Hair loss since starting steroids

Bosco (aged 2) has been taking a relatively low dose of pred (3mg/day) since last January. Every time I brush him he seems to lose lots of soft fluffy hair. Its got to the point that I am reluctant to brush him now, because so much seems to come out. If there is a small matt, it will just break off.
His coat isn't in great condition, and compared to his litter sister he has very little hair anyway. She has a lovely full thick and shiny coat.
Are there any supplements that I could be giving him to help prevent more hair loss, and to condition what he has? I have started to give him Dr Schussler tissue salts -silica - which help hair and nail growth, I was wondering if there was anything else I could do?

The pred has been fantastic for helping his SM so I would be reluctant to change that.
Thanks
Charli

Hi Shirley. Poor Bosco. Sometimes Olive oil in their food or cod liver oil tablets will help with hair loss and conditioning also. But one must be careful with the fishoils, I only give mine three a week and their coats are thick and shiny. You can put coconut oil directly on their coat, it's great at conditioning the hair and skin... and smells nice too.

I don't know of anything else. That must be a little frightening to seen all the hair on the brush when you brush him. May you find a good solution fast.

Hi Charli, I have the same thing with Chaos and don't know that there is anything one can do as it is a known side effect of steroids. Chaos's hair has started to fall out even when not being brushed, I find clumps of it all over the place. She had a wonderful coat but is much shorter on her back now and her tail is much thinner, at least she does not get so many knots as when it was thicker as it hurts her to be groomed. She is on a lower dose of steroids than Bosco as have now got it down to 2.5mg every other day. She might not have such a lovely coat any more but at least she is mostly pain free. If you find anything that helps please let me know.

Riley is on 5 mg/day and has been for a year. She also started losing her hair, especially on her belly and tail. Her belly started to look like a puppy's belly she had so little. About 2 months ago I stated giving her salmon oil capsules. She had been getting 1000mg Omega 3 that I just bought at Walgreen's. The salmon oil is just salmon oil - bought it at an upscale pet store. Her fur is now much thicker on her belly - you can actually see it, even though it's not lush. The rest of her coat is coarse though, not silky or shiny like it used to be. And the fur doesn't seem to grow long. Her tail still looks like a rat's tail. I miss her big flag of a tail. The only thing I can attribute the hair growth on her belly to is the salmon oil. Her diet hasn't changed otherwise. Like you though, prednisone has been a miracle drug for her SM and I will trade any hair loss for a better quality of life for her.

Riley is presently on 5mg prednisone daily. I have given him Grizzly Wild Salmon oil for over 1 year. During January and February of this year, I was away from home and did not give Riley any salmon oil for about 5 weeks. I saw an immediate deterioration in his coat during this time. He started losing quite a bit of hair and it became very course, dull and thin. He is now back on the salmon oil and there has been a gradual improvement in his coat. It is not anywhere near as plush and thick as it was before he started taking the pred but it is much better while he is on the oil. The pred has really helped his symptoms and the Dr believes the benefits are greater than the side effects.

patg said:

The pred has really helped his symptoms and the Dr believes the benefits are greater than the side effects.

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Yes, I'm inclined to agree with you there. At least Bosco is unaware that he doesn't have as much hair as usual
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I think I will start to give him some fish oils and see how that goes.

Charli - I would stick with pure Salmon oil vs any other kind of fish oil. That is what really made the difference in Riley's coat. Her belly fur is very close now to my other dogs and the rest of her fur is thicker - again, not silky, but definitely thicker. Now if only her tail would grow back to it's beautiful fullness!

I have done a little research on the net and found three different salmon oils that I could buy:
Hunter Salmon Oil http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/sup...ir_skin/more_skin_and_coat_supplements/139892
Healthy Hounds Salmon Omega Oil http://paddypaw.myshopify.com/products/healthy-hounds-salmon-oil-omega-3-supplement
and
Kronch Salmon Oil.
I've heard of Kronch, but not the other two. Have any of you used any of these?

Unfortunately I haven't heard of any of them, except I think some people on this forum have talked about Kronch's. I am currently giving Riley a supplement called Dream Coat by Halo which has soybean, wheatgerm, safflower, sunflower, and cod liver oils. The pet shop was waiting for their delivery of the salmon oil caps but I wanted to give Riley something while I waited for a week. I will pick them up on Monday and can tell you the brand. I don't know if it's just a US company or if they would have it in Ireland. But I will let you know.

By the way, the Dream Coat has Omega 3 and 6, and Vitamins A and E. The woman at the pet store said she likes to switch her dogs around between the two products. She sometimes even gives organic coconut oil as long as it is in a glass bottle, not plastic. She said her dogs coats are gorgeous, but she isn't fighting the effects of prednisone.

The capsules I give Riley are Wild, Deep Sea Salmon Oil by The Wholistic Pet (www.the wholisticpet.com). It has 1000 mg/capsule. I swear this is what made Riley's coat grow back.

Thanks Bev, they sound really good. I wonder would it be possible to get them shipped to Ireland, (and avoid customs/taxes)?
I have had a look on the web and it looks like they are only available in the US.