Golden Retriever loss of skirt and whisk

[dog trainer]

My Golden Retriever's skirt and whisk have seem to disappeared. My vet put her on 3v caps skin formula. Her skin looks fine and she is not over scratching herself. Does anyone have ideas that could have cause this loss of fur?

[hazelrunpack]

Welcome to the board!

How old is your dog? If she's got her adult coat, is it possible she just blew her coat? Our setters blow their coats once a year or in response to stress--basically, they shed most of their long hair and what's left is the newer, shorter hair. Over time the remnants grow out until their coats are as long and flowing as ever.

English Setters don't have double coats, though--it may be different for dogs with the thick undercoat, like goldens.

Now then, I would be terribly remiss in my duties if I didn't ask if you had some pictures of your golden to share with us! We all love pictures here...

[SARAH]

Hmm, for a human I would have suggested fish oil or flax seed oil, but ... maybe vitamins too, or minerals; or a combination. Guess that would affect a dog too.

[coppperbelle]

Could it be a food allergy ? One of mine will lose her feathering if she gets a skin infection. The infections are very itchy so as a result she scratches and loses her fur.
It is normal for them to blow their coat but the feathering usually isn't affected that much if at all. At least this has been the case with my dogs and I have had goldens for 30 years.

[rainbow]

What are you feeding her?

[dog trainer]

Hi - I was feeding my Golden Pro Pac for about 1 year when this happened. I changed back to Eukanuba. I am at a loss for what is the best dog food.
What kind of dog food do you use?
I don't think she has any allegories. She does not scratch or bite at herself.
The only stress she was under is when I babysat my grand-puppy. She is a Labradoodle and acts like she was just shot out of a cannon. My laid back Goldens do not like this high energy puppy. There is no aggressive behavior, but the Labradoodle abuses them with her mouth. The puppy ( just turned 1) was just here for one week and visits for a day every so often. My one Golden with the loss of fur was stressed until she left.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by dog trainer

My one Golden with the loss of fur was stressed until she left.

That could be just it. I haven't read Eukanuba's ingredients , but it's not a really good food , too expensive for what's in it. I don't feed my goldens premium food but I do feed them a no corn kibble. You could take a look at our food forum to get ideas.

And yes , pictures please