Bald spot
- Thread starter Jen
- Start date
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
That’s very strange! It doesn’t look sore or irritated, but I’d still want to get to the bottom of it. Maybe worth asking for a referral to a dermatologist?
Emily_Babbelhund
Mama Red HOT Pepper
- Location
- Regensburg, Germany
Did your vet do a skin scraping, Jen?
No she didn’t really do a lot.
She just looked at that bit of skin, and did a quick check over all of his coat and said she’s pretty sure it’s because he’s deep chested and he’s lying on it and rubbing the hair away.
This would make sense because the rest of his coat is perfect, and it’s just one spot which would be where his chest hits the ground.
OH also doesn’t think it’s getting any bigger and he was just stretching out.
So I’m going to measure it once a week for a few weeks and see if it gets any bigger.
It’s definitely not red, itrritated or bothering him. It’s just such an odd thing
She just looked at that bit of skin, and did a quick check over all of his coat and said she’s pretty sure it’s because he’s deep chested and he’s lying on it and rubbing the hair away.
This would make sense because the rest of his coat is perfect, and it’s just one spot which would be where his chest hits the ground.
OH also doesn’t think it’s getting any bigger and he was just stretching out.
So I’m going to measure it once a week for a few weeks and see if it gets any bigger.
It’s definitely not red, itrritated or bothering him. It’s just such an odd thing
Emily_Babbelhund
Mama Red HOT Pepper
- Location
- Regensburg, Germany
That sounds like a good plan. But so is @snowbunny 's idea of the dermatologist. If it's really bothering you, the peace of mind of a specialist opinion may be worth the cost. Or just insisting with your own vet that she at least do a skin scraping and have a look under a microscope. @Beanwood is an expert at that, wonder what she thinks...
Candy
Biscuit Tin Guardian
- Location
- West Yorkshire, UK
Oh! You don't want to risk a bald Stanley! Not at the same time as a new baby especially! Hope your lovely boy's OK.xxOk this bald spot is getting bigger!
I’m really worried he’s going to go bald. The vet just wasn’t concerned about it at all because it’s not inflamed and not bothering him.
I don’t know what to door if I’m just overreacting! View attachment 5611
- Location
- Wellington, NZ
@Kelsey&Axel had to deal with alopecia with her little Odie...it couldn't possibly be the early stages of that, could it? I hope it's just a simple case of the fur rubbing off.
I would go with @Emily_Babbelhund ’s suggestion, just for peace of mind. It could well be just because he lies on it, though.
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
It's hard to tell from the photo, but it doesn't exactly look like the bald spot is on the lowest part of his ribcage. If it's not, then I'm not sure how it could have rubbed from lying on it. It's very strange
Monty had a completely bald spot on his shoulder before Christmas, quite round, around 3cm across. He's got really thick fur around there, and it was quite difficult to find and not that obvious. It couldn't have been from rubbing or a harness at all. The next time I was at the vet, (a month or so on) I was planning to show her, but then couldn't even find it through his mane.
Like Stanley, there was no irritation or redness. The last time I did find it, I thought I could see very fine, new hair starting to grow back around the edges, so maybe it regrew.
Like Emily, I think it seems unlikely to be from rubbing, and surely it would be on the other side too?
Like Stanley, there was no irritation or redness. The last time I did find it, I thought I could see very fine, new hair starting to grow back around the edges, so maybe it regrew.
Like Emily, I think it seems unlikely to be from rubbing, and surely it would be on the other side too?
It’s definitely in the middle on the lowest part of his chest but it also goes a bit under onto his tuck.
I first posted about it on TLF in October 17, so it’s been a gradual thing over all those months.
At the time I thought it was his harness which would have definitely made sense but he never wears one now.
I’ll have to take him back to the vets but OH is saying he doesn’t need to go, it’s already been checked, it’s not bothering him so he thinks we should just keep an eye on it and mention it when we’re there rather than stress him out.
