Hi All

My bitch had pups 5 weeks ago,and since then she has been losing hair rapidly.Her skin seems very dry and scabby and she is even bald in places.Is this normal and is there anything i can give her to improve the situation.

Yes, but the dryness should not really be there if there are enough oils in her food.

I would suggest having her Thyroid Function checked by your vet.

I would agree if it wasn't a bitch who has jsut had a litter.

my little one did this as well, hormone alopecia, try giving her sardines/mackeral in sunflower oil mixed in with her food, my one looked fantastic at 7 weeks post puppies!!!!

I'm assuming yours is a short coated breed as at 7 weeks ours are probably going towards their worst and are not remotely showable until 5 months after a litter.

We feed oily fish such as Pilchards to help keep a good coat

We give fish oils also, but about 12 weeks post whelping my bitch lost so much coat I was worried she would end up bald!! She even lost all her feathering & her tail looked like a rat's tail. We went on holiday to Pembrokeshire to recuperate (her too) and had a lovely time, even though I'm sure some couldn't guess her breed! Mind you, the weight she lost at around week 5 was fine by then, she just didn't have any coat!

Am not sure if there's anything to be done about this as it's hormonal but not sure in this case if it would be that.

yes brainless, short coated lol. she had 7 beautiful puppies in 2 hours !!!!

It is quite common for thyroid problems not to show up until a bitch has had a litter as she is putting all her resources into feeding her pups.

One of my Papillon bitches was just like this, even down to the dark and dry skin and bald patches. Her neck was totally bald.The coat was harsh like straw. She's only now starting to get a nice coat again, it's thick and soft but still very short (tail looks pathetic!!) -the pups are 5 months old! I've been giving her Yumega  and it's definitely helping.

All of ours have lost their coats when the pups are about 13 weeks old, and it takes about another 6 months to get the proper coat back again.    Perfectly normai in our breed - par for the course.    I don't worry about it, and just live with it.

Jo

Our pups are now 8 weeks old and my bitch's short coat is awful.  Her skin isnt scaly but her coat is coming out in handfuls and  has dark patches on it so much to the point, she looks like she's been sprayed with water.  I'm giving her evening primrose oil too.