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Male pattern baldness!!!

482 views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  foxiesummer 
#1 ·
Hello, I have a 2 year old male Springer Spaniel.

He has bald patches either side of his body that are spreading and ruining his beautiful coat.
Our vet said it looks like seasonal hair loss but I hate to say I am not convinced.

These patches are almost completely bald, growing bigger by the day and are leaving very pink looking skin on show.

Has anyone experienced this with their fur babies? Or can anyone suggest any remedies for him.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Can you post a picture ?
My dachshund has it but loses her coat in the Autumn, as the daylight hours increse it seems to grow back so it's obviously seasonal.
It might be worth running some tests on him for Thyroid function and Cushings.
 
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#4 ·
On the right side is how it began. Just a bit of thinning. But the left is increasingly getting worse week by week. It doesn't bother him and he doesn't scratch any more than when he has a normal itch. It has now started spoiling his beautiful brown spot on his back. I am definitely taking him to the vets about it.
Dog Leg Dog breed Carnivore Companion dog

Dog Leg Dog breed Carnivore Companion dog
Dog Dog breed Carnivore Spaniel Companion dog
 
#11 ·
He isn't on any medication and it has only recently been raised with the vet who mentioned seasonal hair loss whilst we were there for a booster. He is castrated, he had the chop when he was 1. He is 2 now. This is a very recent thing.

Thank you all for your opinions. I really appreciate them. :Joyful
 
#12 ·
Hello, I have a 2 year old male Springer Spaniel.

He has bald patches either side of his body that are spreading and ruining his beautiful coat.
Our vet said it looks like seasonal hair loss but I hate to say I am not convinced.

These patches are almost completely bald, growing bigger by the day and are leaving very pink looking skin on show.

Has anyone experienced this with their fur babies? Or can anyone suggest any remedies for him.
Obviously we can only suggest things which may cause hair thinning/hairloss and skin problems on here.

One that will cause bi-lateral hairloss is hypothyroid too low levels of thyroid hormone. It can manifest itself in different ways in different dogs as to what sort of symptoms you see first, but hairloss and problem regrowth is one of them. Its also associated with exercise intolerance, weight gain with no change to diet etc but I have had dogs with it and they didn't get the classic fatter and lethargic in fact the only problem was hair/coat/skin issues in one. Its easily checked with a thyroid profile blood test, and the treatment is thyroid hormone replacement. I have had one diagnosed at 2 years old with hypothyroid, there is a form which is caused by an auto immune problem and often makes an appearance around 2 to 3 years old.

Another thing that can cause it too is adrenal hormone imbalance ie things like too much or too little adrenal hormones like cortisol.
There is also another type of alopecia called alopecia X which is linked to something called 17 OH progesterone. There are tests to check out adrenal function and also a test for alopecia X called a SHAP test. There is also now a test called a Full adrenal sex hormone profile which not only checks the 17 OH progesterone but also cortisol, E2, testosterone, aldostrenedione which gives a complete picture how the adrenals are working.

Just out of interest I checked to see if there thyroid and/or adrenal problems reported in springers and on a quick it does seem
Endocrine conditions are reported, including hypo thyroid, cushings which is too much cortisol and addisons which is too low cortisol which are one of the adrenal hormones.
 
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