Hi, I have a 4 years old female maltese. She is losing hair on the
back, around the tail area. I took her to the vet and he used
hydrocortisone (I think) which temporarily fixed the problem, but
still she has thinning hair in that area. The vet said that she needs
to be on strict diet, but we keep feeding her our own food too (she
loves that).

Any ideas of the problem and the cure.

Thanks!

In article ,
steve wrote:

The vet said that she needs
to be on strict diet, but we keep feeding her our own food too (she
loves that).

Any ideas of the problem and the cure.

The problem? Sounds like that would be you. The cure? Sounds like if
you kept her on a strict diet and resisted your urge to feed her your
own food, she may heal.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"steve" wrote in message
news:436679_209a738cf7133a5e6e5a6f704a972ff3@0000. com...
Hi, I have a 4 years old female maltese. She is losing hair on the
back, around the tail area. I took her to the vet and he used
hydrocortisone (I think) which temporarily fixed the problem, but
still she has thinning hair in that area. The vet said that she needs
to be on strict diet, but we keep feeding her our own food too (she
loves that).

Any ideas of the problem and the cure.

Thanks!

So is the vet thinking allergy?

If its an allergy, then you have to identify the allergen and remove it.

What I would recommend, is to keep her on a very strict diet for several
months. This means *only* one type of food (presumably her kibble). No
extraneous treats (you can give her the same kibble as 'extras' as she gets
during meals), no people food, no 'other flavours' of the kibble. It is
*very* important that you are strict with this. If you aren't then you're
wasting your time, and might as well not bother.

Once the problem has begun to clear up, you can begin introducing other
foods back to her one at a time. When the problem returns, you've found your
allergen. Its also possible that she's allergic to something in her kibble,
which would mean that she wouldn't get better on a strict kibble diet. At
this point, evaluate if you've been strict enough with the diet. If you
think you have, then look for another kibble, preferably with a different
protein source, try that for a few months. If the problem goes away, you've
found the allergen, and you can be more liberal with what you feed her (just
avoid the allergen).

HTH,

Dale

Thanks, Dale and Janet.

I am considering doing what you say. At this time I have a soft heart
and I give in to my dog’s begging at the dinner table. My heart tells
me that if I was the doggie, I would rather eat the really nice dinner
food

But I do understand what I need to do now. I guess I will start
reducing the human food, and see how it goes. Will also look at the
dog food and changing it if the problem is still there.

Thanks, steve

"Dale Atkin" wrote:
"steve" wrote in message
news:436679_209a738cf7133a5e6e5a6f704a972ff3@0000. com...
Hi, I have a 4 years old female maltese. She is losing hair
on the
back, around the tail area. I took her to the vet and he
used
hydrocortisone (I think) which temporarily fixed the
problem, but
still she has thinning hair in that area. The vet said that
she needs
to be on strict diet, but we keep feeding her our own food
too (she
loves that).

Any ideas of the problem and the cure.

Thanks!

So is the vet thinking allergy?

If its an allergy, then you have to identify the allergen and
remove it.

What I would recommend, is to keep her on a very strict diet
for several
months. This means *only* one type of food (presumably her
kibble). No
extraneous treats (you can give her the same kibble as
'extras' as she gets
during meals), no people food, no 'other flavours' of the
kibble. It is
*very* important that you are strict with this. If you aren't
then you're
wasting your time, and might as well not bother.

Once the problem has begun to clear up, you can begin
introducing other
foods back to her one at a time. When the problem returns,
you've found your
allergen. Its also possible that she's allergic to something
in her kibble,
which would mean that she wouldn't get better on a strict
kibble diet. At
this point, evaluate if you've been strict enough with the
diet. If you
think you have, then look for another kibble, preferably with
a different
protein source, try that for a few months. If the problem goes
away, you've
found the allergen, and you can be more liberal with what you
feed her (just
avoid the allergen).

HTH,

Dale

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