Need Advise! Non-shedding doodle has increasing clump-like sparsity on her coat.

[TYoung]

Hello everyone...

My 14 week old Australian Labradoodle is supposed to be a non-shedding baby.  She's been with us since 8 weeks and really never did shed.  for the last 2 weeks, I have gradually seen increasing sparsity all over her back coat.  It looks like clumps of hair have fallen out, yet I haven't found any clumps anywhere.  But, I have noticed A LOT of fur on my black pants and on her brush.  I contacted the breeder s few days ago with a photo, and she has not gotten back to me (grrr).  I was doing a little research and it could be an allergy.  She's on Taste of The Wild Pacific Prairie puppy food.  She was on the same food but the adult version from her breeder.  I made the gradual switch to the puppy formula on the recommendation of the vet, which went seemlesly .  I put about 1 tablespoon of cooked grass-fed ground beef or cooked wild caught salmon on her food to kill the monotony...but not on every meal.  I ran both those by the vet which said those would be fine.  Other than that, she has her grain-free treats, peanut butter, occasional pieces of cheese, and coconut oil.  She is not scratching, or complaining in anyway.  Her stools have been normal.  She's other wise her doodly self.  If anyone has some light to shed on this I would be so grateful.  I'm worried about my baby Hadley :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can assure you that the hair loss has nothing to do with food or with allergies of any kind. She is simply too young to have developed an allergy to anything, and food allergies are the least common type of allergy in dogs, despite what you may see in social forums on-line. And shedding alone is not a symptom of any type of allergy. So you can rule that out.

Unfortunately, many doodles, including many ALDS, do shed, despite the fact that they are "supposed to be" non-shedding. No doodle breeder can guarantee that. And that doesn't show up in young puppies; even heavily shedding breeds like Golden Retrievers don't noticeably shed at  8 or 10 weeks old. 

It doesn't sound like she has any type of medical condition at all; you may just have a shedder. :)

[BG and Gavin]

Can you post some of the photos you took of her coat?

[TYoung]

I posted 2 photos here:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/need-advise-non-shedding-d...

[BG and Gavin]

Ok thanks. I don't think that looks typical at all, but I see you got some great advice in this other thread. I would be off to the vet likely split and call the breeder to put some pressure on. Good luck.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

 Shedding occurs all over so that doesn't look like typical shedding to me, but I have NO idea what it might be. Have you been using an undercoat rake or Furmintor on her? A harness that has rubbed off her coat in those two places?  The only way your know for sure that she isn't a shedding dog is to wait until she grows up and see what coat she has, but if you are getting fur on your clothes and lots in her brush already, she may a dog who sheds.  My rescue sheds like crazy - I hoped he wouldn't but . . . . .  It looks like you have gotten lots of good advice on your other thread.  I would want the vet to check her out.  If shedding is a huge deal for you (nothing wrong with that) you may want to consider pure breeds who do not shed next time - poodles, wheatons, schnauzers, bichons.

[TYoung]

An UPDATE for all you wonderful DK folks!  I just came back from the vet.  No point in wasting any time. She said that her skin looked fine.  Since Hadley has zero "symptoms" other than the patchy hair loss...she was unable to give me anything further.  We went over her diet, which is great.  She said she looks really healthy otherwise including the feel of her fur.  She said to keep an eye out and when I go back in 3 weeks for shots she will take another look at it.  Oddly, she said that this year many people have come in for excessive shedding concerns.  So much so, that she is sensitive to it but has no explanation.  The weather is cold some days and much like warm spring days on others...you really have to look at the weather everyday here.  She said it's NOT impossible for her to be blowing her coat.   After further exchange the breeder did get back to me and is investigating on her end what it could be.  She also has a call out to the breeder where she got her parents from.  She agreed that it did not look normal.  She asked about food, etc.  Anyhow,  I will post an update if anything further develops...but for now, we are just hanging tight and praying that she's just not a profuse shedder :(  Thank you all for your helpful information.  Have a wonderful Valentine's Day...you guys all really showed your love for doodles today!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kudos to you for going to the vet so quickly; I'm the same way, when I have a concern about a dog or a child's health, I don't waste any time trying to get answers. 

I'm glad that Hadley seems to be healthy and the vet doesn't feel there is any cause for concern. Happy Valentine's Day to you, too. :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

So glad you got Hadley seen right away and for your quick update to us.  I hope this patchy shedding is simply one of the oddities of life  Happy Valentine's Day to you.

[TYoung]

Thank you for your good wishes.  Happy valentine's Day! :)

[Cynthia Whitfield]

I love this picture. How very cute!

Cynthia

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Glad that your vet took a look at her and found nothing!  Hope you and your baby have a great Valentine's Day too.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good news.