My dog is shedding excessively. Is stress causing his hair loss?

Poor Suzy Q. Yes stress can potentially cause excessive licking in pets leading to balding areas on the skin. However so can other disease processes such as hypothyroidism and Cushing's disease. It is best to watch for any other clinical signs of disease (i.e. vomiting, lack of appetite, lethargy) and get her seen for further examination if seen. However if she is otherwise acting normal then it is warranted to monitor her for now to see if the hair regrows. You can brush her daily in the bald areas to help stimulate hair regrowth and offer her daily fish oils to help promote a healthy haircoat and skin. It can take the hair several weeks to months to fully regrow following stress licking. Calming collars (DAP collars) can also be used if she still continues to lick excessively.

Stress can definitely cause skin and coat issues but so too can pain and discomfort from arthritis or illness due to reduced grooming ability. I recommend starting her on a natural stress reliever such as kalm aid or royal canin calm food and consider a full physical exam by your vet to rule out physical causes or parasites

Cushing Disease, food allergies (it's too early to see results yet), skin mites, flea allergies and environmental allergies can all cause these symptoms. Make sure you are conducting a proper food trial. If Maddox does not respond to the food trial, discuss with your veterinarian next steps. Here are some links with good information" https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/cushings-disease-in-dogs https://www.petcoach.co/article/allergy-testing-immunotherapy-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/food-allergies-and-food-intolerance/ I agree with your vet that a hydrolyzed diet is the best option. I hope this helps.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Addison's disease is called the 'Great Pretender' because the clinical signs vary so much. They often display signs of 'poor doing' which can include a poor hair coat. There are other causes of hair loss as well so making sure that the cause is Addison's and you aren't missing something else is important. I would have Pete seen by your vet for this, and work this up in conjunction with the Addisons. Best of luck with Pete.

Shedding excessively can have many reasons: 1) change of seasons...your dog sheds his summer hair to get a winter coat (this will depend on your climate) 2) food quality is not adequate 3) ectoparasites such as mange mites, demodex mites, fleas, ticks, etc. itch and the dog scratches excessively and loses a lot of hair 4) some dogs naturally shed more than others. 5) hormonal changes, e.g. your dog comes into heat. Females will shed their hair coat You can do the following: 1) feed a good quality complete commercial puppy food for large dogs 2) Check for ectoparasites and treat for them if present 3) Brush or comb your dog every day This should minimize the shedding.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There can be many causes for hair loss in dogs. Mite infection, allergies, endocrine issues such as low thyroid or Cushing's disease as well as other disorders of the skin can all be causes. It is difficult to say for sure what the cause of Rocky's hair loss is without an exam and some diagnostic testing such as a skin scrape and blood work. I would suggest Rocky see his veterinarian soon so a cause for this can be nailed down.