Thyroid OK, any other suggestions?

J

Jaynie

Forums Enthusiast
Bela had her first trip to her permanent (vs the Rescue's) vet on Tuesday. I wanted to make sure she didn't have any thyroid problems going on because she's suddenly begun to blow coat big time, and if she had any physical problems that might affect her behavior.

Well, got the good news today - thyroid completely normal. And the vet told me she's in absolutely excellent health - unusually good health for a puppy mill mama. He said he could see no reason why she was blowing coat, considering what I was feeding her (a very good quality food).

So now I'm stuck for ideas. What could possibly be causing my girl to blow coat so badly? Is it a female thing? (I only have experience with the boys.) She was spayed back in March. Could it be hormones? She was also shaved or clipped close around December or January, and her coas is just beginning to come back in. Most of what she's shedding is undercoat. I brush her on a daily basis (sometimes twice daily), and she still has loose hair lying on her back the next time I look at her.

Does she need a coat supplement? Her last bath was July 4th, and I usually wait until the dog is smelly before bathing again, so she's not due yet.

I am just flummoxed - I can't think of anything else that would cause such a massive shed, other than whelping, and her last litter was probably last fall.

Ideas greatly appreciated.\
 
its hot...they are just blowing coat...one of mine who blew coat in may, is shedding like a you wouldnt believe right now..

She was spayed in march usually 30 days or so after surgery they will blow coat, so she could have lost it than, and it just started to come back in and now its hotter than Hades out there telling their body oops time to loose some extra baggage to keep cool...she probarly wont start to get her coat back until nov time frame Im thinking, especially since your down south so you dont have the cool nights like we do starting in aug to start coat growth..

You can try giving her a warm bath and taking a greyhound comb and brushing out the rest there...generally what I do is once they start shedding and I want to turn the coat over quickly because I want to show them I bath every week in warm water and brush them in the tub, it gets out tons of coat and the warm water helps loosen it. Once its all out it will come back in quicker than if you leave it..

PS if it makes you feel any better ALL of mine are out of coat right now...sigh..
 
I agree!

For the first time, I'm dealing with major shedding with my 3 year old boys. I don't notice it so much at home, even with my hardwood floors, but at the cottage, the furballs in the corners are tremendous.

I groomed Indy 2 weeks ago and pulled out a mound of fur almost the same size of himself. Then I groomed him again last weekend, and got almost the same amount.

Northeast, its been hot and dry...this will certainly impact!

I don't think you've got any medical issues here. As the forum will attest, one of the best ways to deal with shedding is to accelerate the "blow"! A bath or even a long rinse with the hose will help loosen it all up so you ca brush it all out.
 
I agree, the heat.

Diva is just starting to blow coat. Of course, she is entered in conformation this weekend.:rolleyes2: Hopefully the massive fallout will wait until mon and the she will get a warm bath and I'll get it all out. Ember has been threatening to massively blow her coat for weeks , it really is about half of what it is in the winter already but it just isn't letting go but a tuff there and there. Justice blew every bit of undercoat he had over a couple days(it was massive), just a couple weeks ago. It already starting to grow back.
 
Thanks for relieving my mind. I really was worried about my girl.

She is probably half the size she was two months ago due to the hair loss! I am not exaggerating!

With my other Sheltie (and Border Collies) they were kept primarily indoors and would blow a small amount of coat per week year-round instead of all at once in spring and fall. So Bela's extreme shedding was alarming.

I'll try the warm rinse with brushing. Anything to get rid of all this hair! (My lungs are coated, I'm pretty sure!)

That's what I get for falling in love with the most fuzzy of all fuzzy butts!
 
Blowing coat

Hi Jaynie and Bela,

Yup my boy is shedding like the wind. Worst I have ever seen, my little girl, not so badly yet but both of them when you pet them your hands are full of fur.

As for thyroid. The Illinois Sheltie Rescue has a plethera of knowledge about thyroid and tells you what your furkid's numbers should be according to their weight. My girl, Harper Lee tested out normal however, she was not normal for a sheltie. Something that I had to explain to our vet. Once we got her thyroid regulated, her hair and skin came back to normal. SHe was a mess when we rescued her and continued to be so until we got her thyroid under control.

The Illinois Rescue recommends at least a 2 for thyroid. Google the site and take it from there.

Best,
Kate
 
Dandie lost half her body in hair over the past two weeks. I just finished a week long process of line brushing her and she looks like a different dog.

Definitely the heat!
 
If she was spayed in March, this is a post anesthetic, hormone change, heat related coat blow. All three things independently will make them lose coat, you have al three combined. I would be more surprised if she didn't blow hair.
 
ClantyreSheltie said:
If she was spayed in March, this is a post anesthetic, hormone change, heat related coat blow. All three things independently will make them lose coat, you have al three combined. I would be more surprised if she didn't blow hair.
Click to expand...

Jayne/Bela this is EXACTLY what Lucy went through a year ago. (She is also a rescue who I suspect could have been a puppy mill mama). March spayed, by the end of July most of her coat had shed and she started to grow in strong, amazing fur. I gave her Vibrant Pets to help her coat grow in and it did a great job. I could fill bags with what fell out of Lucy and she barely had any fur to begin with!
 
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