oil into your dog’s skin. And be careful not to let them sit on any good furniture in the meantime.
It can be quite worrying if you notice that your dog seems to be losing some of their lovely coat. Alopecia in dogs can be the result of skin infections such as ringworm (a fungal infection), a bacterial infection or parasites such as mites, and is often the result of the dog scratching or licking an itchy or sore area.
Alopecia in dogs can affect all breeds and genders at any stage of their life. It’s a fairly common condition and can display as either partial or complete hair loss, but it can also affect your dog’s skin, endocrine, lymphatic and immune systems.
It can be alarming to see your dog losing hair as it can be very noticeable, especially if you have a long-furred pet who typically has a silky-smooth coat. Luckily, alopecia in dogs is usually very treatable and a visit to the vet should help to find the root of the problem and allow you to find a suitable treatment to get your dog back to their usual, gorgeous selves.
What are the signs of seasonal flank alopecia?
Affected dogs lose hair in well-demarcated areas, typically on the flanks (both sides of the abdomen, just in front of the rear legs). In most cases, this hair loss is symmetrical; each side of the body is equally affected. Hair loss can also occur in other areas, such as along the sides of the chest, at the tail base, or even across the bridge of the nose. When the hair falls out, the visible skin is often hyperpigmented (darker than usual).
Typically, hair loss begins in the fall and hair begins to regrow in the spring. Less commonly, dogs may exhibit hair loss in the spring with regrowth in the fall. Regardless, the cycle of hair loss/regrowth typically follows a seasonal pattern, occurring repeatedly throughout the dog’s life.
Must Have For Treating Hair Loss In Dogs
Shedding happens. It’s a fact. You can always count on locks losing their grip when spring or early autumn rolls around and dogs shed their seasonal coats. Environmental factors like temperature, nutrition, and stress can also affect canine coat loss.
But while some loose hair occurs routinely during a dog’s hair growth cycles, thinning hair with mild to severe scratching and bald patches—also known as alopecia—is not. If you’re concerned your dog’s shedding is a bit excessive or abnormal, you may want to look into if they have this condition.
Alopecia, otherwise known as abnormal hair loss or baldness, is the inability to regrow hair regularly or when hair falls out partially or entirely over the dog’s body. It occurs when the body attacks its own hair follicles, resulting in hair falling out. There’s typically a pattern to the baldness and it will either spread out or appear symmetrical. Alopecia also affects both people and dogs.
Some alopecia flareups are temporary and improve with treatment, while others are permanent. Although bald patches on the skin aren’t pretty to look at, alopecia isn’t life-threatening, and dogs can live everyday life with or without all of their hair. However, you will want to do something to make sure the itching isn’t uncomfortable for your pet.
In addition to thin areas of the coat and excessive licking, scratching, and shedding, other signs of alopecia include:
When a dog scratches constantly without stopping, it causes stress and anxiety in the dog and the owner. To make matters worse, tearing at the skin to try to ease the discomfort can trauma and create wounds on your dog’s skin. To provide some relief and/or alleviate the condition, you’ll need to determine the underlying cause.
There are many reasons why a dog develops this irritating skin condition, including heredity or hormonal issues. Most are treatable or manageable. Usually, these cause the dog’s coat to thin out but don’t produce excessive itching and scratching.
A dog can acquire alopecia from a parasitic infestation of fleas, lice, mosquitoes, or mange mites such as Demodex or Sarcoptes. Spider bites or insect stings can wreak havoc on the skin, too. Plus, an inadequate diet, food allergies, or an outdoor, dirty, hot, or moist environment responsible for a fungal or bacterial infection will cause ringworm or skin allergies. You will notice that a dog will lick and scratch incessantly to relieve the irritation.
Endocrine diseases such as hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone), Cushing’s disease (high cortisol), or reactions to rabies and corticosteroid injections can also cause alopecia. Additionally, an established yeast infection on the skin weakens the immune system and causes digestive issues, inflammation, and itching. The resulting scratching leads to hair loss.
Reactions from rabies vaccines and steroid injections, cancer, chemical exposure, burns, and normal aging can produce alopecia. While there are multiple reasons why a dog may get alopecia, you can work with your veterinarian to determine the specific cause.
Some dogs may experience seasonal flank alopecia. This non-inflammatory type of hair loss—either partial or total—usually begins in early adulthood and shows up during the cold winter months on both sides of the abdomen in front of the rear legs
Blame the shorter days and lack of sunlight for irritating the dog’s flanks. Occasionally, though, the hair loss appears on the sides of the chest, base of the tail, nose, and ears.
This type of alopecia can last six months, beginning in late fall and lasting until early spring when the hair starts to grow back.
In some cases, hair loss can signal a severe underlying condition. A trip to the veterinarian’s office will help pinpoint the problem. The vet can perform a physical examination and examine a dog’s hair follicles for signs of damage. You may also need to do blood tests or biopsies can confirm or eliminate medical causes.
Diagnostic laboratory tests with smears and a skin culture can reveal any bacterial, fungal, or yeast infections, whereas a skin scraping can rule out parasites.
Some types of alopecia are preventable, while others are not. If genetics or an auto-immune disorder is the reason for the hair loss, there’s no way to prevent it.
Ridding a dog of parasites is easier, as many preventive medicines are available. You should also reevaluate your dog’s current diet and switch to a well-balanced one or eliminating common food allergens will improve hair loss caused by an inadequate diet.
There is also a wide range of prescription medications available to treat alopecia from reoccurring. These include antibiotics, antihistamines, antifungals, and steroids. Your veterinarian will determine the best treatment for your pet.