Here are some issues that may be causing hair loss:
Allergies: Allergic reactions to a food, chemical, or fleabites or environmental reactions (such as pollen).
Symptoms: Frequent licking or biting where your dog feels skin irritation. You may also notice some redness or inflammation of the skin.
Prevention & Treatment: Along with feeding a BARF raw food diet, applying a topical ointment or lotion to relieve the itching sensation can reduce and alleviate pain that your dog is experiencing. Supplements that promote a stronger immune system can also assist in the battle with allergies for your dog. Incorporate an enzyme, probiotic, and omega-3 supplement to help give your pet’s immune system a boost.
Genetics: Certain breeds like dachshunds, greyhounds or whippets are susceptible to alopecia.
Prevention: Dogs are typically born with this condition and their hair begins to thin over time, particularly under the belly and ear flaps. The only effective method of screening this genetically is by selective breeding.
Cushing’s Syndrome: A benign tumor in the pituitary gland. Can be caused by too many steroids, cortisol or aging.
Symptoms: Thirst, frequent urination, muscle weakness, and/or an enlarged abdomen.
Prevention & Treatment: Your holistic veterinarian may recommend medication, surgery, and feeding a raw diet (BARF Diet).
Infection: Can be caused by fungus, bacteria, or mites.
Symptoms: Thick skin, irritation, inflammation, oily skin and redness. Hair loss can be located where the infection is found. Ringworm can cause irregular hair loss and scabbing.
Prevention & Treatment: Maintaining a clean and safe environment can prevent infections from occurring. The ringworm may clear up by itself; if this does not happen then you may need to treat the area of infection with an antifungal shampoo.
Sores and Rashes: Insect bites or reactions to chemicals and plants.
Symptoms: Lack of appetite, fever, redness, callus or thickened skin.
Prevention & Treatment: Determine what factors trigger your pet to break out so you can find ways to avoid or minimize exposure. Using an all-natural topical cream, ointment, lotion (like Organic Lavender Noni lotion) can reduce the swelling and pain and speed up the healing process. If the condition continues, you may want to speak to your vet for treatment and to avoid an infection.
As you may have noticed, the trend for preventing dog hair loss is to optimal nutrition for your pet. Feeding the BARF diet to your dogs is of the utmost significance because it gives your dogs all of the nutrients that would be found in the wild. It is their evolutionary diet and what they were intended to eat.
It is also important to be mindful of your dog’s surroundings because you never know what they can get into that will cause a reaction. Keeping your dog in a safe, stress-free environment with a good diet and fresh water is essential to keep your dog healthy and full of hair.
