What is going on I asked? Why am I experiencing thinning hair and baldness at such a young age as 2 years old? It was quite the shock to suddenly have my hair falling out as you can imagine. I’m a handsome dog, but this loss of hair is making me uncomfortable!
So off I go to the doggy doctor to be checked out. Could it be allergies? Could it be premature aging? No, that would be silly! Could I be sick? Dr. Prieto examines me, thinks maybe I need more vitamins or something, and home we go with a bottle of oil type pills and a gentle shampoo. Hoping for this to be the end of it and hoping my awesome coat grows back.
Nope, nothing changes after a few weeks, and it looks like it’s getting worse. Back to the doctor we go. She does some blood work, maybe it’s a thyroid issue she says, whatever that means. I’ll just lay around sulking, waiting for answers, feeling silly and still balding! No, I’m not too vain!
Nope, nothing shows up in the blood work. That’s good, I’m otherwise healthy! And it’s back to the doctor we go, and by the way, do I have insurance for this?? She does a skin scraping, nothing there, no bugs of any kind. Good! She then takes a tool and proceeds to punch out some of my skin for a biopsy. “OUCH” …she says!! Yep, she might want to have someone hold me a little tighter if she plans anything like that again. No, I didn’t bite her, just a little warning grab. My eyes, they say “I’m sorry”! I think she knows that! Dr. Prieto is quite the good sport!
And then the call comes. Third time’s a charm, finally an answer! She says it’s called “Seasonal Flank Alopecia”, such big words which mean temporary balding on both sides of my body. Yes, we know that, but why? And how do we fix this? She recommends melatonin, twice a day to help. It may be due to the winter months with less sun being out, it could affect the hair growth. Maybe this, maybe that, here’s to hoping I get my wiry coat back on track.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get used to that melatonin, made me a little too sleepy and unable to wake easily in the morning. So we’ll just sit back and hope it only needs some time in the sun! Sunning myself is easy enough, I like it outside! Tomorrow is another day, and each day it looks a little better!
For all of my dog families out there, stuff like this happens sometimes. Not all dogs get it, and Wirehair Pups like myself aren’t the usual breed affected by this condition. So get your puppies and doggies to the doctor to find out why they may be losing their hair. This has been a Pubic Service Announcement from yours truly, Drax!
DRAXLIFE 