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-   -   switched to high protein food, now hair loss! (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=48663)

ballistic January 20th, 2008 04:38 PM

switched to high protein food, now hair loss!
 
We have 2 springers, a 7yr old and a 1yr old. Our 1 yr old springer was raised on Purina-One kibble. About 6 weeks ago i switched her to Origen Adult, after learning about high quality foods etc. I also put our 7yr old on Origen Senior at the same time. I did a careful 10-day transition between the foods. The 7yr old dog is doing just fine. But the 1 yr old has started losing LOTs of hair the past 3-4 weeks. She is not itching or scratching however. Her fur was dense and soft before, now its very thin and feels dry or brittle. Both dogs poops are normal. The breeder told me she has seen high protein cause hair loss in her dogs before.

I was thinking of switching the 1yr old to Origen 6-fish, but now I'm thinking a switch to a lower protein yet still good quality might be a more sensible approach. Cannidae looks good as its "only" about 24% protein.

Please help!! My pup is losing her beautiful coat:cry: Has anyone associated high-protein to an intolerannce that can cause this?
(By the way.. will her thick coat return, and how long to see improvemnt generally??) :confused:

chico2 January 20th, 2008 04:47 PM

Ballistic,Welcome to the Forum!
I cannot help you,but someone knowledgable will come along soon,I am sure,so be patient,ok:dog:
There are however many good foods out there,I was excited about Orijen when it came out,but my cats just did not like it.
You can also check out our Food forum.lot's of good advice there.

crazydays January 20th, 2008 07:19 PM

Hey Ballistic-
I have a 10 month springer so I can really relate to what you must be feeling.
My springer came home from a 30 yr reputable breeder on Solid Gold puppy. She swears by the product and at the same time gives her dogs Solid Gold seameal supplement. Rio has a beautiful coat- soft and shiny. My breeders website gives information that may be helpful and if you email Nancy she is a wealth of knowledge. [url]www.nanjay.com[/url] good luck ok!!

Solid Gold Puppy
Product Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ideal for growing small and medium breed puppies, to maintain total health.

Protein, Min 28%
Fat, Min 14%
Fiber, Max 4%
Moisture, Max 10%
Calories per cup, 410


Ingredients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lamb | Lamb Meal | Ocean Fish Meal | Brown Rice | Millet | Cracked Pearled Barley | Canola Oil | Tomato Pomace | Rice Bran | Flaxseed | Natural Flavor | Salmon Oil (source of DHA) | Choline Chloride | Taurine | Dried Chicory Root | Amaranth | Parsley Flakes | Spearmint | Almond Oil | Sesame Oil | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Kelp | Thyme | Blueberries | Cranberries | Apples | Lentils | Quinoa | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Copper Proteinate | Ferrous Sulfate | Zinc Sulfate | Copper Sulfate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Manganese Proteinate | Manganous Oxide | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Manganese Sulfate | Sodium Selenite | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Riboflavin Supplement | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid |

Seameal Supplement
Product Description
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seameal contains 60 trace minerals, 12 vitamins, 22 amino acids, digestive enzymes, and flaxseed meal. We recommend using Seameal with all our foods.

Protein, Min. 9%
Fat, Min. 10%
Fiber, Max. 13%
Moisture, Max. 12.2%


Ingredients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dried Seaweed Meal | Flaxseed Meal | Dehydrated Lemon Powder | Carotene | Chlorophyll | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Dried Asparagus Oryzae Fermentation Product | Dried Asperigillus Niger Fermentation Product | Pineapple | Lactose |

loopoo January 21st, 2008 12:26 AM

Allergies can certainly cause hairloss, even if there is no evident scratching, biting. Hard to say what ingredient would be the cause, but switching from purina to orijen is still a pretty big switch. There can also be an almost detoxification period in which symptoms like that would increase, how long have they been on the food? Every dog is different, and sometimes even 10 days for the more sensitive ones is too soon.
You could try a different protein source, and maybe even a slightly lower one, maybe make the transition a few days longer, just to be sure.

