Could it be stress?

by Judy
(Nanaimo BC Canada)

Hi Sue,
we recently went on a 1 week vacation and left our baby Angel with my parents. This is the first time she has ever been away from me in 11 months, we have been together 24/7 since February and I think it stressed her out.. She was happier than pig in sheit to see us and I wish I could post the video as it was hilarious to see her go crazy back and forth with my husband and I.. we actually made plans to have her greet us outside as we anticipated this.. lol.. unfortunately she has hair loss around her eyes and I'm thinking it could be stress..

Her diet didn't change but the water was different..Could I be right? Here are a few pics and one is not so good but shows the loss better.. How long should it take to clear up if this is the cause and she is now back in her own environment? Is this also symptoms of allergies? Although her diet didn't change during her stay she is fairly new on this food as we changed it prior to her stay (approx 2weeks)..there were no signs of reaction prior to leaving her and she is not rubbing or scratching so I am leaning towards stress..

Any feed back from you would be appreciated and would love to hear from others if they have experienced this also..

PS at least she didn't growl at me like the last posters baby..and she didn't diss me like our last one use to after leaving her for a week..lol.BUT she hasn't left mommy side either..true rottie love and loyalty :)





Hi Judy
I'm sure Angel is VERY happy to have her momma and daddy back home... grandparents are fun but nothing beats mom and dad! I wish I could have seen her reaction when you got back, I bet it was priceless :)

There are several possibilities for the hair loss and allergies are definitely included. However, I tend to think that stress may be to blame, but in a sort of indirect way.....

Stress lowers the body's immune system and allows conditions to spring up that otherwise wouldn't cause a problem. Coccidiosis is a prime example (a internal parasitic condition), Mange is another and this is what I think may be causing the problem.

Demodectic Mange in caused by microscopic skin mites which many dogs carry routinely, but which don't cause any trouble. However, under stress they can begin to multiply and that's when patchy hair loss can begin to appear. Often it's first seen on the muzzle, around the eyes, or on the front legs or chest.

You can read all about Mange on this page on my other website.... Mange In Dogs.

I'd recommend taking Angel to your vet so that he can take a skin scraping and see whether or not this is what's going on. If it is, treatment is usually quick and easy and special lotions, shampoos or dips take care of it.

Of course, it could be something else entirely, but at least you'll rule out something if it turns out not to be mange, and I think your veterinarian should take a look anyway so that you can nip it in the bud.

Hope this helps and that Angel is back to normal soon. She looks very comfy and happy to be back in 'her' bed :) Good luck (and please let me know how it turns out)