Blown Coat before Show
Submitted by canuckbulldog on April 24, 2010 - 1:31amHello, a few weeks ago my bitch apparently blew her coat. She went through a period of excessive shedding and the vet said it's common and often hormonal. (yes I panicked and brought her to the vet:) She has two areas on either side of her that are very "thin" looking, not bald but quite noticeable. She is brindle in colour so not sure if chalk would work. We have a show in two weeks...any suggestions on how to make it look better? If I could make the skin underneath a bit darker it might not be as noticeable, just not sure what to use. Will a judge fault you for that?
Thanks in advance,
Blown coat or
Alopecia. Wonder if it's alopecia since it's on her sides.
Be very careful using any chalk or coloring. If anything rubs off on the judge you can be dsmissed from the ring.
I have to agree with Deb...
It's probably Seasonal Flank Alopecia. It happens to a lot of bulldogs in late winter/early spring.
If it's not to hot where you are you should let her lay out in the sun. The fur will grow back.
You may want to have her thyroid tested. If the thyroid is off it can also caused flank alopecia.
Sue
thank but no, it's from blowing her coat
Hi, the vet did do tests to be safe but she said it's from blowing her coat, a common thing that happens from hormones in dogs that are not spayed. Teela's coat is in great condition otherwise, shiny, healthy. The skin isn't dark under the area where it looks thin, a common symptom of alopecia. The hair has already begun to fill in however, it still looks "thin". I agree, I don't think chalk would be the answer, I was hoping someone else would have a suggestion.
Thanks,
Tammy
blowing coat
Well the best thing to do is to supplement with omega 3-6-9 and bath twice before the show and really massage the skin in the area and get the blood circulating....a healthy coat should be partially to fully grown (at the VERY least enough to chalk) by the end of those two weeks.....now in the off chance there isnt regrowth you have to consider doing a t4 panel for thyroid....I am not saying this to stir up anything but a common symptom is symmetrical patterned balding with the possibility of darkening skin. Now my advice is based on 21 years as a certified master groomer whos business has been located in a vet clinic for 16 years. I know you are in Canada and I am as well....I am in Kitchener...feel free to stop by anytime and we can talk bull :P
What I did...
My Belle has blown her coat before, she looked terrible and my male just had a thinner coat along his back. I hated that you could see his skin at times when the light was a certain way. I bought tea tree oil from walmart and a spray bottle and mixed about a teaspoon of the oil with about 500ml of water. I would spritz the dogs and rub it down into the skin, both dogs have beautiful coats, Belle's was great before hand but it seemed to help the coat come back faster as my vet had said she wouldn't be show ready when I wanted her to be, yet she was. And Max's coat is great now, I still use it on all of them after baths, especially in the spring and summer.
Heather