ballistic January 21st, 2008 11:58 AM

[QUOTE=loopoo;534706]Allergies can certainly cause hairloss, even if there is no evident scratching, biting. Hard to say what ingredient would be the cause, but switching from purina to orijen is still a pretty big switch. There can also be an almost detoxification period in which symptoms like that would increase, how long have they been on the food? Every dog is different, and sometimes even 10 days for the more sensitive ones is too soon.
You could try a different protein source, and maybe even a slightly lower one, maybe make the transition a few days longer, just to be sure.[/QUOTE]

I agree, it seems like a big switch. She's been on Orijen for about 5 weeks now. I was thinking of a switch to a moderately rich protein diet. What would be considered a couple of the front runners? I thought Cannidae looked ok and it seems to be in most pet stores around here.

Should i stick with grain free for now and focus on a lower protein as the fix? Thats kinda my strategy.

We are very proud of our dogs. About 11 months ago my 7 yr. old female springer Dixie fought off a black bear while i was out hiking with my 2 boys. Many said that Dixie may well have defended us from getting mauled:angel2:. Dixie sustained seriuos injuries but she walked away and recovered nicely. We adopted Bailey 3 mnths ago from a reputable breeder. She is a very rare Liver/white/tan roan Springer. Although Roan Springers are AKC standard, there are only 3 breeders in North America that I am aware of. Roan spingers are more common in Europe. So many people stop to admire and compliment Bailey, its kind of fun.

Love4himies January 21st, 2008 01:02 PM

[QUOTE=ballistic;534849]I
We are very proud of our dogs. About 11 months ago my 7 yr. old female springer Dixie fought off a black bear while i was out hiking with my 2 boys. Many said that Dixie may well have defended us from getting mauled:angel2:. Dixie sustained seriuos injuries but she walked away and recovered nicely. We adopted Bailey 3 mnths ago from a reputable breeder. She is a very rare Liver/white/tan roan Springer. Although Roan Springers are AKC standard, there are only 3 breeders in North America that I am aware of. Roan spingers are more common in Europe. So many people stop to admire and compliment Bailey, its kind of fun.[/QUOTE]
:sorry: I don't know too much about dog nutrition, but there will be somebody that will be able to give you some advice.

Sounds like Dixie is quite a hero:eek:. fighting off a bear to save her guardians.

As for colouring, we sure would love to see pictures of your beauty so we can share in the joy of looking at her.

crazydays January 21st, 2008 01:39 PM

Ballistic- I would love to see photos of your springers. I have never heard of roan springers.

rainbow January 21st, 2008 02:38 PM

Have you taken her to the vet for blood tests to rule out any medical issues?

If so, and she is fine, then I would think that it would be an allergy problem. California Naturals ([url]www.naturapet.com[/url]) makes a good food for allergies. Acana ([url]www.championpetfoods.com[/url] - also make Orijen) has a salmon & potato formula that is good for allergies as well. Both products use the fewest ingredients.

If you want to stay with grain-free kibbles but lower protein there is Wellness CORE ([url]www.omhpet.com/wellness[/url]) or Go Natural NOW ([url]www.petcurean.com[/url]) is even lower.

ballistic January 21st, 2008 04:06 PM

no have'nt tried a bloood test yet, i thought i'd try different food for a couple weeks first and see if thats the fix. Just seems odd to me.. she's raised on low end food and is fine then i switch to top notch food and whammo.
Could be coincidence.
Could be too much protein.
Could be other ingredient.
Could be unknown health issue.
Could be stress.

