Im not sure if my shiba is sick!!!

WolfiiWolfii
edited March 2009 in Food, Nutrition, & Health
Im not sure if my 1 yr old shiba inu Momo is sick.

A few weeks ago, she started to shead ALOT!!! and I know that occurs at least twice a year. But she's shedding so much, that she's starting to look like she's much skinnier than ever. And she's losing fur, in patches. I don't know if that is normal!!

Cause I have a male shiba inu also 1 yr kenshin. And he lost it in layers, so he looks fine.

by patches i mean like you can visibly see where she had shed and where she hasnt yet. legs, chest.
but then again, both of their fur are slightly different, even though they are suppose to be siblings. Kenshin's is much more soft and smooth, while Momo's is tough and coarse.

should i bring her to the vet and maybe get blood work done? She just got all her shots and spaying like 6 months ago.

Comments

  • ljowen123ljowen123
    edited November -1
    Wouldn't be a bad idea. What type of food is Momo on? It could be a grain allergy.
  • RomiRomi
    edited November -1
    My shiba has a similiar problem. His fur was thinning on his legs only and was very brittle. I took him to my vet to get blood and sent the sample to Dr. Dodds to get his thyroid checked. It came back negative, so I started adding supplements to his diet and it cleared up. However, Jen (creativejen) mentioned to me that thyroid disorders are common in shiba's and thinning of the hair could be a symptom - so you may want to get her blood work done and checked. Jen recommended HEMOPET in CA to me - to send the bloodwork and have a full blood panel done.
  • WolfiiWolfii
    edited November -1
    My dogs are not on the best food, Im only an Sophmore in College, So, i buy them what i can afford.

    They use to be on Eukanuba, but ive switched them to IAMS tiny bites.
    I couldnt find Eukanuba at BJ, so I chnaged them over to IAMS.

    What food should they be on...?
    Nutro? Eukanuba? Iams? none of the above?



    Vet around where i am (NY) runs about $65 just for the visits, do u remember how much the blood work was in CA?
  • WolfiiWolfii
    edited November -1
    ALSO!!! How long does it take for a shiba inu to reach full size?
    They just turned 1 a few days ago, but they are still small (puppy look) compared to some of the other shiba inu ive seen.

    I heard they sometimes take up to 3 years to grow full size. Is that true?
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    I would definitely take into consideration what Romi suggested to get to any underlying issues, or just as a precaution.

    LJ also makes a great point, and since you feed Iams - there are a lot of filler grains in that type of food. I think double coated spitz breeds (shibas) thrive on a grain free diet with omega's (fish oil). Perhaps you can do some comparative shopping on different types of dog food available to you.
    dogfoodanalysis.com has ingredient listings, and dogfoodproject.com has awesome information about the different types of dog food available today.

    Also, keep in mind that your shibas are young, so they probably haven't blown coat often enough for you to compare. I don't think shibas reach their full size potential until closer to 18-24 months. I think around 8-12 months they max out their height, but everything else takes a little longer to follow. My male turned one in November and just started to really fill out and look more 'adult' than ever.
    Momo might just really be blowing coat hard, and without the added coat supplements it might look worse than it really is. But consider the vet tests and food options, even as a preventative caution - it never hurts.
  • RomiRomi
    edited March 2009
    It is on the form you have to fill out. You choose what you want tested. I think for the full panel it is $95.00. If you go to the website, it will tell you everything you need to do along with pricing.

    You should try to find a food that is grain-free - I notice my Shiba does best on grain-free foods.

    You can view reviews of dog food at Dog Food Analysis (this is the same site jen posted...seems she posted while I was typing :P)

    A few brands that I would recommend would be: EVO, Orijen, Solid Gold, Before Grain, Nature's Variety, Wellness CORE

    A few brands that aren't 5 or 6 star, but still pretty healthy and more affordable: California Natural, Artemis, Innova, Natural Balance

    Most importantly - you should go with what your dogs like and do well on. Even though Orijen is a great food, it is too rich for my dogs and they get bad gas and loose stools. So it's important to go with what your dogs do well on and can handle. Every dog is different, so it's not 100% your dogs will do well with these foods just because others do. You should probably try to pick up some 1 or 5 lb. samples to try out first.

    As for how long it takes for shiba's to reach full size...I think Ninja was done at around 8 months.
  • WolfiiWolfii
    edited November -1
    thank you everyone who had made a comment in helping me with my shiba inus =]

    THANK YOU!!!~
  • wliu003wliu003
    edited November -1
    Losing fur in patches could be a tick. definitely take her to the vet just to make sure.
  • okironokiron
    edited November -1
    And with food, the good stuff might be more expensive than Iams or Eukanuba but because there's less fillers they'll eat less of it so in the end it'll cost you the same because it'll last longer. It's just more money to put down at once. $30 every other month rather than $15 a month sort of thing.
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    Do you have pictures? My two Shiba are still filling out and they have not yet reached 2 years, but I would say their maximum height was already obtained by the time they were 9months-1 year.
  • WolfiiWolfii
    edited November -1
    yea, i believe that my two shibas have reached their length size, but what i mean is. i guess the width??
    ive seen videos on youtube, with this really fluffy shiba inus, with much wider faces

    =]

    im definitely looking into the better foods, and a visit to the vet!!
    thanks
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    You would have to look at the parents to see how each dog is regarding width of rib cage and deppth of chest on that matter. I guess that is part of the filling out process, and can take several years for Shiba I thought to completely fill out in the chest and shoulders, also depends on breeding.
  • WolfiiWolfii
    edited November -1
    So, just an update!! nothing was wrong, it was just purely shedding season, and they look fine now.
    I also changed their food to EVO red meat little bite!! just incase =]
    and i have felt that their fur has been much much softer.


    thanks for everybody's advise

    =]
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