# Anyone have experience with alopecia?



## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

I'm fostering a TINY Min Pin for the humane society. She's been at the shelter for a couple of months and over that time has lost more and more hair. She has been scraped and all they came up with was one dead demodex mite. Even if she has a mild case of demodex this is not all that's going on with her. She has all the hair around her eyes, very little itching, and doesn't have that classic smell generally associated with demodex. Her hair loss pattern is also very different. She's seen 3 different vets and no one has been able to diagnose her properly and nothing they've tried so far is working. I don't know if she has some sort of auto-immune thing going on and I'll be taking her to see my vet tomorrow. I don't know everything the other vets have checked her for but I do know that alopecia isn't something that's come up yet. I am DYING to put her on raw and see if that helps but she's not my dog to do with as I please so I have to go with what they want. I know she came from a puppy mill because she was purchased from the mall petstore. She's an adult and weighs 4 lbs. I've never seen a Min Pin her size. After searching the web over the last few days I really think she has alopecia though and wondered if anyone on here has ever dealt with that or has any great ideas as to how to get her hair to grow back. Here's a photo of her back so you can see how her skin looks.


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

the only time 1 of my dogs got alopecia was when she was in season ,karen


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I have a friend with a bulldog that gets seasonal alopecia, she had really good results with melatonin. I can email her to find out about dosage and any additional info, either way its worth a try.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

That poor dog...I think raw would help her out tremendously. Maybe not cure the alopecia but definitely give her immune system a boost to possibly help fight off whatever is causing it. Keep us posted on this!


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

She's been spayed so that's not an issue but because she's so small I have to think she was the runt of her litter as well as poorly bred so I'm sure she has some genetic problems. As bad as it looks she doesn't seem particularly itchy. Her skin is very dry and flaky and even so she scratches very little. I am adding fish oil to her food but they want her on Nature's Recipe Grain Free Salmon and Potato kibble. 
I'm taking her to the vet in the morning so will hopefully get some answers. Aside from her obvious issues she is one of the most charming little dogs I've ever been around so should be a wonderful companion for one lucky family once her skin problem is resolved.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Ok, so she gives her pup 3 mg of melatonin every day, but can go as high as 6 sometimes. In addition to that, she gives him a acidophilus probiotic (spring valley brand from walmart), one pill a day as well as a fish oil supplement. 
But your pup needs to be on a better quality diet, more meat based then what youre feeding now. I would go with something fish based since dogs are rarely allergic to fish, like wellness core ocean, acana pacifica or nv instinct salmon. 
good luck


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

Unosmom said:


> But your pup needs to be on a better quality diet, more meat based then what youre feeding now. I would go with something fish based since dogs are rarely allergic to fish, like wellness core ocean, acana pacifica or nv instinct salmon.
> good luck


I would love to change her diet but I'm having to give her what the humane society wants her on. I've already talked to them about it and they don't want to consider anything else. I think it would help too. I am putting fish oil on her food so maybe that'll help. I took her to the vet today and my vet seems to think that now the only problem is that her skin has been damaged from all the harsh dips and shampoos and just needs time to heal. I'm going to wait a few days, bathe her in an oatmeal based shampoo and just keep an eye on her and hope for the best!


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