Shedding!!! Ahh why is my little guy shedding?

[Brandon and Squire]

Hello everyone, this is Squire and I'm Brandon. We're new to this site. Squire is my first dog and I feel I have made a wise decision in choosing a Shorkie. Many of Squire's physical characteristics come from his Yorkie side. He has long hair and pointy ears. His physique comes from his Shih-Tzu side. He's long and weighs about 13 pounds.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure as to why he is loosing hair. I don't think it is excessive but being that they are not suppose to shed, I do think it is an area of concern.  I have had Squire since he was 8 weeks. The vet said it was normal for him to shed his puppy coat as he grows older. Now that he is a year, should this still be occurring? And, its not fur he's loosing, it is his hair. I've been told that maybe I should change his food. The breeder fed him Royal Canin, which is what I continued to feed him. Just recently, I switched him to Blue Buffalo, which he loves by the way! I'm not sure if this will work, but are there any other recommendations?  I'm starting to think that maybe he's having a reaction to the topical flea preventative that I put on him every month. I started him on this at about the age of 5 months which is when he slowly would loose strands of hair occasionally.  Please give any and all advice...

[Westyns~Daddy]

Hey welcome to this awesome site its great to have u on board I'm sure that you and squire will love it!!as far as advice on ur problem I would say to quit giveing him the flea control stuff because if that's when he started to lose his hair,then he's probally alergic to it!I would try that,hope that helped a little-keep us posted and again Welcome to the family!!!!

[shorkiejem]

One shoe does not fit all.  My little Jemma, I noticed, is also doing some shedding.
Welcome to the board.

[Mai Tai]

I have two shorkies and neither of them shed, but one of them reacts to front-line.  He chews at himself and rolls all over the ground as if trying to scratch himself.  I think these pesticides are nasty for our dogs, but the diseases from ticks are worse, so what can we do?  Hope you get to the bottom of this problem and let us know how it works out.  Welcome to the board.

[Ann]

Hi and welcome great to have you join us here. Toby has suffered with this problem too it happened when he was a puppy but he hasn't shed since. I do have problems with him and allergies so I also put it down to that as well.

[Kim]

I'd try combing him more often that way they don't shed as much. Technically shorkies should be non shedding dogs. As long as you keep them groomed.

[Brandon and Squire]

Hey everyone!!!! Thanks for the responses! I truly appreciate it. As far as the shedding is concerned, my little guy has stopped. I spoke with the vet and unfortunately he was having a reaction to the food I was feeding him. Now since I've switched him to the Blue Buffalo, no more shedding!!! As far as the flea and tick preventative, the vet recommended that I try Frontline to see how he reacts. I'm still a little skeptical simply because there are so many negative reviews on both Frontline and K9 (which is what I use on him now). K9 is excellent. Thank goodness Squire has never had any ticks or fleas. He does scratch a lot and roll on his back after the first couple of days its on, but by the end of week he stops. I spoke with the breeder and they said they use Frontline on his parents. What are you guys using?...

[Kim]

We are using the Advantix Multi. And have not had any problems. We like using the pill instead of the liquid because one we don't have to get him to sit still to take it, two he doesn't have to wait a period of time before he can roll around, and three it doesn't affect his skin and coat.

We also give him apple cider vinegar which is a home remedy that helps with repelling insects among other things.

[max]

We use Frontline on max & have had no trouble with it.  Kim how much apple cider vinegar do you give him & how often.

[Brandon and Squire]

Hi Kim,
thanks for the response. I'm also curious about the home remedy you make for your shorkie. Can you send more info on how its made as well as how often you feed it to your shorkie?

[Kim]

You can buy apple cider vinegar at the grocery store although I had to really look for it since the people there had no idea they even sell apple cider vinegar.

I give Max 1 tsp. every other day. They say to put it in their water but once Max takes a whiff of it he's not interested. So instead I mix it into his food and add a little water to moisten the kibble. It is hard to smell so you have to coax them to eat it. I had to do a lot of research before I decided to give it to him. The acidity helps balance their pH balance and so helps with their digestive system and I've also noticed that his tear stains are a lot better now.

Here's a link with more info.

http://www.natural-dog-health-remedies.com/apple-cider-vinegar-for-dogs.html

I would start with just giving it to them twice a week for a month just to see how they react to it.

Happy Friday!

[Westyns~Daddy]

That's some great advice,I've never thought about that!that's why I love this site so much great advice

[TravisKR]

good advice! although i never experience shedding atm!

[tons_911]

My dog is almost 2 and she sometimes sheds. I took her to get groomed the other week and the groomer explained to me that even at 2 she is still losing her baby hairs and that has a lot to do with the grooming of the dog in the past, they need to be brushed professionally by the groomer and not just shaved. This can prevent proper falling out of the baby hair.