Missing patches of hair

[karenjb]

Hi Husky lovers. I have a 5 month old Pomsky “Buddy”. He plays pretty rough with my daughters pup “Kobe”. Kobe is the same age and he is a German Shepherd lab mix. They are about the same size but when they play they play really roughly and I noticed some blood on my dog and a few missing patches of hair. I don’t know if it’s from fighting with the other dog and playing too rough or if there something else going on with his hair. He licks at it and the skin looks irritated. I’m taking him to the vet on Tuesday but just wondering if anybody else has any kind of things like this with their pets. He’s otherwise a very healthy dog. He’s up-to-date on all his shots. He’s only been in contact with other dogs three times at a dog park. He does not have fleas. He gets Frontline monthly. I was wondering also if it’s possible he’s allergic to his dog food. Should he be on a wheat free diet? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

 

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[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Do you have any pics ? 

[Rachael_Astro]

I’m not sure about the hair loss but yes a grain free diet is best


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[2Huskyfun]

They do play rough. However, my two started throat grabbing and shacking each other. They would also pull out each other’s hair wherever they were able to grab each other.

*not saying this is what is going on with yours. This is just what happened with mine*

No whinnying, no blood, so I let them play. It has progressed to a dominant competition and no longer play. It was causing my female to not want to listen to anyone in the house and not wanting attention.

From the research I have done, this is not normal for this breed and I brought in a behavioralist.

 It has been a couple of weeks and I have been able to show them what is acceptable play and not allow one to be dominant over the other. Since then my female now comes up to use for attention and seems much happier.

I would keep an I on the play. Yes, they play rougher then most breeds but pay attention to dominant pastoring and behavior.

Mine also has severe allergies/intolerance. None stop itching, panting hard for no reason, chewing on themselves, diarrhea, and even vomiting. It was really hard to find a vet to do an allergy test. Kept stating that dogs do not get allergies under a year. Found a holistic vet and did the test. My male has full allergies and my female has intolerance to certain foods. 

It has taken about 4 months of having them on the perfect diet but the itching, diarrhea, vomiting has stopped, and my males hair is now growing back. 

I used a 50/50 solution of apple Cider vinegar and water. Sprayed it on their skin to keep hot spots under control. The only issue I had with it was that they loved the taste and licked each other. LOL 

Here is my pups playing. My neighbor’s say it sounds like I have bears or wild animals in my yard. 🤣

 

 

[karenjb]

Yes I see how your dogs play. Mine are similar but they are definitely doing the throat biting. They also jump on each other and roll around. Sounds similar to your dogs with a lot of growling but your dogs seem a lot more playful. I don’t know if mine are trying to establish dominance or what. But they’re both five months and they’re both males.


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[2Huskyfun]

This is what I was advised by my vet and the behavioralist.

Do not let them throat grab.  It can cause damage to their throat. My male started coughing and gagging.

The behavioralist said that it is a hunting take down (killing their pray) and could cause them to fight and seriously hurt each other when they are older.

That video was filmed yesterday and it takes two of us at all times to keep an eye on things. They are a lot better.

 I started having to squirt them with a water bottle. The timing had to be perfect in order to allow them to still play but have them understand that certain things would not be allowed.

It has really helped 

Are the boys nurtured? Would like to think that would be an easy fix but, mine started this after my girl had mouth surgery and I had to keep them separate for 2 months. They have also both been altered for quit sometime so hormones had nothing to do with mine acting that way.

 

[wolfpup]

I would not consider nutering just yet   -  the lastest scientific studies have shown for medium sized dogs  12 months is the earliest  - otherwise it can cause damage to the growth plates and cause them problems later on.    Large breed dogs should wait until 18 months.

[2Huskyfun]

23 hours ago, 2Huskyfun said:

Are the boys nurtured? Would like to think that would be an easy fix but, mine started this after my girl had mouth surgery and I had to keep them separate for 2 months. They have also both been altered for quit sometime so hormones had nothing to do with mine acting that way.

 

Not all behavioral issues can be fixed by nurturing.LOL it takes a lot of training. However, that is exactly why I had my male done at 4 months. He was getting very nasty and was extremely difficult to handle. He is well on his way to being possibly bigger then dad which was 60 lbs. Almost all of his behavioral issues stopped and he became a big cuddle bug almost immediately. (Depending on age, it takes a few months for the  testosterone to lower) and other then his food allergies/intolerance, he is perfectly healthy.

I think it is a personal choice. I worked at the Shelter as a vet tech and we nurtured everything  as soon as they hit 2 lbs. Never had an issue. None of my personal dogs ever had long term medical issues and all lived very long healthy lives.

