Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of advice please.  My 3 1/2 year old bitch had a litter in November last year, when her puppies were 5/6 weeks old she lost a considerable amount of coat, leaving her with sizable bald patches along her back and tail. Her coat grew back beautifully by the time her puppies were 4 months old, which was as I expected.  However, six months after giving birth she is again shedding her coat in considerable amounts, although at the moment she doesn't have any bald patches but her coat is looking very thin just between her shoulder blades.  She is in very good health with no other medical problems (which I am aware of or she is showing signs of) she is eating well and is exercised as normal.  Is this something any of you have experienced or could it be a hormonal imbalance of some kind?  She is yet to have a season since having puppies but I would expect that very soon.  Any thoughts or advice would be most welcome as this is something I have not encountered before.  Many thanks.

Has she had a season since the pups were born and if so, was it a couple of months ago? Any signs of a phantom pregnancy? If so it could be the change in her hormone balance that's causing the hair loss.

No she hasn't had a season since the puppies were born but I would expect one fairly soon.

Ellie never really grew her skirt back after her first litter (4 years ago) and she dropped her tail feathering on the litter before last and didn't bother to regrow it. But I've not had anything on the order of big thinning patches, no.

I'd say the unseasonal warm weather we had a month or so ago has caused her to throw her coat before she hdd really regained it.

Thanks for that. Would anyone recommend the use of evening primrose oil to help? I realise we can't prevent it from shedding if that is what's going to happen but would like to reduce the long term effects if at all possible. I have read that evening primrose oil can help with hormonal issues and help maintain condition of the coat.

> I have read that evening primrose oil can help with hormonal issues and help maintain condition of the coat.

Yes, our vet advised evening primrose oil recently with one of ours whose coat was thinning after a false pregnancy. He said he wouldn't sell us any because we could get it much cheaper at Superdrug - he was right! He also said that it might take about 6 weeks to kick in so I can't tell you whether it has done any good yet.