Question for the pet docs or anyone who has dealt w/ Seasonal Alopecia

[Wally12]

I have an 8 yo female English bulldog. Over the past two months, she has started to lose her hair in HUGE patches right in the middle of her back, so that she just has a large bald spot there She has some small patches along the side as well, but nothing like in the middle of her back. She has gotten this along her flanks before and the vet told us it was likely a fungus from the grass (she loves to go outside and shimmy on her back) and to bathe her in this anti-fungal, anti-microbial shampoo that has to sit 15 minutes before washing off. I have been bathing her, but the hair seems to fall out worse in the days after. I took her a few months ago to have a complete blood panel done and everything was fine. A Google search leads me to believe she has seasonal flank Alopecia, although the hair is mostly falling out in the middle of her back.

With all of that said, is there anything else I can do besides bathing her to help my poor girl out? Some websites suggested a dose of melatonin each day. I have put some Neosporin on the bald spot just bc it was really pink and she acted like it was itching her. Any help is appreciated!!

 

[tcpoke]

Dog had it. Did shots, creams, etc. They all worked okay but were a pain in the ass. Then changed him to a salmon based food year round and haven't had a problem since. That was 4 years ago.

 

[Wally12]

What kind of dog? I do think I read somewhere someone had switched their dog to a salmon/sweet potato food that helped. Thanks for the response!

 

[tcpoke]

Hell if I know. Even our vet is stumped with that question. Our best guess is some sort of terrier and fox mix.

 

[Been Jammin]

Wally,

In my experience, Seasonal Alopecia is not accompanied by inflammation of the skin. In your pics, the skin appears to be pinker in spots, which suggests that inflammation is present. Seasonal Alopecia patients usually have skin that looks healthy, but hairless. Sometimes it can be darker (pigmented) but I don't recall any cases where it was red.

This suggests that your dog has either a skin allergy, parasite or fungal/bacterial infection. Allergy is difficult to definitively diagnose, but the others can be ruled in or out. I would suggest a visit to a veterinary dermatologist (or to OSU vet school). If that is not realistic, talk to your vet about performing multiple skin scrapings (to rule out Demodectic Mange) and skin biopsies accompanied by bacterial and fungal cultures. If those tests do not result in a positive diagnosis, you are left with allergy and can try various medications/dietary changes to resolve the problem.

Hope that helps.

 

[tcpoke]

Our dog would develop that same redness. The vet diagnosed it as a skin allergy. Hence why the shots worked. But like I said, after switching foods no more problems. It was almost alway a winter/early spring problem for us.

 

[JonnyVito]

I totally buy into what tcpoke is saying because if a human has dandruff problems or dry skin the doctors at times will suggest eating more salmon. Has to do with the fat in salmon and it is great for the skin. Also chicken can cause allergy problems in some dogs so the salmon and sweet potato combo can really help those dogs. I am not a vet though so I can't help much other then confirm tcpoke's post.

Hope you figure it out Wally.

 

[Been Jammin]

I totally buy into what tcpoke is saying because if a human has dandruff problems or dry skin the doctors at times will suggest eating more salmon. Has to do with the fat in salmon and it is great for the skin. Also chicken can cause allergy problems in some dogs so the salmon and sweet potato combo can really help those dogs. I am not a vet though so I can't help much other then confirm tcpoke's post.

Hope you figure it out Wally.

Basically, what you are talking about here is what is referred to as a "Food Elimination Diet". The concept behind switching to a Salmon/Sweet Potato diet may have some benefit of the Salmon being high in "fish oil", which can help reduce dry skin/haircoat and can also function as an anti-oxidant which can have a positive effect on the factors that are associated with allergic reaction. However, a food elimination diet works by stopping the dog's exposure to certain proteins that the dog may be allergic to. Most dog foods are made from certain protein and carbohydrate sources that are readily available and less expensive in the U.S. (such as beef/chicken and corn/wheat). If a dog develops an allergy to 1 of those ingredients, switching to an alternate protein/carbohydrate, that the dog has never ingested, can make a huge difference. For this reason, there are a lot of alternate diets, such as Salmon/Sweet Potato, Kangaroo/Oat, Venison/Green Pea, etc. The key to trying one of those diets is to remember that it is imperative that you are very strict while the pet is on this diet. If food allergy is the problem, and you feed mostly the elimination diet, you may never see the positive response you are hoping for. That means you can't give the pet any people food, treats (that have beef, chicken, wheat, corn, etc), other pet's food, etc. It is a good idea to feed only the elimination diet and be very strict about it for a full month before deciding if it is helping or not.

 

[JonnyVito]

Basically, what you are talking about here is what is referred to as a "Food Elimination Diet". The concept behind switching to a Salmon/Sweet Potato diet may have some benefit of the Salmon being high in "fish oil", which can help reduce dry skin/haircoat and can also function as an anti-oxidant which can have a positive effect on the factors that are associated with allergic reaction. However, a food elimination diet works by stopping the dog's exposure to certain proteins that the dog may be allergic to. Most dog foods are made from certain protein and carbohydrate sources that are readily available and less expensive in the U.S. (such as beef/chicken and corn/wheat). If a dog develops an allergy to 1 of those ingredients, switching to an alternate protein/carbohydrate, that the dog has never ingested, can make a huge difference. For this reason, there are a lot of alternate diets, such as Salmon/Sweet Potato, Kangaroo/Oat, Venison/Green Pea, etc. The key to trying one of those diets is to remember that it is imperative that you are very strict while the pet is on this diet. If food allergy is the problem, and you feed mostly the elimination diet, you may never see the positive response you are hoping for. That means you can't give the pet any people food, treats (that have beef, chicken, wheat, corn, etc), other pet's food, etc. It is a good idea to feed only the elimination diet and be very strict about it for a full month before deciding if it is helping or not.

Yes sorry I was kinda hitting on two topics at the same time. I was agreeing that Salmon has oils in it to help with dried skin. Also it can be used if pets get allergies to the more basic proteins. Like chicken, beef, corn, or wheat. Been explained it a lot better though. I only know enough to be dangerous.