# bald greyhound



## minging dog

hi, i have a racing greyhound which i have just purchased from a trainer, he is bald all over his back end and thighs and his coat is a bit of a mess. Any suggestions would be very welcome.:confused1:


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## tinamary

Have you had him checked out by a vet to make sure he has nothing nasty. If not maybe his coat has been rubbing him or he has been chewing because of a behavioural problem. You need to watch his behaviour. Is he scratching?


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## briarlow

Why did you purchase him if he's that bad?

Would get to the vet and look for a number of problems, thyroid levels should be checked too.


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## Amethyst

My niece adopted an ex racer with this problem too, vet checked bitch and said it was just where she had been lying/sitting on hard flooring. She did give a shampoo and suggested evening primrose oil. A few months on she still has some hair loss on back of thighs, but it continues to improve.


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## momentofmadness

my mums was the same when she got Chatter... There was nothing wrong with her.. 
Vet reckoned she had been nibbling herself.. Infact, My mum had to keep putting her muzzle on when she left her cause she was nibbling that much she was causing sores


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## greyloz

When we took on our grey she actually lost more fur off her thighs but it takes a couple of years to fully come back. Some say it is moving them from kennels and bringing them into central heated house with carpets and the big changes they have to adapt to. Ours used to be really jumpy with anything new, I think she has finally settled to life as a pet but it took a good few years, we had her when she was about 3 and she is now 9.


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## Freyja

It normal a lot of racing greyhounds are bald on their thighs and is nothing to worry about. It is thought to be something to do with the amount of protien they are fed and when they are in pet homes and on maintenance diet instead of a racing diet the hair grows back. If she was mine I wouldn't bother with the vet as it is the majority track dogs have this when they first go into homes. It is also more obvious if you have a black or blue dog than on a fawn or brindle.

She will also have what is called a kennel coat which is a thick slightly fluffy coat which is often dull. She will soon moult this out and get a nice coat when she is used to living in the house.

My exracer had bald thighs which grew back. Unfortunately when her companion died last year she got stressed an nibbbled her coat out again it is now growing back.


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## Amethyst

Freyja said:


> It normal a lot of racing greyhounds are bald on their thighs and is nothing to worry about. It is thought to be something to do with the amount of protien they are fed and when they are in pet homes and on maintenance diet instead of a racing diet the hair grows back. If she was mine I wouldn't bother with the vet as it is the majority track dogs have this when they first go into homes. It is also more obvious if you have a black or blue dog than on a fawn or brindle.
> 
> She will also have what is called a kennel coat which is a thick slightly fluffy coat which is often dull. She will soon moult this out and get a nice coat when she is used to living in the house.
> 
> My exracer had bald thighs which grew back. Unfortunately when her companion died last year she got stressed an nibbbled her coat out again it is now growing back.


Thank you for that info, interesting about protein levels. My nieces bitch had a very dull coat, much nicer now though


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## jaguar

go to the chemist and get some benzole benzalate rub it on to the legs and you will see the hair start to grow within 2 weeks it is called bald thigh syndrome we used to breed and race greyhounds for 30 years not un-common in ex-racers if in racing kennels would have been on a 28% protien diet but now needs no more than 24%
i feed mine on 24% red mills with a tin of tuna or sardines


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## minging dog

thanks but i actually bought him to run, so he is actually still in training, he is also chewing every bit of wood he comes across, he has actually come from a trainers kennel into our back garden where there is only himself and one other greyhound, but they are in seperate pens. So he is actually getting trained by a small family unit including my partner and my eldest son, he also seems to be very hyper and untrusting! any ideas would be appreciated, thanks


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## Amethyst

minging dog said:


> thanks but i actually bought him to run, so he is actually still in training, he is also chewing every bit of wood he comes across, he has actually come from a trainers kennel into our back garden where there is only himself and one other greyhound, but they are in seperate pens. So he is actually getting trained by a small family unit including my partner and my eldest son, he also seems to be very hyper and untrusting! any ideas would be appreciated, thanks


Not much of a life for a dog is it?

Poor dog must be bored to death spending all day outside alone and in this weather too 
Can he not live indoors? It sounds as though he is in dire need of stimulation and socialisation. Has he got toys, chewies and the like in the garden pen?

To be honest, I hate Greyhound racing so won't comment further here ...


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## jaguar

i persume that if he is in your garden you are going to be flapping him (oh happy days) he wil just need a bit of time to get used to his new home i have sat for hours with new dogs in there kennels till they grow in confidence we used to run at hinckley till it shut the askern and highgate but to far to travel 3 hours there 3 hours home just to much
when i went into our kennels i always had my pockets stuffed with treats it did not take long for nerviose dogs to come around they looked on me as a walking lunch as for the chewing you may have to box muzzle for a few days
they learn pretty quick not to chew if i can help with anything else please let me know i was a vetenary nurse for 20 years


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## minging dog

:thumbup: thanks it was nice to have a good reply from someone who has experienced the flapping game, you"ll be pleased to know his fur is starting to come back and his chewing is down to a minimum. The old trainer phoned my partners friend and told him that the full litter suffered severe hair loss and that numerous blood tests revealed nothing.


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