# Hair loss as well as skin loss on neck and back



## Squashy (Jun 16, 2011)

Sorry for the long post but I'm tired of the vet spinning me in circles. I've already spent over $300 trying to figure out what's wrong with still no right answer.

First off...she's about 12 years old. Her ears are perfect. Pink and clean with no hair or skin loss. I've tried changing her food maybe due to allergy and nothing. She doesn't go outside much. I have another dog and she hasn't caught anything so it's nothing contagious apparently.

My mom first noticed a line of hair loss by my dogs shoulder blades Dec '10. Mom took her in and they did a fungal test and it came back negative so they didn't know what it was. They suggested a prescription shampoo. 

I decided to wait and see if it got better or worse. It got worse and started looking like a red raw wound. I put "wound lotion" on it for pets and it healed up nicely. She continued losing hair as well as skin attached. The hair loss was almost the shape of an Oval with 3-4 small circles attacked to the Oval. You could see bare skin with no hair roots or anything. I was thinking ring worm or hot spots. The wound lotion wasn't helping the skin/hair loss so I decided to shave her upper back thinking it was hot spots(wound lotion heals ring worm). I finally got the prescription shampoo and after bathing her still applied the wound lotion to sooth her itch. She seemed to heal up but it was migrating south. 

Doc gave me pet tinic and it seemed to be helping. Her new hair was growing in where I shaved. It was a nice dark grey shiny color while the rest of her hair was a light dead looking grey. I looked through the rest of her hair and yet again..more skin coming off with hair attached. So I shaved her whole body and it looks like what happens when you get sunburned and you have flaky skin everywhere. When I give her a bath red irritated bumps appear. 

There's no more circles or ovals. All I can see is flaky skin all over her body except for the first area I shaved in the beginning. If you pull on her hair it will come off though. Vet suggested my last visit a blood test which is around $150 but I'm broke and $300 is already over my limit. 

It's been 6+ months! She's not miserable and she doesn't appear to be itchy anymore. Any help?


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## QUIGLEY'S MOM (Jan 12, 2010)

Welcome, we are glad you are here. We would love to see pictures of your baby!

There are so many reasons and variables for hair loss in dogs. I understand blood test cost money. However, in the long run the blood test might be the best option. If you keep trying these 10, 20 or 30 dollar solutions it adds up fast. The blood test could pinpoint the issue and you could be on your way to treatment sooner. Also, there is lots of good information out there concerning hair loss in dogs. Below is just one of the links. 

My Quigley has lots of bald spots and I studied everything to try to get his coat back. Unfortunately in his case he is just gonna have bald spots. He is completely bald under his neck, his entire stomach and on his butt above his tail(where they shaved him for surgery never grew back) and his hind legs. His baldness is due to lack of testosterone while he was developing. We tried testosterone injections and they did not help. In his case it does not bother him one bit. It bothered me at first but now I'm used to it. 

Hope you are able to find help for your baby. 

http://www.wiki-pet.com/health/dog/condition/condition-search.php?symptom_id=273


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Do you have a picture of your chi? You described her as silver which is usually what most of us call blue. It sounds like she could be dealing w/ some color dilution alopecia if she is a blue, although its strange it would onset so late in her life?


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## sammyp (Jun 14, 2011)

I dont no alot about this but good luck and hope that you baby gets better


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

What are you feeding? It could be allergies? Did they do a scraping to rule out parasites? Could it be Demodetic mange (non contagious)? I agree with possible Alopecia as well but was thrown off a bit by the "red raw wound"?


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## Squashy (Jun 16, 2011)

was feeding her Purina One. I then changed her diet to all natural organic to see if that would help but it didn't. 

It seems to me she has multiple different things going on as the red raw wound appeared in the beginning until I stuck wound lotion on. Then docs gave me antibiotics? that smell like bananas or some sort and pet tinic. That seemed to make the round patterns of hair loss go away which appeared to be ring worm/hot spots. And NOW her skin keeps peeling with hair attached like shown in the picture(that's why I shaved her to just get the shedding over with and keep her cleaner). Definitely not as bad as she use to be. 

The dark grey(blue) patch in the picture is the first area I shaved her and it grew back in nicely while the rest of her hair started turning a light dead looking color.

My 2 dogs Taffy(blue) and Abby


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

It looks like CDA (color dilute alopecia) to me...the dry skin I would think is because her skin is not being protected by fur. I might seem like an odd suggestion but I would give her a vigorous bath in an oatmeal medicated shampoo and then put a mild baby lotion on her skin daily like johnson & johnson baby lotion which is fragrance and dye free.

Fur falling out can be very itchy for a dog so maybe she's just over-reacting and itching too much...its hard to say TBH but possibly see if your vet thinks its alopecia...shes definitely the right color for it.

