hair lose - Page 1

I've been feeding my dogs canidea since pups female is 14 months now and male 9 months.Well I noticed my female hair getting thinner and lightening up  she was a rich red and black.Took to the vet and she says it's her food.So i have switched to chicken soup now <puppy large breed> My male still has his thick coat.And it seemed I noticed it right about when canidea switch formulas so makes since to me. My male is big boned and thick body,stocky, he is about to turn 10 months he weights in at 73.Female is 14 months and weights in at 76 lbs.Oh and male just went through pano but no sign in past 3 or 4 months now.So my question is Does chicken soup have to much protein for them? <canidea 24 % chicken soup large breed  27%>Other question is what should i be supplementing the food with to get a thick rich  coat back?

Thanks

Steve

Since hair is made entirely of protein, I would not think higher amounts of crude protein in the food would cause a dog to lose hair. Dry skin can cause hair loss, and the GSD has notoriously sensitive skin.

I have bitches who occassionally blow a tremendous amount of coat and they do seem to lose their hair. It does come back eventually. I never concern myself with it as they are otherwise healthy. I should add that high stress levels can cause hair loss as well.

Fish oil is often suggested to promote softer skin and a more luxurious coat of hair, but it must be used sparingly because it can make the dog gain the wrong type of weight and it places a heavy load on the pancreas since it is a fat. Some people swear by tea tree oil and use shampoos and conditioners that have this is the blend. I would think that it would take a lot of shampoo and conditioner to make any difference, and each washing does remove critical oils from a dog's skin. So, I tend to not support the idea of using this type of shampoo.

I will suggest an occassional bath with a medicated shampoo, in the event the skin is irritated. How often should one bathe the dog? I can't give you a good answer, and all I can say it that I do it from two (2) to four (4) times annually.

I think your choice of food is fine. I would make sure the coat is raked on a weekly basis to remove any spent undercoat and debris. Loose undercoat and dirt do irritate the skin of a dog and can cause a dog to groom and scratch itself much more than it normally would.

Best Regards,

Bob-O

Did the hair loss occur after or around her heat cycle?  Sometimes hair loss can happen after a heat.

Nutrition is going to be a hot topic here, ...everyone has their strong opinions.  I have tried many different foods and find that my dogs do great on the Solid Gold WolfKing and also raw diet, supplemented with Vit E and Vit C for strong ligament and muscle development.  EFA will also be a good supplement for skin and coat.  I had a client this past month who had been feeding his young male shepherd Eagle Holistic and was finding that the pup did not have solid stool.  I talked him into weaning off of that onto the Solid Gold and within 2 weeks heard back from him that his dog now has solid stool.  And as an added benefit, he remarked that his dogs red color seemed to be getting deeper.

Personally, I never advise "puppy" food for our growing GSDs.  You want a slow, solid growth and sometimes the high protien content in puppy formulas boost the growth and can cause, guess what, pano.  Your dog may have gone through pano anyway, but might have been spared that if you had just fed him a high quality adult large breed dog food.  The Chicken Soup food , I believe, is manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods, and did have some recalls during that period of time when a lot of pet food was found to be toxic.

Hope that helps. 

Sharon

My female blew her coat heavily at a year, and again 6 months later, then she settled on her adult coat ,and now sheds at a normal rate. So as long as she doesnt lose in patches,then it sounds like normal maturing.I feed raw so I dont have a opinion on dry food, but 14mths is a young adult ,it might be time to change for to adult. Best Dee