Hair loss around the eyes?

[Shaw_2112]

I just adopted a beautiful 9 month old Rotty from a local shelter and she has some hair loss around her left eye. A friend said it could be mites. Has anyone encoutered this problem before?

[jakesfostermom]

Could be mites, could be an allergy...you're best bet is to take your new pup in for a complete physical with your vet and they can do a scraping and tell you exactly what you are dealing with! Thanks for adopting from a shelter - one more with a forever home!!!

[LynnS]

Take your puppy into the vet and have them do a scrape. They can determine very easily of it's mites....

[Rott-Wiley]

If you just adopted her, you'll want to get her checked out by a vet and get her up to date on her shots anyway so I would ask the vet about this. In addition to what was already suggested, it could be mange.

[Shaw_2112]

She's definitely going to the vet but her appt. isn't 'til next week. She's already UTD on her shots plus spay and heartworm negative. I was just hoping there was a simple solution.

[mmgy]

Those all are pretty simple problems, they just happen to require vet care. And it's better to get them handled now, before they mushroom into bigger problems.

Have fun with your new girl, and welcome to the forums! This is a great place for info.

[Shaw_2112]

Harley went to the vet yesterday and the he did a scraping. He didn't see any mites which is good but he wasn't able to determine why she had the hair loss which isn't so good. It doesn't seem to be a serious problem and isn't getting any worse but it's not getting better either. He took a "wait and see" attitude. This is the first time I've used this vet (I'm new to this area) and I'm not sure if this was the best advice. Anybody have a take on this? :(

[mmgy]

How long have you had her? And are you feeding her decent food?

If she hasn't been out of the shelter too long, then maybe just being in a household with good care will help her along. If there are no mites then he might be right to wait and see for a few weeks.

If I didn't see any improvement in 2-4 weeks I'd surely go back, or to someone else.

[Shaw_2112]

I've had her for about 3 weeks now. I delayed taking her to vet until after she was spayed and had her shots updated. I actually brought her home before I should have because she had an upper respiratory infection and they didn't want to perform the surgery until she was better. I've been feeding her "Beneful" I'd heard that was pretty good so I thought I would try it. She's an indoor dog and doesn't spend more than 1/2 an hour outside when she's allowed out.

[Wookie'sMom]

I don't mean to be offensive in any way, but Beneful is crap. There is TONS of info on canine nutrition on this site. Do a search. There is a Whole Dog top 10 dog food list posted somewhere I think...

[Shaw_2112]

Originally Posted by Wookie'sMom

I don't mean to be offensive in any way, but Beneful is crap. There is TONS of info on canine nutrition on this site. Do a search. There is a Whole Dog top 10 dog food list posted somewhere I think...

Thanks, I'll do that. Any suggestions?

[Wookie'sMom]

It depends on what you are comfortable with (price wise mostly). This is just off the top of my head, a search will give you a lot more info, but it will take a while to wade through the vast amount of info. http://www.bowchow.com has some good info too.

Top foods:
Canidae
Innova
California Natural
Wellness
Eagle Pack Holistic Blend

Good foods:
Royal Canin Natual Blend
Nutro Natural Blend

As a general rule any company spending money on advertising their dog food is taking money that would be going into making their products better (e.g. Purina, Pedigree, Eukanuba).

[jakesfostermom]

We are currently dealing with mites on a young lab pup (5 mo's) and she initially tested negative on her scrapes as well, but 3 weeks later, tested positive and we are treating that now. I agree with the advice given, if it doesn't clear up or gets worse, get another scrape.

Ditto on researching the food choice as well....

[Judy Chrusch]

Maybe someone already mentioned this but it could be allergies to just about anything and she may rub her face on things throughout the day or if it's food related she will rub her face and eyes on furniture, etc. after she eats. My boy was recently diagnosed with numerous food allergies, most were in the food I was feeding . Now we're on the right track and all is well :).

That's great it isn't mites and as the vet said, keep an eye on it and her behavior after she eats and maybe down the road you can get her allergy tested if it's still a puzzle to you :) .

CONGRATULATIONS on your new addition, I wish you all the best :) .

Judy

[Rott-Wiley]

The first thing I would suggest is to get her off that Benefield food. Once she is on a good food, see if the hair starts to fill in. It still could be mites because if your vet didn't get any of them in the first scraping, they wouldn't show up. But unless she starts rubbing her eye, I'd take a wait and see attitude also.