Dog Is Losing Hair: Any Natural Remedy?

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My neighbour's dog is losing her hair. Neighbour asked me if I knew of any natural remedy to stop this problem.

I am talking about a very nice and beautiful big dog.

Can somebody help? I know there are a lot of Warriors here who know a lot about natural medicine for curing humans... maybe even for animals?

Thank you very much in advance for your help.
I will forward to neighbour.
:-)
  • Profile picture of the author Norma Holt
    Look at the plants in the neighbors yeard. There are some that are deadly to dogs and will certainly cause their hair to fall out. At this time of year in your location they are probably growing like mad. Ivy, wandering jew, and other types of creepers are the main offenders. My cats were loosing their fur for that reason not so long ago.

    Hope this helps.

    Norma
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    • Profile picture of the author ConcordeWarrior
      Thank you very much for this Norma.

      Only this dog is a city dog. Other than the beach, the rocks or the yacht harbour -I am not sure that she goes there at all, not even for a swim- there is only the streets and city life.

      I don't think she gets near any sort of herbs but who knows... I will have to ask her owner.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        Most likely a condition called "mange" - which sounds much worse than it is in most cases. Some varieties are hard to cure, but many are cured in a few weeks using special dips available in pet supply stores and at vets.

        A dog losing much of its fur is a problem that needs to be addressed by the owner. Sounds like a trip to the vet is needed. This is most likely a viral or bacterial infection - easily cured but only if treated properly.

        Another possibility is an allergy to flea bites (not uncommon) if the dog is not being given flea preventive medication.

        kay
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  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    It's hard to suggest any remedies, natural or otherwise, without knowing why the dog is losing its hair in the first place. Does it have an underactive thyroid problem? Is it suffering from skin allergies or parasites? Is there a genetic hair/skin condition in the breed?

    I'd suggest your neighbor could take the dog to the vet and find out exactly what's going on with the hair, then you've got a much better chance of fixing it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kim Davis
    Is this dog just loosing its winter coat or is it actually getting bald spots?...I have to brush my big dog everyday...
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    • Profile picture of the author ConcordeWarrior
      Again thank you very much for your answers. No bald spots. Doggie still has plenty of hair/fur.

      I have no idea what the problem is only that yesterday after I saw the dog I noticed that my black pants were full of dog's hair and I had to remove them.

      I will tell the owner that the best she can do is to take the dog to the vet. This is the best that she can do I think. Natural remedies without knowing the cause seem a bit illusory and will give no results.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    Whether my experience helps or not - this is what happened to our dog. It is a Maltese - they don't shed - but started shedding. He would sit in my lap and leave hair on my shirt. It wasn't a lot but we knew this shouldn't be happening.

    Our simple "home remedy" just based on pure luck and a shot in the dark was to switch from the generic Walmart brand food to Purina One.

    The Purina One switch was based solely on hearing about it on the radio. One of the things the ads kept talking about was that it provided help for the coat. At first we thought yeah right - Walmart had just about the exact same ingredients.

    Bottom line is it worked for us. There have been a couple times since we made the switch several months ago where we have notice a tiny bit of hair but not nearly as bad and only a couple times.

    That may work or if it's something more serious it probably won't.

    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author Kim Davis
    When you take your dog to the vet they can tell right away whether you feed your dog cheap crap food or quality food.
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  • Profile picture of the author Norma Holt
    My niece has a beautiful Dalmatian, now around 10 years old. He was going crazy crying night after night keeping them awake and trying to pacify him. He went to the vets several times without much change, if any. They literally tried everything and as he is much loved the very sad decision to put him down and out of his misery was only days away.

    My sister had to look after him for a couple of night whilst the family were away and I could hear him crying. She too was beside herself and had taken him to her local vet as well. Nothing could be done.

    When I heard him crying it brought tears to my eyes. I suggested he might have an allergy and my sister tried to work out if there was something around her place that he could be allergic to. Then she remembered how he favored a certain bush and would rub against it and roll underneath it. Sure enough her daughter has the same type of bush in her yard.

    Next day the dog was back at his own vet and they took allergy samples and guess what. He was allergic to the plant. Treatment started immediately and that is now nearly 1 year ago. Dog is just fine now.

    Hope this helps

    God bless

    Norma
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  • Profile picture of the author jmerc
    Most of the "fur" products on the pet market have an Omega 3 component to them. It's easy enough to add it to the dog's diet. I give my dog some 3-4 times/week, and she has a beautiful coat.

    However, most dogs are just naturally losing their winter coats right now.
    Good luck with it!
    Judy
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I agree, if the dog has no itching, rashes or anything else abnormal going on and is loosing more hair than a normal shedding - the first thing to check might be diet.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas
    Just get him one of these...

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