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This seems strange to me, but our Chow Chow, Honey, is losing clumps of fur from the same small spot on both of her rear legs.
Tonight, I noticed a small tuft of fur was hanging loose on one of her back legs, so I pulled the little spot. Then I noticed more and more fur was coming out from the spot. I grabbed a nearby brush and pulled out several handfuls of hair until nearly all of it was gone. Then I brushed the other leg, and the same exact spot had the same thing happening. Basically the "ridge" at the top of her thighs/back legs it losing fur. There aren't any other unusual spots on the rest of her coat, so it didn't really seem to make sense to me. Since she's a Chow Chow, so she does have a heavy double coat (hence the reason handfuls of hair, yet she's still covered)
I've been trying to think of anything unusual that's changed over the past few weeks. It's gotten cold and somewhat dry due to the winter weather, we've also had an unusual several feet of snow here in the VA/DC area. I also switched her food from Solid Gold Hund-N-Flocken to Solid Gold Wolf King, but she's seemed to like the food and actually be a little more attentive and lively. Could this be a food allergy? I assumed she'd be losing fur in more locations if it was.
It just seemed so strange that it was only one small area, and the same area on both legs.
Does she have a new area that she is laying? My black lab had a bald spot on both hind legs from laying in his crate. I couldn't keep a pad in his crate because he would destroy it withing the day.
My pittie had a skin allergy that was symmetrical on his flanks. Weird. But the vet said an infection and it cleared up w/antibiotics, although the hair is now slow to re-grow.
I think this is worth a vet visit. No need to rush her in, but I would be suspicious of her thyroid as well, especially if she's not itchy. How old is she?
She's 5 years old, so middle aged I guess. I'm going to give the Vet a call to see if they have any suggestions or if they want me to bring her in. I'll ask them about the thyroids.
No new areas she's laying in really, other than laying down outside in the snow after we go on our walks.
Edit - Went ahead and called the Vet in case I needed to bring her in tomorrow when I'm off work. The Vet told me to hold off on bringing her in and to just watch her for another few days. The area losing fur doesn't seem to be irritating her and has no skin discoloration, so they said it wasn't an immediate issue. The Vet advised me to see if she licks or scratches the area, and to see if it improves or worsens.
Last edited by GoHokiesGo; 02-18-2010 at 03:56 PM..
I'm not sure if I understand exactly the where of it... but would it be possible that she's come into contact with something used for ice removal? (i.e. The snow/ice is the "unusual" in the equation.)
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