Coat not growing back

sjp051993

So Tora blew all her coat right before the puppies were born. No big deal, she did it the first time as well. She blew coat really bad this time. She is nothing but guard hairs. The vets and I were not real concerned as the pups were doing so well we just kinda figured they were draining her a little more. Well, Puppies have been weaned for awhile now, but her coat is not coming back. Poor girl stands out in the cold and shivers. The coat that she has is nice and glossy. Her skin is in excellent condition with no flakiness. I am thinking after the holidays I am going to have to get her back into the vet to see if we can figure this out. Any other breeders ever have this happen?

sjp051993

I will add that she does not have fleas or mites. She is on year round flea preventative, and was already checked for mites. She is not itchy either.

cdenney

What about adding vitamin e to her diet?

sjp051993

They already get vitamin E and Biotin. They also get Omega oils as well. She is on top of the line grain free kibble as well as raw.

cdenney

I have nothing other than this might just be her needing a little longer to recover post pup because of the cough, stress in the home with new dog, emotional loss of pups as they are rehomed? Just grasping at straws

WrylyBrindle

maybe its seasonal- as in, she has to wait till the days get lighter or whatever it is that triggers the seasonal (non-hormonal) coat blows that all dogs get? I think about how Matsu seems to be ALL fuzz and no guard hairs and think that Juno ( a spring puppy) didnt seem this woolly, but I think being a winter pup he may not get his guard hairs till spring in this climate. when everyone else sheds? Or maybe I need to look at his coat more carefully...

sjp051993

It is weird because everyone else is starting to fuzz up, but poor Tora is not. She looks so sad outside when it is cold and she stands there shivering.

PoetikDragon

My girls consistently blow coat right before they come into heat, rather than having anything in particular to do with the season (that I can tell). When their heat is over the fur starts to come back. If the bitch was nursing during the normal "it's time to grow hair" phase, maybe has to wait until the next time she would blow coat. I don't know if this is true for any breed other than Akita or even if its just specific to my dogs.

CarabooA

I was really worried when Kitora blew her coat just about a month (?) ago.... she also was nothing but guard hairs... she of course has not had puppies - but same kind of thing, I think I even asked on here to no avail about how long it takes for their coats to come back in.... Once her undercoat started coming in, then she replaced her guard hairs - so weird, I've never had a dog shed like that before. Her's as I posted in a different thread has now come back in fantastic and better than it was before.

The only other thing I would think to test because of the whelping and nursing that Tora did would be thyroid?? Is she on extra vitamins for nursing to help supplement? Just brainstorming... hmmmm

sjp051993

She was on an extra supplement while she was nursing. It was a puppy vitamin. As the puppies started the wean, I started backing her off the extra vitamins. I am probably going to have them daw a blood panel and Thyroid when I take her in. My vets are pretty good, so we will see what they think. I have been taking my pets to the same vet for 23 years.

renae

Same thing happened to me. I have a shiba, who doesn't have much coat anyways to begin with. She blew her coat completely before having the pups, which it was late June. I didn't see her coat start coming back till late September when the pups where already 3 months old and she got full coat by end of October. She's got the best coat of her life so far but still not much. She eats grain free and raw diet, no external parasites, no flakes or dry skin either during the whole time and even now. I think it just depends on the dog.

tjbart17

You know, usually her brother thickens up by now but he hasn't. I am waiting for his coat to come in, but nothing. Maybe it's just the off seasons.

Do I need to send my niece a sweater? I can't knit, but I can hire someone to and act like it's homemade. lol

sjp051993

She might need one.

CarabooA

Something I was thinking about last night - I don't know if same in dogs but with people - we keep all of our hair through pregnancy (my hair is so thick right now, it's ridiculous) and then after - poof!! It starts shedding out like crazy -thin city! So, I was thinking maybe combo of that and seasonal.... ??? Just an idea )

_Ryan_

Suki was blowing his coat when I switched him to Canidae grain free. He almost went bald, had some guard hairs left. $1000 in vet bills later, he is on a special diet for now, and he has a lovely new coat growing back in. The food uses pork and egg proteins, so I have been supplmenting with fresh organic eggs and free range hormone free pork (the stuff I eat!).

Have you recently changed her food?

Tengai

The coat blow after a litter of pups is usually very significant. Some girls worse than others.Of course they always look their worst when the new families are coming to pick up their pups! Feed her a good quality food, fish oil brush with a soft brush. It will grow back! When it does its usually the nicest coat/condition !

sjp051993

Poor thing was standing out in the snow shivering today.

tjbart17

Poor Tora :-( yeah maybe she needs a little coat for a bit until this works out. What is she eating?

sjp051993

Fromm adult and Fromm puppy. She sneaks puppy food when I am not watching. Plus they get pre-made raw.

MirkaM

I'm going to customize sweater for Ife from my brother's old jumper. I tested it today and it was perfect. Old childrens jumpers fit perfectly to Kais.

bluemouse

You might think what I am about to tell you is a bit crazy but I can only tell you it works. I have had a couple of dogs with coat problems - one a mixed breed (who suffered post clipping alopecia) and one an Akita. I stuggled with solutions for the longest time until I read an article about the use of Melatonin in dogs to stimulate hair growth. I went to see my vet and another vet (in 2010) and they had not heard of this so I then went to see a veterinary dermatology specialist and she recommended - melatonin supplements. To be safe I then went to another specialist and she recommended the same thing - melatonin. I took their advice and gave the dogs this supplement for 4 months and voila - everything is back to normal. I know it sounds a little crazy and when you see the doses that are recommended you will think that your dog will sleep 24/7 but they don't - like Benadryl and other drugs and supplements dogs process these differently. The dogs showed no change in activity or side effects. This is just a suggestion but PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CHECK WITH YOUR VET FIRST.

shibamistress

I've seen melatonin listed in herbals as a possible help for hair growth, so it does make sense, actually! Biotin is also good for hair growth. And horsetail.