lovemesideways Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 (edited) So Riddick (Who is a Entire, male, 10 month old Black Labrador) has recently started shedding excessively, and I know hes a Labrador, they shed. But its to the point where I noticed today that he is getting bald patches on his sides. They aren't too noticable yet, but he barely has any coat on his sides and the hair on his back is very coarse. He is the correct weight, eating properly. Gets fed Eukanuba Puppy daily plus a Kong filled with mince at night. He also gets treats throughout the day during training, Apple, cheese and Cabanossi. He also occasionally gets a pigs ear or a Greenie. He isn't at all lethargic or changed really, just his coat is looking so grotty! Any ideas guys? I'm thinking I'll take him to the vet on Monday for a check up, his last one was only a month or so ago and everything was normal. Can't hurt to check though! He really does not have any symptoms! Nothing I can see or notice that is wrong other than his coat. Just the amount of hair he loses has gone from basically Nothing at all (he was shedding extremely lightly) to, if you run your hand through his fur, you will come out with a clump of dry hair. Edited October 31, 2010 by lovemesideways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DBT Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 He's around the age where he would be doing 'the coat change' and almost overnight they will shed excessive amount. If its coat change, the coarse hair on his back would be his strong adult coat , but now with a lack of thick puppy coat filling in underneath it, it becomes much more noticeable ..... I hope thats all it is. Bathing and brushing him with a rubby curry brush, or blow drying with a blaster dryer, will help shed out the old coat and encourage new coat to come in.... A vet check might be best though, because if its not just a normal coat change, you want to find out and treat asap ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 So Riddick (Who is a Entire, male, 10 month old Black Labrador) has recently started shedding excessively, and I know hes a Labrador, they shed. But its to the point where I noticed today that he is getting bald patches on his sides. They aren't too noticable yet, but he barely has any coat on his sides and the hair on his back is very coarse. He is the correct weight, eating properly. Gets fed Eukanuba Puppy daily plus a Kong filled with mince at night. He also gets treats throughout the day during training, Apple, cheese and Cabanossi. He also occasionally gets a pigs ear or a Greenie. He isn't at all lethargic or changed really, just his coat is looking so grotty! Any ideas guys? I'm thinking I'll take him to the vet on Monday for a check up, his last one was only a month or so ago and everything was normal. Can't hurt to check though! He really does not have any symptoms! Nothing I can see or notice that is wrong other than his coat. Just the amount of hair he loses has gone from basically Nothing at all (he was shedding extremely lightly) to, if you run your hand through his fur, you will come out with a clump of dry hair. I noticed Mindy's coat went from dry, coarse and flaky to shiny, soft and healthy looking when i started regularly (3x per week) feeding her sardines in oil and bones. She is also at the shedding stage- if you run your fingers through lots of hair will come out! You can also buy omega 3 supplements or give them fish oil tablets if you don't want to feed sardines. There is a huge variation in labrador coats with the blacks often being a bit coarser, but I would be concerned if there were bald patches. Maybe he has an allergy or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemesideways Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 He's around the age where he would be doing 'the coat change' and almost overnight they will shed excessive amount. If its coat change, the coarse hair on his back would be his strong adult coat , but now with a lack of thick puppy coat filling in underneath it, it becomes much more noticeable ..... I hope thats all it is. Bathing and brushing him with a rubby curry brush, or blow drying with a blaster dryer, will help shed out the old coat and encourage new coat to come in.... A vet check might be best though, because if its not just a normal coat change, you want to find out and treat asap ... Yeah the coat has definitely changed to adult coat, no more puppy fluff! Seen it happen with friends dogs and my own boy Rover too. Seems to be more than that though! Hopefully I'm wrong and its just excessive coat change. But bald patches? Is that normal? Going to the vet anyway to get his ears checked! I noticed Mindy's coat went from dry, coarse and flaky to shiny, soft and healthy looking when i started regularly (3x per week) feeding her sardines in oil and bones. She is also at the shedding stage- if you run your fingers through lots of hair will come out! You can also buy omega 3 supplements or give them fish oil tablets if you don't want to feed sardines. There is a huge variation in labrador coats with the blacks often being a bit coarser, but I would be concerned if there were bald patches. Maybe he has an allergy or something? Noticed a lot of difference in the coats of my boys and my friends its true. He gets bones daily, maybe some sardines in oil would be a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Maybe bloods to give him general health check and bloods for thyroid wouldn't go astray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 If the vet does not find anything wrong i would give fish oil daily, I give 5 x 1000mg capsules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Maybe bloods to give him general health check and bloods for thyroid wouldn't go astray? My thoughts also - if the coat is sparse to the point you can see skin, I'd be wondering about thyroid levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemesideways Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 Vet says that he is fine. Could just be the coat changing cause of the weather. I'm going to try the sardines or fish oil for a few weeks and see how it goes. See if the coat improves at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Maybe bloods to give him general health check and bloods for thyroid wouldn't go astray? My thoughts also - if the coat is sparse to the point you can see skin, I'd be wondering about thyroid levels. That was my thoughts as well. I would not have thought that a change of coat should be so extreme as to causing bald patches. Doesn't sound right to me. Got a picture of the balding areas, LMS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now