i am wondering if you guys could comment on my thoughts about why my lola might be losing more hair than i think is normal... and while i love getting to enjoy the extra layer of beautiful spots on the skin beneath her thin hair  that are now showing through, i still am slightly concerned.


lola is 6 months old,  eating wellness puppy formula, has no other unhealthy symptoms, has plenty of energy, eats, drinks, sleeps, plays and gets in trouble just like a puppy should.  she is bright eyed and has had all the routine vet attention.

she does not have any redness or itching associated with the thin hair.  i have not used any " beauty" products on her skin. 

she was spayed  a little over a month ago (a bit early as she had some puppy vaginitis and the vet said the spaying would take care of that)  there were no problems or complications with the surgery other than trying to keep her from jumping, tugging and running for 10 LONG days!!!  i know anesthesia can cause hair loss, but if that is what is causing it,  i thought it would show up sooner than this???

other things i thought might be contributing to her hair loss are:

we ARE in texas and it is getting HOT, plus lola is relentless about her play? could it just be seasonal hair loss? 
 
i also know some doggies do loose their puppy coats at different times during their first year, but i don't know if ratties are a breed that has a puppy coat???

she is not slick, bald, but in the places where she has lost hair, the longer hair has fallen out leaving a shorter thinner crop ...which does look like new hair. all areas of her hair are lustrous and  it glistens in the sunshine.

we first noticed the thinning around her neck where her collar was a week or two ago, so we blamed her constant fidgiting with the collar she doesn't really like anyway, and took it off... then we noticed thinning on her chest tummy and extremities.  the hair on her back seems normal, i don't  really notice a change in it so far.

my last rattie was part spitz and had an undercoat, so i do not know how thin a full blood rat terrier's summer coat in texas might really be, so this may all be normal, and it may be a combination of any or all the things i mentioned...

one last thing...lola was an outside winter born doggie before she came to live with us. it was still cold when we brought her home...in her first home as a tiny puppy, she slept through some very very cold and icy weather outside...poor baby...so our household "climate" may have found her with way way too much hair in the first place.

one other thing about lola which the vet assures me is normal is this...when she starts to get sleepy, she REALLY heats up...i have never had a puppy sleep so hot....her little white spot on her nose turns bright dark pink as do her knees and elbows...do other ratties sleep hot?  i know dogs are already hotter than humans at their normal body temp,. but heating up at bedtime is a new one for me....

well, if anyone is still reading, thank you, and if anyone has any input i am curious as to what you think...she is supposed to go to the vet in another month or two for a heartworm refill and blood test since she will have been on hw preventative long enough then...so unless this hair loss deal becomes more alarming, i thought i would wait until then to visit dr. heather.

thanks for any input, sorry my first (well second,...no wait...third) post is so long, i just am not good at brevity.

jocheryl (lola's mom)

Welcome to the site!  I love your post!  Lola's sleepy heat timer is adorable!  Mario gets hot at night now that the weather has turned warm but I've never seen his nose turn bright pink.  That is really cute.

As far as the thinning hair issue, it sounds like it's normal shedding.  Mario's coat has thinned out, my furniture is bearing the results of that shedding! 

I can't wait see pictures of your furbaby!!  Welcome again!