When You Notice Hair Loss in Your Pet Dog

Alopecia or hair loss is not uncommon among dogs. This condition causes your pet to go through complete or partial loss of hair. It can affect your furry pal’s immune system, lymphatic system, endocrine system and the skin of your pet. As a matter of fact, no matter what gender, breed or age your cat or dog is, alopecia can affect your pet.

Mange

One common alopecia cause is due to mange. This is caused by the Demodex mite. In addition, there can also be loss of hair when there is a disruption in the hair follicle’s growth. This is often due to abnormalities in the endocrine system, an immune disease, trauma or infection. If there are many missing hair patches, this could be related to hair follicle inflammation. A more specific pattern of disease might be indicated by hair loss with a pattern that has spread more widely.

Extremely Noticeable

A condition that is very noticeable, alopecia is characterized by either symmetrical or varied loss of hair. It can be apparent as circles that are bald accompanied by inflammation and crusting around this area. Some pooches that go through hair loss may even notice that their skin is scaling as well.

Alopecia Patterns

The severity and pattern of alopecia is needed for the correct treatment and diagnosis. When there is generalized or patchy loss of hair, the most common cause is mange. Other causes can include ringworm and bacterial infections. This is accompanied with inflammation and redness of the skin.  When the loss of hair is symmetrical, the cause can very including excessive steroid levels in the body of your pet produced by low oestrogen levels, low thyroid levels, hair loss that is related  to testosterone.  When hair loss occurs in many areas, this usually comes with mild scaling in skin reddening. Generally, bacterial infections or ringworm could be the cause of this type of alopecia. Scleroderma is another common cause, which is a condition of the skin that results from recent vaccinations or scarring tissues.

Treatment of Alopecia

Usually, loss of hair or alopecia is treated with antibiotic therapy or topical shampoos. If there is an underlying cause that indicates other issues, there might be a prescription for other treatments. When there is cancer or skin growth, this might be removed surgically. Once there has been a prescription for treatment, you must buy antibiotics, ointments and topical shampoos and administer this according to the instructions of your veterinarian.  As healing begins, ensure that no infection occurs by constantly monitoring the skin of your pet.

Steven Perissinotto is a passionate pet lover and a pet health professional. Since establishing Vet Shop Online with his veterinary surgeon brother in 1999, Steven has helped establish the business in to one of the world’s leading online retailer of frontline plus cats.