So I’m going to have to ask my dad to come because Stanley plays dead in the waiting room so he doesn’t have to go in and so you have to carry him. And I can’t do that at the minute
I first posted about it on TLF in October 17, so it’s been a gradual thing over all those months.
At the time I thought it was his harness which would have definitely made sense but he never wears one now.
I’ll have to take him back to the vets but OH is saying he doesn’t need to go, it’s already been checked, it’s not bothering him so he thinks we should just keep an eye on it and mention it when we’re there rather than stress him out.
So I’m going to have to ask my dad to come because Stanley plays dead in the waiting room so he doesn’t have to go in and so you have to carry him. And I can’t do that at the minute
Yes! On this there’s very fine hair and it’s not completely smooth where hair is trying to grow back but just doesn’t seem to be able to!
- Location
- Close to Devon/Somerset border
If the harness was rubbing, he's deep chested and that area takes the brunt of it when he lies down, it may just be that it's worn the hair down and it is struggling to grow back due to the constant contact.
Our previous lab had totally bald areas on his elbows for exactly the same reason, looked quite odd from some angles. The only advantage was to one of the cats when as a very young kitten, she used to crawl up BJ when he was lying on his side and lock on to whichever elbow was available and suckle - hard. You could hear her from the other side of the room
Good luck with getting to the bottom of Stanley's bald patch.
Our previous lab had totally bald areas on his elbows for exactly the same reason, looked quite odd from some angles. The only advantage was to one of the cats when as a very young kitten, she used to crawl up BJ when he was lying on his side and lock on to whichever elbow was available and suckle - hard. You could hear her from the other side of the room
Good luck with getting to the bottom of Stanley's bald patch.
- Location
- Vlaardingen, the Netherlands
Could it be hypothyroidism? How is he behavior wise? Has he gained weight?
I know that vets can test his blood on this, but most of the time it comes back normal, so I am told. I always keep an eye on Finn for this, as his mum had hypothyriody while pregnant. One of the reasons that she couldn’t take care of the litter...!
It is easy treatable with medication.
I know that vets can test his blood on this, but most of the time it comes back normal, so I am told. I always keep an eye on Finn for this, as his mum had hypothyriody while pregnant. One of the reasons that she couldn’t take care of the litter...!
It is easy treatable with medication.
No, doesn’t look like Alopecia in my opinion
Alopecia typically starts on the back of the hind legs and then travels up the back and is symmetrical. Odie and Axel both at one point had chest hair loss. Both were due to allergies though and it grew back quickly once we found out what the allergies were and eliminated it. Both of them were due to food allergies from kibble they had been on for a long time
Beanwood
Administrator
Casper had this last year, exactly the same. He has naturally quite a thin coat, not a nice thick double coat like Benson. He started thinning on his tum last spring/summer, just after his moult and lasted for months. Now it has more or less grown in, although it's quite a fine covering. The only thing that has changed, is cutting back significantly on complete raw, I rarely feed them raw now. He is on mostly salmon and veg by Millies Wolfheart, with homecooked 2 or 3 times a week, plus the odd raw duck neck, a bit of lamb, or venison raw bone. He also has a glug of salmon oil and Yumove advance daily.
I will get a photo of his tummy later, and have a look to see if I can find a bare tum one.
I will get a photo of his tummy later, and have a look to see if I can find a bare tum one.
I think I’m going to get rid of chicken from his diet for a little while and see if that makes any difference.
They do his food in salmon or lamb flavour so I might try salmon and see how we get on.
I showed my dad last night and before I could even finish he was like that’s just where he’s laying down, nothing to worry about.
So everyone is back to thinking I’m a crazy dog mam who needs to stop going to the vet
They do his food in salmon or lamb flavour so I might try salmon and see how we get on.
I showed my dad last night and before I could even finish he was like that’s just where he’s laying down, nothing to worry about.
So everyone is back to thinking I’m a crazy dog mam who needs to stop going to the vet
Boogie
Moderator
- Location
- Manchester UK