Puppy with weird head...anyone seen anything like this? - Page 1

Ok, I've been joking around, calling this boy "Comb-over" because he looked like he had a part down the middle and one ear flopped over to the side, as if covering it up. He also has that grumpy old man look to his face. 

But he's getting older (7 weeks now) and the line is getting more and more distinctive. I've never seen anything like it. It doesn't feel like anything, ie, if I close my eyes and feel puppy heads, his head doesn't feel weird, ie, I cannot pick him out of the bunch. He certainly doesn't act weird. But he has a very distinct bald line right down the middle of his head. WTH could it be??? Below is him at 5.5 weeks, where you can see it, but not super obvious, then under that is him yesterday, much more defined. Thoughts???

Nope; never seen that before.  It'll be interesting to see what it turns into as he grows.

Blue Dog Alopecia, most probably.  See conversations with Dragonfry
​on the other relevant threds.

Research is inconclusive, at best, that blue GSDs are affected Canine Color Dilution Alopecia. The camps that say they can be, say that it's rare, and the problem has to be in the lines to begin with- just being the wrong color doesn't cause it- and other groups and articles say they are not affected by color genetics the way Dobermans, etc. are. Believe me, I've done the research or I wouldn't have posted it here hoping another breeder had seen it and could tell me what happened later. It's always been there; it's just easier to see the bigger his head gets. Do tiny puppies start out with it? Everything I can find says "early age" but when you look closer, they mean like 2-4 years old, not infancy. 

Gotta decide what to do with this little rascal. Temperament is AMAZING...but a tad much for a plain old pet home, and what working home wants a blue pup with a bad combover? LOL

Yikes

Ok, I found something interesting. I found a study talking about "black hair follicular dysplasia" that says it can be evident by 4 weeks of age and only occurs in the BLACK sections of bicolored or tricolored dogs or patterned dogs. Now, blue is dilute black...could this be what we're dealing with? It also says it's cosmetic and does not bother the dog. Well, I'd say it's cosmetic! Yikes...a face only a mother could love...and I do! 

I deceided to bite my tongue......

Looks like his left ear is bald on top? Could be camera angle.

Hey, let's not get hostile toward each other. I'm just trying to figure this out and if it's been seen before, there's a good chance someone here has seen it! Neither parent has any skin issues, that's for sure, and I cannot speak for the sire side, but there are no skin issues on Aria's side that I've ever heard of. I did ask those questions when choosing a stud. 

It's possible it has to do with being blue...it's possible it doesn't and it's just coincidence. He is also the first pup who was sick at 2 weeks and went to the vet when they had that weird lymphatic virus. I never underestimate the effects medication can have on babies. 

Did you guys know that fenbendazole can cause alopecia? I knew albendazole did, frequently, but I have never heard of an issue w/fen. Learn something new every day. 

Ha, Joni, good call;-) I didn't see your edit before posting. Sorry.

Joan, it's not really. I think it was wet and the camera angle exacerbated the appearance. I've never noticed that in handling him, and I handle him ALL.THE.TIME.  He just has the same vertical line he's always had. It's not like the hair is falling out, so much as it never was there. It's just finally evident enough as his head is growing rapidly. His coat texture is the same as the other boy who looks like him and the 1 short coated black and tan/red male. I notice no difference in texture or density or anything. Congenital defect? Something just didn't go quite right in the womb when that was forming? I wonder about this because my son was quite premature and to dumb it down, his skin wasn't quite finished and he has a "seam" on the back of his neck that gets more prevalent as he grows. Doctors said it was just one of those things that hadn't finished developing and such is life. It's not growing; he is, so it looks bigger. 

Needless to say...unless a qualified special home pops up, this boy will be sticking around until I can figure this out.