# Hair loss around eyes



## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

Any advise or thoughts appreciated. 
chester is 10 months old and just over a month ago we noticed some hair loss around both eyes coupled with large amounts of white ish discharge. We took him to the vet and they thought it’s maybe been an allergy to something and that the hair will grow back in time. But the hair has continued to come out and is definitely now causing him to itch. It also has a flaky appearance. I will attach a photo. We are changing him onto a hypoallergenic food.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Did they do a skin scraping for mites?
If it is allergies, and it’s itchy, he’s likely rubbing the hair off. The allergy would have to be controlled, for the hair to come back.


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

We have had a terrible time with the vets. We expected a skin scrape when we first noticed the hair loss but they said he didn’t need it. They then gave him a steroid which caused an awful UTI which lasted 3 weeks. Our daycare called us today to say it’s definitely mange so finally the vet has listened and booked him in for a skin scrape (6 weeks after our first visit!)


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I think I would’ve chosen the skin scrape, before a steroid shot. Did your vet ever mention, that some dogs have to pee constantly when they give them steroids. Mites bury deep in the skin, and vets don’t always find them when the hair loss first starts. As they multiply, they are easier to find. NexGard, revolution, and a few of the other flea preventatives, also treat mites.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

Looks like demodex


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

That’s my thoughts too. We have our appt at the vets today to get the skin scraping done. I’ll post a picture to show how much worse it’s got in a week.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

The good thing about demodex is no treatment is necessary in most cases. Just keep the pup healthy and it's very likely just puppy stuff


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)




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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

I wouldn't be too worried but that's just my opinion


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

Thanks. It’s good to know. This is our first dog so new to all of this. And would obviously prefer his hair not to fall out.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

Almost every V pup I've known has had demodex at some point and it's usually around the eyes/muzzle. The hair will grow back - it does take a few months for the demodex to go away and hair to return. What do you feed? I'd treat this with a healthy diet + immune boosting supplements like salmon oil and a probiotic


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

Thank you, that’s reassuring. We have just moved him onto Millie’s Wolfheart utility mix (whitefish + salmon) it’s also hypoallergenic and very popular with vizsla owners in the UK. Maybe we need to add in some supplements too.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

I'm very pro-raw diet, especially when dogs are experiencing chronic, nagging health issues, but not all people are into that.

If you get a diagnosis of demodex, doing nothing/boosting immune is what I would do over any medical treatment. All dogs have demodectic mites, when they lose hair it is a sign they aren't regulating the effect of the mites as their body should normally be doing. It's a sign their immune system is struggling a bit. A lot of it is likely just puppy growing pains.


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

They did the skin scraping and came back negative for demodex. I’m at a loss now, no idea what else could be causing the hair loss and red ears.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Some dogs have a problem with air freshers, candles, or cleaning products we use in the house. I was really hoping it was not some sort of allergy reaction, because those are harder to figure out.
A lot of ragweed pollen in my area right now. Two of my dogs are on Zyrtec, until it’s over.
Have you asked the breeder, if any other dogs in the litter are having the same problem?


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## IzyKnowles (10 mo ago)

Morris13 said:


> Any advise or thoughts appreciated.
> chester is 10 months old and just over a month ago we noticed some hair loss around both eyes coupled with large amounts of white ish discharge. We took him to the vet and they thought it’s maybe been an allergy to something and that the hair will grow back in time. But the hair has continued to come out and is definitely now causing him to itch. It also has a flaky appearance. I will attach a photo. We are changing him onto a hypoallergenic food.
> View attachment 103735


Our 7 month old vizsla pup has just started to get this. It’s now starting to look flakey and make him itch but he it doesn’t seem to bother him though. 
However we’ve started putting salmon oil in his food as well as using eye drops, but it doesn’t seem to be improving, instead it’s getting worse. Did changing the food to hypoallergenic make it better or did you ever get to the bottom of what was causing it?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

IzyKnowles said:


> Our 7 month old vizsla pup has just started to get this. It’s now starting to look flakey and make him itch but he it doesn’t seem to bother him though.
> However we’ve started putting salmon oil in his food as well as using eye drops, but it doesn’t seem to be improving, instead it’s getting worse. Did changing the food to hypoallergenic make it better or did you ever get to the bottom of what was causing it?


You need to rule out it being mites, before considering it being a allergy.


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

That’s around the same age as Chester was when his hair loss started. I’m glad you posted as hopefully I can help as we have made a bit of progress. We tried everything but nothing made any difference. The vet then suggested trying apoquel tablets. Within a few weeks the hair started growing back. It’s now all back in. He’s been on it a few months now but I think the real test will be when he comes off it. My understanding is that it confirms it’s an allergy which may or may not present again in the future. If it does then we will likely need to do allergy testing. Hope this is of some help. It stressed me out so much when it was bad.


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

I’d like to update this post. We got Chester’s allergy test results today. I think I am still in shock. No environmental allergies however his diet allergies are alarming......
Beef, turkey, chicken, pork, rabbit, lamb, venison, salmon, white fish and corn. 
Seems we have a vegetarian vizsla!
Has anyone had similar results?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I see duck is not in the list as a allergy


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## Morris13 (Feb 24, 2021)

texasred said:


> I see duck is not in the list as a allergy


That’s correct, it wasn’t on this panel of foods. I guess he could still be allergic to it though. His current food is duck and veg which we are to keep him on so we’ll hopefully know if it’s ok once we strip everything else back. Treats etc. Have you heard of any dogs before with a similar list of allergies?


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

there are exotic meats out too, they tend to be more hypoallergenic. like kangaroo and ostrich. also beaver which is like a superfood and very rich in iron. the other options as mentioned above are duck, quail and pheasant. I realize it is not a lot of choices, but these are still better than a vegetarian diet for your little pistole.
so far I have only heard about 3-4 meat type allergies, never this many.


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