Patch of hair won't grow?!

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Peter7917

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I have a nine year old collie x lab. She has been regularly clipped all year round since she was two. I'm aware they say you shouldn't clip double coated dogs, however she has always been clearly more comfortable after a clip and I don't have to spend my entire life removing the forest from her coat!

About six months ago she was clipped as normal however a large patch of hair on her back has never grown back. The rest has grown back as normal. It's not itchy or sore. She pays no attention to it at all.

We saw a vet about it. They did a blood test to check thyroid levels which were on the lower side of normal. I've been feeding her plenty of oil etc. The vet didn't seem particularly concerned.

Any ideas what this could be?
 
Suggest you ask your vet to take skin scrapings to rule out any parasitic causes. Also look up Follicular Dysplasia - a genetic condition which causes alopecia. Dogs with this condition don't show any significant signs of itchiness or discomfort, but it is often progressive and permanent. Hope this helps.
 
If her levels of thyroid hormone were low then her hair is going to be slow to grow back...is she showing any other signs of issues?lethargy?acting not quite herself?wanting to stay in warm areas?poor coat? Weight gain? Sad looking face(thats a genuine clinical sign of thyroid issues believe it or not)Or is she on the lower side of the reference range?

Has the hair disappeared from the area completely or is there cover and its just slow to grow back? Any itchyness or sores?

Theres a lot of possible reasons for slow hair growth and more again if its hair loss.it really depends on of its cosmetic issue or if its a subtle sign of an underlying issue.the real question is how is she in herself?
 
daughter`s smally had this,could find no reason but dog does lean on the radiater in the winter.since the better weather and she has spent more time outside it is growing back. vit D ?
 
My feeling is it is the thyroid level are too low ..I would ask your vet to go on a trial of thyroxine for the dog..we used euthyrox,Img a day for a 20 kg dog...
Here is my st poodle girl before treatment..pale yellowed out colour,thin hair,very lethargic..

Here is my st poodle girl after treatment..hair has returned to deeper richer colour,appetite improved,energy levels back up.
This was just one month after starting the meds,that we used for rest of her life.
 
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Just to clarify, it's only one patch that won't grow back, the rest of the hair grows fine, she's been clipped around three times since it first started, this patch had never grown in all that time but the rest of the coat grows as normal.

The patch of hair is the length that it was clipped to, it's never grown whatsoever in the last six months. Not lost hair, just not grown back.

Not used Frontline or anything similar.

Thyroid levels were normal just on the lower levels of normal. Not at a level needing treatment.

Absolutely no itching, soreness etc.
 
If you've tested for parasites,then why not try a short course of thyroxine..in accordance with you vet..but many dogs testing on the low side of normal do actually have a great response to the meds and you may find this resolves her issue..
 
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