Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Facial Hair Loss in Puppies: 101

By Dirk Gruenberg


Few things are as concerning as facial hair loss in puppies. This condition worries any owner who notices it on their puppy. Unfortunately, there is a long list of potential causes, so it makes sense that you take your pup to a vet and let him figure it all out.

The treatments you vet will choose will correspond to the causes. So let's have a look at potential causes for a minute. Infections are one of them; specifically, fungal infections of the hair follicles. These can quickly lead to facial hair loss.

Hormonal imbalance: the endocrine system in dogs produces hormones required for proper growth and maintenance of their body. Deficiency in hormones causes symmetrical hair loss over the face and over the whole body.

Another option is parasites. The most commonly known parasites are fleas, lice, mites, and ticks. These unwanted guests can live on the skin of your poor pup and suck his blood. They may be on the face only or the whole body.

Out of all the annoying parasites, mites can be among the most dangerous and frustrating. The lead to a condition called mange, which results in terrible itchiness for your dog. The poor fellow then scratches himself constantly.

What is particularly tricky about this disease is that it can also be transmitted to humans. And then you really are in trouble. So see a vet instantly if you think your dog may be suffering from it.

Allergies are also a common cause for loss of hair. Allergies caused by pollen, exposure to allergy producing environments, use of grooming products, parasite - flea, clothes or fabric and use of household cleaning chemicals, are responsible for symptomatic hair loss.

Stress: stress due to suffering from diseases, medical treatment and surgery and in some cases loss of owner may lead your puppy to shed hairs.

If this is the cause, the condition will probably disappear after a while, when the stress level of the puppy is reduced. The best you can do in any case is to consult a vet and show your puppy lots of love.




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