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Topic Dog Boards / Health / poodle with seasonal flank
- By sherriesmum [gb] Date 16.07.15 08:26 UTC
i have a 6 year old ex breeding miniature poodle with seasonal flank.she also very heavy (thyroid issue) and she has been spayed.she had 3 litters and i bred her myself.i clip her coat short all over cos it makes the bald patches look less obvious and she wears jumpers etc if needed.someone told me to put her on melatin or something like that.any body help or have dog with seasonal flank.
- By Brainless [gb] Date 16.07.15 08:28 UTC
Never heard of 'seasonal flank', are you perhaps referring to 'hot spots', which I find appear if we have high humidity, a bit of rain (or a bath) and a moulting dog.

Got one on my champion bitch smack bang in the middle of her thigh about the size of a £2 coin grr.
- By sherriesmum [gb] Date 16.07.15 08:34 UTC
no not hot spots.seasonal flank  With seasonal flank alopecia, a dog loses hair in the flank area on a seasonal
basis. Different dogs seem to choose different seasons to lose their hair (fall and spring are popular) and
when the season changes the hair generally grows back. Sometimes a dog will skip a season only to lose
hair again the next year. Any dog can have seasonal flank alopecia, but it is most common in medium to
large short-coated dog. Boxers and English bulldogs are the most common breeds to develop this
condition.
What does it look like?
The hair loss is generally confined to the flanks (sides of the back just ahead of the rear legs). The skin
typically is darkly pigmented in the areas of hair loss. Both flanks are generally affected symmetrically.
There is no itchiness involved with the hair loss. Sometimes the hair re-grows in a different color than
the original hair. Some dogs only re-grow the hair in patches and rarely some never re-grow their hair.
Why does this Happen?
At this time no one knows why this occurs. It is felt to be a hormonal problem disrupting hair follicles.

my poodle has this but its got worse since she was spayed.
- By Brainless [gb] Date 16.07.15 08:36 UTC
That description sounds typical of dogs with under active thyroid.
- By sherriesmum [gb] Date 16.07.15 08:40 UTC
yes she does have thyroid problems aswell as stated.tbf everything has gone wrong since she was spayed.but as im a poodle breeder and show them.i always spay after they have bred or they not going to be bred from whether they get rehomed as pets after their careers or stay with me.this one isnt going anywhere.
- By Brainless [gb] Date 16.07.15 08:46 UTC
Such a shame, it's one of the problems in deciding to spay, it has it's definite plusses, especially for bitches, and I also do as you do spay after their last litter, but underactive thyroid is found more in neuters than entire animals.

I wondered if re-evaluating her thyroid medication during these times might not help????
- By lunamoona [gb] Date 16.07.15 08:53 UTC Upvotes 1
Have you checked that she is on adequate thyroid meds? The weight should have slowly come off and hair missing on the flanks is a classic symptom of underactive thyroid. My rescue Dobe is Hypo and was 72kg when I got her, with just moderate food control and going on meds her weight dropped to 34kg in around 6 months. My vet says they should be kept at the hyper end of the normal blood range, maybe worth checking with your vet what her last results were.
- By Brainless [gb] Date 16.07.15 10:32 UTC

> Have you checked that she is on adequate thyroid meds?


snap
- By Nikita [gb] Date 16.07.15 12:07 UTC
Yes, I'd be getting her levels re-checked.  Send the results to Dr Jean Dodds of Hemopet in the US, she can offer interpretation and advice.  Or better yet, send the samples to her for a full panel, if you haven't had one done already.  A full panel would be minimum of free T4, free T3, total T4, total T3, TgAA antibodies.  TSH is not at all reliable in dogs (or people, come to that) so not worth looking at.  If you can only get one thing done, go for free T4.  In any case, do ask Dr D for her thoughts - what she doesn't know about thyroids in dogs is not worth knowing!
Topic Dog Boards / Health / poodle with seasonal flank

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