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 :(  Thank you in advance.

[Joan Bollaert]

FYI Australian labradoodles don't shed but they do have a new coat that will come in around one year old and you'll need to brush the puppy coat out vigorously during that time so they don't mat up since they don't shed.  You don't want to have to shave them down due to mats.

Not sure why clumps of hair out at this young age.  I'd take her to the vet.

[TYoung]

Thank you.  I made an appointment for 3 weeks out for her next set of shots.  I told them of the issue.  They said that unless she's uncomfortable, I could wait until then.  It's odd because she has a beautiful soft silky fleece coat that had not shed for the first 12 weeks of her life.  This came on gradually commencing 2 weeks ago.  Doesn't seem normal, but Im a new doodle mom so perhaps I don't know what normal is yet.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I respectfully beg to differ. A lot of ALDs do shed, as members here will attest. Check out the Shedding Doodles Group: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/sheddingdoodles?commentId=2065244...

 And this puppy is too young to be going through a coat change. 

[TYoung]

I am further frustrated because her breeder said she would blow her puppy coat at about 1 year or so.  When I mentioned the shedding to the vet 2 weeks ago, she told me that she could already be blowing her coat and that she would be done at about 6 months.  Is there that much of a difference in this phase from doodle to doodle...meaning a possible 6 months "normal range" for blowing the puppy coat?  All that said, my vet does not specialize in ALD's. So, perhaps she's generalizing about dogs.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The thing about doodles is that they are a mix, and ALDS are a mix of at least three different breeds, some of which do shed, sometimes heavily. So there is no consistency from one to another, and anything is possible regarding their coats. There can be huge differences between one doodle and another. Minis and mediums mature earlier than standards, so I guess it is possible that a small mini could be going through a coat change this young. 

[TYoung]

Thank you...I didn't know that Mediums mature earlier.  She is a medium and is supposed to get unto 30-35lbs.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In general, (and this applies to all dogs, not just doodles) the smaller the adult size of the dog, the earlier they mature physically. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

As I replied to your post in the main forum, 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.

Here is some good information about food allergies in dogs: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/facts-a...

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. With almost any type of skin condition, allergy, or external parasite, you would see intense itching and scratching. There is a genetic disease in poodles that causes hair loss, but it doesn't typically show up in puppies. I think you might just have a shedder.

TOTW is no longer recommended here, as it is owned and made by Diamond, which has the worst recall history of any pet food company. It also has a poor Omega 6:3 fatty acid ratio, which can affect skin and coat. You might consider switching to Orijen, the Omega fatty acid is very beneficial, and the quality is top-notch. However, it won't prevent a shedding dog from shedding. :) 

And you can eliminate the coconut oil from your pup's diet, it has not been shown in any clinical trial to be beneficial for dogs. 

[TYoung]

Thank you...I will look into Orijen.  The oddity is the way the fur is falling out.  It looks like clumps are missing. Her fur no longer looks uniform throughout.  I notice it most on her back.  And it appears dramatically worse each of the past 4 days.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, that can be a symptom of mites, which would require a vet visit, as they cannot be seen with the naked eye; the vet has to do a skin scraping and then examine the slides under a microscope. But mites almost always cause intense itching. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Can you post a picture of her back that shows the missing hair?

[Deborah Brown]

Can you post the photo here?