Treatment For Hair Loss in Dogs

By Craig McPherson

Dog Hair Loss

Causes- Mites, fleas, ringworm and injury.

Often in severe cases preventing the dog from reaching the area is necessary by the use of an Elizabethan collar.

MITES - (Mange)

There are two main types of mite. They are Sarcoptic and Demodectic mites. They can only be seen with a microscope. Sarcoptic mange is contagious to humans but not Demodectic mange-which lives deep in the skin layers. If you notice an itchy hair loss patch on your dog, get it examined early by your vet. It can usually be identified and treatment given that day, in the veterinary hospital. However, an improvement will take several weeks, so be patient.

To avoid your dog getting mites a well balanced diet is essential. A clean bed and yard environment, An occasional flea rinse or using benzyl peroxide shampoo usually keeps them away. Normal dog to dog contact does not spread mites. Unlike fleas, mites live in the skin not on the skin. Only close contact e.g. mother and pups is contagious. Usually a dog breaks out with mites when it is under stress, suffering from other illnesses, aged or a runt of the litter.

In general when its bodys resistance is lower than normal.

FLEAS

Treat the dog(s), cat(s)etc, and the house and their beds. Daily vacuuming, Insecticidal or herbal flea washes, Oral or spot-on type monthly flea treatments, sprays etc for the pets, flea bombs for the house and pest control sprays for the yard.

These are all ways to beat the fleas.

Remember, fleas lay thousands of eggs! These land throughout your house and yard and kennel areas. Also flea eggs hatch daily! Especially if warm weather and movements(vibrations) are sensed by the egg.

TREATMENT:

Veterinary treatment is usually required, but control over the long term (without drugs) is up to you!

RINGWORM

This is characterised by an itchy lesion where there is hair loss and a dry scaly, red and sometimes raised appearance to the skin.

Like mites ringworm appears when the dogs resistance is low. Other dogs, cats, other children and owners, can contact it. It can even remain dormant in the soil for up to 6 months. First the lesion must be identified by the vet. Your dog will be given appropriate medication and advice.

Eg: Washing bedding, grooming items, all other pets etc in a Halamida or anti-fungal wash prescribed by your vet.

Despite the name, Ringworm is caused by a fungus, Microsporum canis and less frequently by other species. Ringworm infections remain limited to skin and superficial structures like hair and less frequently nails in cats and dogs. The infecting fungi require the keratin in superficial skin layers and nails, horns etc for their metabolism and furthermore do not grow well with the warmer temperatures of subcutaneous tissues, hence the superficial distribution.

Note that Ringworm agents are obligate parasites - they normally live on the skin, although not in pathogenic numbers.

It can be transmitted between animals by skin abrasion or mild trauma, grooming tools, scabs etc particularly if the animal's immune system has been compromised, e.g. with steroids. In a normal, healthy animal ringworm infections are usually mild and self limiting, say 1-2 months. A major motivation for getting rid of a ringworm infection is to prevent you the owner from getting it.

If it is a mild infection topical application of lime sulfur is good, although it can be smelly. Chlorhexidine shampoo is also effective as is also a relatively new 2% miconazole shampoo. If the infection is severe, oral Griseofulvin is effective but also costly.

The round, ring-like lesions are suggestive but not diagnostic and are not the typical lesion for cats and dogs. The animal may have itchy, scaly, crusty and hairless areas. Fungal culture is probably the best diagnostic method but many vets are not set up to culture fungi.

A Wood's lamp can be used but not all ringworm agents will fluoresce so absence of fluorescence does not mean no ringworm, furthermore other things besides Ringworm also fluoresce. In other words a Wood's lamp is not a great test. Microscopic examination of skin scrapings may reveal the actual organism.

Finally, if you think your dog has Ringworm take it to the vet for diagnosis and treatment. If it does have Ringworm, you can get it, but prevention is straightforward - treat your animal.

If your dog gets into a fight or out playing fetch! it can easily get scuff grazes where the fur is rubbed off and it looks like a hairless lesion. If so, first check the lesion for redness and possibly a scrape / wound mark around the site. Watch the area for a few days for hair re-growth before going to the Vet.

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