Color dilution alopecia is an inherited condition and the coat will appear normal at birth. Most affected dogs will show signs between 6 months and as late as 2 or 3 years of age. The first signs are hair loss and dry skin and possibly a recurring bacterial infection, generally on the back where small bumps will reveal infected hair follicles. While the primary condition has no specific therapy, the secondary infection is treated with antibiotics. Many dogs will have chronic recurrent infections because of the abnormality of the hair follicles which results in an increased tendency to allow for bacterial colonization and infection.

Some animals also have their hair affected on the neck and the top of the head while the face and legs are less commonly affected. The affected skin is scaly and without hair, sunburn or extreme cold can be a concern. These dogs can lead a normal healthy life with routine treatments of moisturizing rinses and shampoos and antibiotics for bacterial infections. High dosage essential fatty acids and Vitamin A supplements can occasionally be helpful. Affected dogs, their parents and siblings should not be used for breeding.


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## lindseyv77 (Feb 18, 2011)

Has she been tested her for Cushing's Disease? My chi, who is 4 years old, has it and has no hair left on her body except on the back of her neck and on her lower back towards her tail. Vet did hundreds of dollars on different test, we finally found out it was Cushing's Disease. Now she has to be on medication for the rest of her life.


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## mooberry (Jan 31, 2011)

lindseyv77 said:


> Has she been tested her for Cushing's Disease? My chi, who is 4 years old, has it and has no hair left on her body except on the back of her neck and on her lower back towards her tail. Vet did hundreds of dollars on different test, we finally found out it was Cushing's Disease. Now she has to be on medication for the rest of her life.


Did her hair grow back after?


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## lindseyv77 (Feb 18, 2011)

Don't know yet. She just started her medication. And it could take up to 6 months to see hair regrowth. 

This disease will eventually kill her. The vet says most dogs only live about 2 years after diagnosis but since we caught it so early she might live 5 more years. She is only 4 years old so around 9 or 10 years of age we could loose her. The vet said it's a Geriatric Disease, it will slowly kill her as she ages.


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## Squashy (Jun 16, 2011)

Just to be clear, her skin was peeling like a sunburn does before I even shaved her, and the hair attached to this skin came off with it. Now the end result after everything is just really flaky skin.

Anyways, flippedstars, CDA sounds the closest to anything than what the vet thought it might be. I have found a few bumps after I shaved her that were weird in cream color. I'm not quite sure what these bumps are suppose to look like in the CDA situation. One thing that I question though is it says "it may not appear until their 2-3 year mark." Does this mean it is able to appear at an older age?

Oatmeal medicated shampoo, is this special for dogs or can I just get it at any over the counter store?

Thanks for helping guys.


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## CHITheresa (Apr 30, 2011)

I don't know any thing about her condition but I am Praying for a cure.


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## glyndwr (Dec 4, 2010)

Hope everything goes well and can be sorted,


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## lindseyv77 (Feb 18, 2011)

Chiquita, who has the Cushing's Disease, also has flaky skin and at first had the pus filled bumps or just yellow looking crusty bumps on her where there was no hair. It actually is more common in older dogs than what Chiquita is, she is only 4 yrs old, but I caught it REALLY early! Normally dogs w/ this condition have a pot belly and hair loss before owners take them in to see what is wrong. By then they are older or elderly, because it's a gradual disease owners don't suspect it's Cushing's till their pets are advanced in the disease. Here are a couple of really good articles on it...

Cushing's Disease (Hyperadrenocorticism) in Dogs

Cushings Disease In Your Dog (Hyperadrenocorticism) What Happened And What You Need To Do

Two test they did w/ Chiquita was the...
*Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test* then they did a
*High Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test*.

The first test was positive. The last test showed if it was the Pituitary Gland or the Adrenal Gland. In her case it was the Pituitary Gland.

I'm not saying this is what your dog has, maybe it's a food allergy problem. But I also thought it was w/ my dog. So I switched food so many times and nothing helped. If it is a food allergy problem most of the time it's an allergy to grain. So get a food that is 100% grain free and rated at least a 4 on dog food review websites, like this one... 

Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost

A great website to buy dog food if you live in an area where you have lack of choices is... 

k9cuisine.com 

If you purchase $50.00 or more it's free shipping and you get it in a couple of days. 

I would try this first before I would get your pet tested for any diseases. 

And if nothing else, it's CDA and there is nothing you can do about that. 
But if I were you I would rule out everything else first then except it for what it is... that it might be CDA. Because if you just assume it's CDA you could prevent your Chi from getting help and reversing the hair loss. I refused to except that Chiquita had CDA because I have seen tons of short-haired and long-haired Chihuahuas that are Blue (Gray), Brindle or Merle colored and they have NO hair loss of any kind! Not even thinning hair anywhere on their body. So rule out everything else first don't just assume it's CDA and do nothing!


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

From what I understand CDA can show up at ANY age, its just more common to see it appear younger.


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## bayoumah (Nov 30, 2010)

hi only hopeing the best recovery for your little chih


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