Hi Toni, I actually had a vet ring me last week asking the same question about a bald spot on a Greyhound she was treating!

We get this a lot in the dogs we re-home, to be honest I always thought it was due to ex-racers lying on cold kennel floors but I'm starting to have my doubts about that theory. The dog in question at the vets had actually been a pet for a few years before going bald round his back end. Fraid I didn't have any answers for the vet, I don't know but I guess it could possibly be some sort of genetic thing.

One suggestion to encourage the hair to grow again is the food, our girl Ruby was really bald, she was like that for the first few years we had her, when we changed our food to Burns, like magic, her hair started growing back, she's now got a full 'bum' of hair.

cheers

Dave

When Freddy first arrived in our house he was very bald bald at his back end.  Someone recommended aloe vera gel (available from all good health food shops).  Within a very short time his hair started to grow back!

Chas

 

Our Pearly was always a bit bald in the thighs. She went balder and seemed to be moulting all over after she came to us. She then regained some and then she went bald as a coot on the bum. At the moment she is getting a bit more hairy, but not that much.

All very common with greys - some are baldy and some are not. Our Vet told us that the thyroid prob isn't that common but is still touted around. He reckons the main reason for hair loss is stress, but then he says you can get greys that are totally un-phased by anything and they still remain bald at the bum.

Another possibility is the amount of oils in the diet?

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone

My vet said it was to do with diet, dairy products (cheese mainly) being the cause.  She also gave us a shampoo.  Cheese is our ex-racer Fergus' favourite so he doesn't get it much now.

Sure enough he started to grow hair again on his bum with rationed cheese and shampoo however as soon as the cold weather started he began to loose it again.  I noticed that his jacket rubs up and down on these areas so maybe thats it, I don't know.  He's certainly not bald but it is thin.

Our other greyhound is not an ex-racer and has no hair loss at all.

 

Cheers

 

Scotty

 

Hi there,

Apparently dogs don't grow new hair unless they are shedding hair, so if you have a dog which comes from bad condition, it probably won't grow any hair until spring when it would naturally start to shed a bit. It seems to me that as Greyhounds have very thin skin, the hair might not be as well attached and as such would come out with rubbing. Couple this to the fact that they have pretty slow growing hair anyway and you have the potential to have a pretty bald dog.

Also, like has been said, Hyperthyroidism causes them not to shed, and so not re-grow hair. As do steriods, which I'm sure many racers have to endure.

Andie had a very bald bum when we first got him. Three years later and he has a magnificent bumful of hair!! I noticed that it gradually improves with each moult. We were told that it was due to lying on hard kennel floors and use of soft bedding helped.

Evelyn

Freddy had a really bald bum when we got him (almost 3 years ago!!!!).  My friend recommended the aloe vera gel and he had a lovely fluffy bot in no time at all!

I don't know about the bald elbows - my brother's lurcher, Kendal, has very bald elbows and to me they always look very sore.  They don't seem to bother him though!  I don't know if the hair can/will grow back there - might be worth trying the aloe vera gel on them too.

Calatria - I know what you mean about the baldy embows looking cute. It makes them seem so vulnerable, and in need of loving care.

Harry has baldy elbows but he's always lying in that funny Sprinx position - usually waiting patiently for something to eat! The gutbucket that he is. Funny thing is, his baldy thighs are growing back already. His skin has improved vastly since we got him, cos his sides used to be all flaky and dry. He's moulting something terrible at the moment and it's all fuzzy and catches in the back of yer throat. Ack, ack, ack!

Pearly's coat is in wonderful, shiny condition but her butt remains baldy and smooth. But her elbows aren't bald. I think.... I might need to go and check that out and administer some kisses and cuddles, just to be sure.

Night, folks!

 

I have a 3 & a half year old Greyhound bitch.  I have owned her since she was a puppy, having adopted her from the Retired Greyhound Trust at 2 weeks old.(rescued before racing, if you like!) She is from racing stock, but has never raced further than across the garden to see our cat.

As a pup she had a full body of hair, but once she started growing bald patches appeared on the legs and bum!

She has never raced, always slept on the softest of bedding (usually mine!), and been fed a healthy diet (including oil supplements) and always lived in a centrally heated house.

When she was about a year old I asked the vet about hyperthyroidism, and she discounted it stating that the dog was too young for this to be the problem, and thought that it was just this unique condition to Greyhounds.

She currently has bald thighs and bum.  I am going out today to try and find some Burns food and Aloe Vera gel! 

Will let you know results.

 

 

Not sure if the sale is still on, but Holland & Barrett were doing the gel very cheaply. You can buy on line if there isn't a shop near you.

Aloe Vera gel is very good for any inflamed, irritated or healing skin - it promotes healing.  My vet recommended I try it on Sim's leg when it was healing from a huge undiagnosed eruption - on the areas which were no longer open and bloody, but where the healing skin was thickened, coarse and flaky.  It really did help and I would definitely try it on any skin condition.

Must suggest it to my husband who is somewhat sensitive about the diminishing hair on his head!!!!  Lol! 

 

3 months on the Burns dog food & rubbing Aloe Vera gel into her thighs (although not on a daily basis), Ruby has grown hair on her bald thighs.  Although they are not completley covered with lustrous fur, there is, on one leg at least, more fur than skin.  First time in ages she has looked like this.

Back in July we had a little health scare with her.  One evening she seemed to have a "funny turn".  She was unable to settle and kept pacing the room.  Rushed her to the vet, who checked her over and could find no apparent reason for her turn, but gave her some precautionary treatment.

We took her back for further tests, bloods & thyroid (including full thyriod panel) which all showed no problems.

Bald thighs would appear to be "just one of those things".

Thanks to Suzanne for the details of Greyhound blood otained from this website, printed and given to the vet.  You can never be too careful, it put my mind at ease.

 

 

Teresa - I wonder if it's something to do with being blue? Pearly's hair grows a wee bitty then falls out again, so she's pretty much permanently baldy in the thigh area. Her diet is good and she's perfectly healthy, so there's no reason for her baldness. Harry, on the other hand, has developed lovely hairy brindle thighs since we got him.

He's still gorgeous, baldy or not. And I know what you mean about stroking the smooth skin. It just draws you in......

Fiona

ps: mind you, if I remember rightly, Manda and Phil's big boy Blue is lovely and hairy.