I feed her 1 cup twice a day, dry kibble. Perhaps if i moisten the morning feed with water?

rainbow January 21st, 2008 07:51 PM

Moistening her food isn't going to help with the hair loss. What kind of stress is she under? That will cause hair loss as will any unknown medical conditions. I would change her food to either one of the California Naturals formulas or the Acana Salmon & Potato and rectify whatever is causing the stress. And then take her to the vet to check for any medical issues.

ballistic January 21st, 2008 08:00 PM

[QUOTE=rainbow;535049]Moistening her food isn't going to help with the hair loss. What kind of stress is she under? That will cause hair loss as will any unknown medical conditions. I would change her food to either one of the California Naturals formulas or the Acana Salmon & Potato and rectify whatever is causing the stress. And then take her to the vet to check for any medical issues.[/QUOTE]

I'll have a look at the foods you mentioned and try that out. Stress, no shes not really under any. I work at home so I'm here to wait on the dogs hand and paw:laughing:
I'll try and post a pic of these characters tonite

rainbow January 21st, 2008 08:11 PM

[QUOTE=ballistic;535058]Stress, no shes not really under any. I work at home so I'm here to wait on the dogs hand and paw:laughing:[/QUOTE]

??? :confused:

In your previous post you said....

[QUOTE=ballistic]Could be stress.[/QUOTE]

luckypenny January 21st, 2008 08:20 PM

Her hair loss and the switch in food may just be coincidental. When we switched our Lab, Penny, from MediCal to Canidae (although we now feed raw), she too had lost much of her coat, it quickly became dull and she started to bald around her eyes, under her legs, and on her belly. We took her to our vet and he suggested food allergies and recommended we switch back to MediCal. I decided to seek the opinion of another vet. She thought it looked a lot to her like mange or other parasitic infestation. Penny was given a dose of a topical anti-parasiticide. Within 2 weeks, we discovered it wasn't an allergy, nor mange, when she began to vomit roundworm (the meds obviously worked) :yuck: :o .

This isn't to say that your dog may have parasites, but to suggest, as [B]Rainbow[/B] already has, to have her looked over by a vet first before you attempt to diagnose her yourself. Another switch in food may just aggravate the situation.

And I also vote for some pictures of your hero :angel: and her sibling :thumbs up .

woof99 January 26th, 2008 08:32 PM

I also think that it might be a few things together that have caused this.

I have noticed that some dogs when switched from so-so food to much better quality food go through a detox period. This might be it or it might be allergies.
The other thing is the time of year. Many dogs lose coat quality in winter because of indoor heating and low humidity in the home.

When changing to a new diet, in terms of coat quality it usually takes 2 months to see if the diet will help or not.

I must admit that I have rarely had poor results on Solid Gold.
In terms of coat quality dropping the levels of protein shouldn't make a difference. If you had very low levels, that might be a problem.
On the other hand, Omega 3's has been shown to help with coat quality, as have certain amino acids and fat sources.

Goold luck!

By the way Dixie sounds like an amazing dog!!! You must a proud mom!

rainbow January 26th, 2008 10:15 PM

[B]Ballistic,[/B] how is your dog doing?

ballistic May 28th, 2008 01:00 AM

update
 
1 Attachment(s)
Hey all,
sorry to take so long on a reply, my puter has been on the fritz a long time. Jus an update on our dog Bailey. We switched to California Naturals a few months back and the hairloss thing stopped. Again, unclear to me if it was just her losing puppy hair or in fact diet. No matter, her hair is soft and shiny with no loss.

Heres a pic of her, hope it works. I cant make the pic of Dixie work, it says "file size too big.."

chico2 May 28th, 2008 05:47 AM

WoW,Bailey is beautiful,love his colouring:lovestruck:
I am glad he's doing good,thank's for giving us an update,even if it took 4 months:thumbs up

geisha May 28th, 2008 03:08 PM

Your pup is beautiful. That coat is an amazing colour!!! Good Luck with the California Naturals. Just for your info I've recently started adding a bit of CN canned to the top of their food and yummy!!! The salmon & sweet potato stinks to high heavens but they love it. The lamb is great also.:thumbs up

potter May 28th, 2008 10:57 PM

Not all dogs do well with high protein food evenn if it is good quality food such as Orijen or EVO. I have read about it somewhere but I don't remember what it was.


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