As an Animal Control Officer (retired now) I cannot tell you how many calls I would respond to because two unfixed males or two unfixed females were either trying to kill each other or one did kill the other. 

There is so many studies out there regarding the when and why you should nurture and they contradict each other. 

The only medical complications I have personally seen that is linked to this subject has been Testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, and ovarian cyst in un altered dogs.

*fun fact* vets here charge by weight.

So, how much of this truly is for medical or is it for them to charge more.....

 

[karenjb]

Hi

I appreciate everyone’s input and replies      Thank you 

To answer your question, no both pups are not  neutered yet. They are both scheduled to have they’re procedures done on the same day 3/8/19.  That way both dogs can heal at the same time and if they have to wear the cones they will both have them on at the same time. I do hear different stories on  whether or not it’s best to get them nuetered now or later. So with all my information I’m choosing to get it done earlier rather than later. I’ve had other male dogs and they both were rescued, fixed and chipped before I ever took them home. They were young and never had any problems. They both lived long healthy lives. 

I’ve attached a small clip of their rough play.  It’s a short clip mind you and  The clip is taken after they’ve already played for a while so  they were just winding down. And in the video my dog looks like the aggressor but it goes both ways. 

Since reading all the responses I have been doing my best to stop them from biting  each other‘s necks during playtime.  Also attached a short clip of the both of them  they listen so much better with treats  lol 

 

 

 

As you can see neither one listen too well. When they’re playing. 

Oh I would like to add that I’m using Vetericyn Plus. On my dogs skin where it looks irritated. Anyone else have experience with this product?  It  supposedly helps a with all kinds of things from abrasions,  lacerations, irritations, cuts and burns. 

[2Huskyfun]

They are so stinking cute..

Wish I got mine done at the same time. I think it would have been so much easier. But I did them a month apart.

That is how my two played at that age. My girl would do what Toby is doing. (Lay behind me or between my legs, she would even run in her kennel or a corner of the room.) We thought it was cute but now I feel bad because the behavioralist said that was actually her way of asking for help. (I don’t know if that is what Toby is doing though)

Again, this is just what was going on with my pups. I truly believe every pup and situation is different. This is just what worked for my pups....

The behavioralist had me set in the center of the room and hold my girl. Every time the boy came in to snip at her or get between her and me, I was to push him away (your hands are like a dogs mouth and they can miss read this as playing so I made sure I was pushing him away on his side or butt) As I was doing this I would say “Theia time” when he would finally go find something else to do I would reward him with attention. I did this 4 times a day. Now all I have to do is say Theia time and he goes off finding something else to do. This took about a month to be 100%. This also helped with training them separately.

I took this training and started  implementing it when I saw that she was hiding between my feet, legs, corner, or jumps on the couch and lays close to me.

This one thing made such a huge difference.

 I cannot have collars on my pups. They got tangled up once and I just don’t trust it. 

Mine knew/know all the commands. I think that was the most frustrating thing about all this. They are so well behaved and listened in every other  situation (expect on walks when he sees another dog LOL) But it is like a switch flips and I could be covered in raw meat and they still wouldn’t listen. LOL 

For this I started doing Attention training. Every time they made eye contact I would say attention and give them a treat. Now I say attention and they look at me for their treats instead of reacting to whatever is going on. This has really helped for when we are on walks or go to a store. We are still not 100% but it is a lot better.

 I have never seen that spray. I have only used the mixture or Bitter Apple (LOL). I think I only had to do hydrogen peroxide with neosporn once or twice. If it is just a little scratch I didn’t mess with it. My girl has broken skin around her nose and eye right now (not sure if from the boy or daycare) I am not doing anything with it just keeping an eye on it. For anything major I go to the feed store and get that purple spray anti-septic spray. 

 

[karenjb]

Thank you, I agree they are pretty stinking cute. Lol. 

Thanks for all your input. I realize all dogs and situations are different but hearing others similar stories are helpful. So it’s definitely appreciated   

I know  in the video of the dogs playing rough it shows Kobe between my legs hiding. But  he was there because he was being ordered to go home and he did not want to go home.  He was hiding not necessarily from my dog but from my daughter who was wanting him to go home. So as far as the rough play goes, I’ve been keeping an eye on them a lot more. When things get too rough (because I do see blood on my dog periodically-that’s what started this whole thing in the first place ) but anyway I distract them with treats  which are usually just their dog food kibble.  It seems to calm them down at least for a little while enough time to disrupt and distract from the rough biting.  

 

🙂

 

[kellydh]

Vetricin is excellent for cuts, abrasions, etc.  It's an antibiotic spray and can typically be found at Tractor Supply stores (says the lady with a pet pig, lol!)