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.

[Laura and Angus]

While I can't offer helpful advice for this topic, I was just going to suggest you might want to post this in the Food Group and the Health and Medical Issues (for our pets) group. They might have more insight, as well! Good luck with the baby! 

[TYoung]

Thank you...I will do that right now :)

[SK & Hudson]

Try switching to the Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy (salmon), instead of the High Prairie. Many dogs tend to have allergies to different types of meat, so the ground beef that you are giving her, the beef/chicken from the High Prairie, or peanut butter might be irritating her body.

My 2-year old f1b mini goldendoodle has been on Taste of the Wild since the first few weeks after I brought her home. When I got her, she was on some Purina item that made her have loose stools. When I made the switch to Taste of the Wild, everything changed for the better. As you know, there are 2 choices for puppies, so I chose the Pacific Stream salmon over the High Prairie, as the High Prairie has a ton of meats that are included that might cause allergies (bison, lamb, chicken, beef, venison, fish). A few months into having my doodle, we realized that the poultry from boiled chicken snacks, chicken broth, duck treats, etc were causing her to lick her paws to a point of them being red. As soon as we eliminated the poultry, she stopped licking in a few days and the redness subsided. I ran out of peanut butter and didn't give her any for a few months, but when I gave her some a few weeks ago, I noticed her licking her paws crazily again. So, after eliminating peanut butter, she is back to normal. 

Consider trying to make it easy on yourself to be able to identify any possible allergies that may come up. Try the Pacific Stream (salmon) or Sierra Mountain (lamb) so that you can tell if certain meats impact your puppy in different ways. The lamb is a meat that warms the body, so I only give it to her during the cold season. Also, I'd say that there is not that much benefit from giving your puppy the Taste of the Wild Puppy versions of food. It really just has 2% more protein and .5% more calcium.

Best of luck, I hope this is helpful!

Main meat components of TotW varieties of dog food:

Pacific Stream (salmon)

Sierra Mountain (lamb)

High Prairie (bison, lamb, chicken, beef, venison, fish)

Wetlands (duck, chicken, fish, quail, turkey)

Southwest Canyon (beef, boar, lamb)

Pacific Stream PUPPY:

Protein: 27% Minimum, Fat: 15% Minimum
Calcium: 1.4%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.0%, as-fed
Calories: 3,600 kcal/kg (360 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy

Pacific Stream ADULT:

Protein: 25% Minimum, Fat: 15% Minimum
Calcium: 1.9%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.1%, as-fed
Calories: 3,600 kcal/kg (360 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy

[TYoung]

Thank you...my error.  She is on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy (salmon).  She was on the adult version when I got her and the vet told me to switch to the puppy version.  Interesting that there is not a huge difference.  I don't believe she is suffering any allergies.  She never scratches, her paws are not irritated, etc.  No signs of discomfort.  She is still her usual self except for the shedding.  She looks awful mangey given the patchy fur coat.  I do believe she is just starting to blow her coat...although I wonder what would cause such an early shed.  She was spayed at 8 weeks by her breeder.  I have only done preliminary reading on the subject of early spay.  Since, in humans, hair loss is often correlated with hormonal changes.  I can't help but wonder if everything hormonal will be advanced by her body given the forced early hormonal change of spaying.  Again, this is a somewhat uninformed thought, since Ive only begun to explore dog (Labradoodle) physiology.

Thanks for the informative reply though.

I also am not opposed to looking at better foods for her.  I sincerely want her to have THE best!  I just love my Hadley so  much, and I am BIG on nutrition with my family in general.  Orijen seems to be a brand liked on DK.  I still haven't had a chance to delve into the research on this topic.  Im not in a current rush as I would like to keep things consistent in the short run, given all.