long haired chi's and their coats

1380 Views 14 Replies 11 Participants Last post by princess_ella, Jun 28, 2005

irlandesa

Discussion Starter · Jun 26, 2005

Hi,

I posted a few weeks ago right after a little long haired chi puppy came into our lives (he was stray in our neighborhood). At the time, his coat looked pretty bad, which wasn't surprising since he'd been living on (and in) trash for who knows how long. These days, he's looking a lot better

But I'm wondering about the fur on the front of his neck, just below his jaw -- there isn't much there at all. When we noticed that at first, the skin was a bit raw in this area, as well -- we suspected that someone had him on a leash and he had perhaps pulled at it so much that he'd rubbed the fur off. But then, this wouldn't make sense, since all the fur around the rest of his neck was intact. Now the skin is ok, but there's still no fur covering it.

I think I remember Clare commenting that it can take a while, like a few years, for l-h chis' coats to come in -- could that be what I'm seeing here? Mine is only about 9 months old. But the rest of him is pretty furry -- is the neck area one of the last places for fur to grow?

I've attached two pictures that give an idea of what I'm talking about. Chaka wasn't feeling to willing to pose at the time, so I sort of had to trick him into it, hence the nibbling at my fingers in the second pic. These really aren't the most flattering pictures of my little darling, but, oh well.

Thanks, and please let me know what you think . . .

Lara
recently converted (and admittedly, probably overly concerned) chi-lover

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Kari

· #2 · Jun 26, 2005

I don't have a long hair but that doesn't look like his fur is just late growing in.

Did he have fleas when you first got him? I know when dogs have fleas and they have them bad, they can scratch so much that their hair will come out. It can take awhile for it to come back.

He is really cute! :wave:

irlandesa

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 26, 2005

Yeah, he had tons of fleas on him -- like in the 100's -- it was terrible. That's all taken care of now, so maybe it'll be a bit more of a wait for the hair to come back.

Kari said:
I don't have a long hair but that doesn't look like his fur is just late growing in.

Did he have fleas when you first got him? I know when dogs have fleas and they have them bad, they can scratch so much that their hair will come out. It can take awhile for it to come back.

He is really cute! :wave:

Kari

· #4 · Jun 26, 2005

Wow that is alot of fleas! Poor baby! I am so happy he found a great home to love and care for him! :wink:

Zabet

· #5 · Jun 26, 2005

Callisto's hair on her neck there is fairly thin, so I guess it would be rather easy to lose it due to a collar or fleas. I'm sure that if will grow back eventually, just may take longer than other places. Thank god he found a loving home!

OzzyAndLilysMom

· #6 · Jun 26, 2005

Yeah that doesnt look right at all - I would take him too the vet - mine twos are quite short there but not that short.

SunnyFLMum

· #7 · Jun 26, 2005

Gizmo's hair is thinner, but not like that...better check the vet to make sure it's not anything serious, at least then you can have peace of mind ya know?

luv4mygirls

· #8 · Jun 26, 2005

yeah it looks like some type of dermatitis, from fleas or something irritated it. i'd get an appt with the vet and get him looked over.

Rachael Polachek

· #9 · Jun 26, 2005

I have no idea what's causing that but I wanted to commend you for taking him into your heart and your home. He's a lucky guy to have stumbled into the right neighborhood. He looks like a very sweet boy and I'd love to see more pics of him.

irlandesa

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 27, 2005

Well, give a proud parent an inch and they'll take a mile when it comes to showing off pictures!! I had this one handy, so here you go . . .

Rachael Polachek said:
I have no idea what's causing that but I wanted to commend you for taking him into your heart and your home. He's a lucky guy to have stumbled into the right neighborhood. He looks like a very sweet boy and I'd love to see more pics of him.

Kari

· #11 · Jun 27, 2005

What a cute boy he is! :wink:

SC

· #12 · Jun 27, 2005

To me it does look like some sort of injury from a collar. Like maybe he was tied and constantly pulled forward. Poor thing.

I would get a vet to check it to be sure.

LovelyChiPupz

· #13 · Jun 27, 2005

OMG your chihuahua is exactly the same as mines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to the vet and they said they didnt understand what it was, she said usually if hair is missing off a chihuahua there is either been tugged very forcefully or to give them a blood test since the veins everywhere else r so small & fragile - my coco's was as it had been shaved off by a mans shaver she said - i think the woman who sold her to me was a nasty B*"&£, she wanted to use my baby as a show dog and obviously she didnt have any patience for coco so was pulling at her and pulling at her, hence she was terrified of leads. When i emailed her asking what coco got a blood test for she said it was just the collor doin it, yeah right it was her pulling her and then trying to shave it to make the bald patches look a bit better.

Coco's still hasnt grown in yet, but if you look around the edges and look very closely you will see small parts gradually growing in.

Sorry to here about your dog being in trash cans and out on the street, who could do such things to any animals i honestly dont know. Some people are just so cruel.

Update me on how your chi's hair grows in - coco is still quite baldy (also i 4got to mention coco has no signs of fleas when i got her but i dont know about before, but i dont think the baldness is caused by that as the vet would have told me - maybe small bald patches but not as large as that!)

Loads of Love, Kisses & Hugs Gilly & Coco

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Ms_P

· #14 · Jun 27, 2005

Both of my girls hair is thiner there than everywhere else, except their tummys of coarse.
You didn't say if you have taken him to the vet since you found him. Did you take him?
It could be from fleas, but it looks more like a skin problem to me. Could be from not eating good food for a while. How long have you had him?

I would really suggest you take him to a vet and get it checked, and an over all check up if you haven't done it since you found him.
You can get some "Dermcaps" and put it on his food. It's the fatty acids that help with keeping the coat nice. But don't just rely on them, take him to the vet.

princess_ella

· #15 · Jun 28, 2005

longhaired chihuahuas coat

:wave: my baby girl Precious-Pearl is a longhaired chihuahua she does have less hair on her tummy and neck.But no fleas and healthy skin. Here is the link to a website of pictures of her.http://www.dogster.com/?155161 since i am having trouble posting them here.Anyway keep us posted on what is going on with your cutie?Your Poor baby is cute.mine had kennel cough a week from when i got her from the breeder since i had that happen with my Princess-Ella I was less worried that it was no emergency.

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