Lisn123

HI there~
I'm new to this group--but not to dobies. We have red/rust male--over 13yrs. and just adopted a red/rust male pup. (he's now 3months)
We noticed recently, that he is losing clumps of fur on his front "shoulders"--The vet said they think it is just his puppy coat (sort of downy fur)
But my husband & I are not convinced. It isn't red or itching him--so it doesn't seem to be infection or allergy. I just dont remember it happening on our older dog, but that was a long time ago.
Just curious what experienced Doberman owners think.
Thank you!

I attached a couple pics.. hope i did that right..

Attached Images

P1010001.jpg (307.3 KB, 20 views)

Amanda

I've heard about these bald spots happening to fawn and blue dobermans, but I haven't heard about it happening with reds...

I'm getting my red girl in about 3 weeks, so I'll be looking to see an answer to this as well. Just in case it ever happens to us!

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tg5452

When my black and rust female was around that age the same thing was happening. My boyfriend who has an older doberman said it
is the puppy coat lost as well. When I bought her to get her next round of shots the vet took a skin scraping we found out is was
mange. Genetic mange and it got cleared up with some dips. I would take him to the vet for a skin scraping just to make sure.
Let us know

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ellenm

I'd have skin scraping done to be safe. Did the puppy have bite marks or scabs where the hair came out? How long have you had him? Was he a stray or exposed to unsanitary conditions?

They can blow their coat annually, but it does not come out in clumps like that. Generally you would have a bunch of hair coming smoothly off their entire top line, etc. but there would be a smooth appearance to it. If those bald areas increase in size I'd be worried about mange, bacterial (staph) infection, etc.

Lisn123

Thank you for the replies~ I noticed more areas up his neck now--and it is looking more like he is losing his "puppy fur". But you guys scared me enough, with the talk of mange, to keep a close eye on him.
When my husband took him to the vet today, the vet did mention that he could do a scrape, but really didn't think it was warranted at this point. (there is NO sign of any sores, or redness) Not sure why they didn't do it, just to be safe.
but we can easily take him back & say we want it done.

I'm happy I found this group. I look forward to reading more stories here. We sure love our dobies--they are great dogs.

thanks again
Lisa