why is my gorgeous female looking shabby? - Page 2

Nice looking girl. I would dare say your dog just blew her coat. Looks just like my sable female. Every Dec.-Jan., she throws her entire coat with the exception of a few scragglers of hair, here and there. She looks so funny like that, like a woman that should not be wearing spandex!(She's a bit overweight now).Looks like a totally different dog.

I remember going to a tracking seminar one fall at a friend's place. Her bitch had had a litter, and the pups were a couple of months old (forget the exact age now.)  Mom was a plush (long hair) Shiloh shepherd, and she had blown so much of her coat she was almost bald!

She looked SO bad that the owners didn't let her outside the whole time we were there, except for a very quick trip to relieve herself. I guess they were afraid of what the owners of the new puppies would think! (Several of them were at the seminar, with their pups.)

My female finished blowing coat about 4 weeks ago. The new coat is only now beginning to thicken up. She wasn't bald, just very thin-coated to be going into the winter (we've already had -20 F here!)  Anyway, her coat is now starting to look quite decent, and...guess what? She started her heat this morning, about a month early! 

And here I was hoping to get her OFA'd before her cycle! (She turns two on January 11th.)

How long should I wait after her heat before I have her x-rayed?

My girl did the same thing just as her puppies were going to their new homes...she looked so awful! I was very worried about her, but she vetted just fine. We supplemented her with fish oil, & gave her a lot of attention, & I made sure she got  out to play, nothing too stressful, just what was fun for her. I remember thinking that she was depressed that her puppies were leaving, sounds corny, but I went to my daughter's house to visit her & my grandkids, who have 1 of her pups, & when I came home, Kali just went bonkers, smelling me & jumping around. I was so touched by how excited she was....& coincidence or not, she perked up soon thereafter, & grew back a beautiful thick, shiny coat. Maybe it is all physical & hormonal, but that's what happened to us.

LMAO, Tigermouse! I'm right there with you! jackie harris

Sunsilver

I would wait to do the OFA's for at least a month or more after she is done with her heat cycle.

bronson mom

This looks very typical of a female that has just had a litter or is getting ready to come in season. My 2 females just went out of season a month and a half ago. They both looked HORRIBLE right before they came in. They were bald. There coats came back just fine. I had been using a supplement called Show Stopper. You can get it at www.k9power.com it is great. When I was using it my females didnt blow their coats as near as bad as they did when they were not on it. Maybe that will help your female.

Having pups can take alot out of your female,also, make sure you worm her good, as pups can bring out
all different kinds of worms, worm her with Pancur, and you'll see her bounce back....

Sounds like she could be getting ready to come into heat again and maybe just the stress of having puppies too can have its toll.  Certainly take her to the vet to check for parasites, etc. etc.  As just having pups can bring out the worms, so to speak.   My female has not had pups, but blows her coat like clockwork before heat cycles, and yes looks shabby.   After her next heat, she will probably start to look good again.

As mirasmom said, panacur is a good all around choice.