All dogs shed, but not all the same. If you want to share your home with a dog, shedding is something that can be a concerning matter. However, shedding varies among the different breeds. Some breeds shed seasonally while other ones shed year-round, some barely shed at all and some shed almost all the time. When it comes to Pit Bulls, they shed seasonally and in medium intensity.
Pit Bulls usually lose their coat in late fall and early summer. Along the normal shedding, there can be various causes for your dog to start losing his coat.
Seasonal shedding
Shedding due to the season is a regular thing for Pit Bulls, you can help him with his hair loss by keeping him hydrated and brushing his coat on a daily basis. When your Pit is dehydrated for long periods, it may cause him to shed even more than an average amount of fur.
Make sure he has enough of fresh water at his disposal at all times. The brushing helps eliminate the excess fur and speed up the shedding process. And it's always better to collect the hairs in the brush than on the carpet or the bed.
The change of seasons is not the only thing that affects the shedding. One more cause could be the change in diet. The most impact in the diet can be made with a change in the protein source of the food. If your dog is used to food with the chicken as its main ingredient and you switch to beef-based food or fish, he might start to change his coat.
Excessive Shedding and Its Causes
People can confuse fur loss with shedding. Shedding is a natural occurrence while fur loss is caused by some anomaly, illness or infections. You can differentiate fur loss from shedding quite easy since shedding is a fur loss that happens on an entire surface of the skin, while fur loss caused by illness happens in more concentrated and separated areas.
Unexpected hair loss is one of the best indications that your dog might have a health issue. He can experience some of the symptoms such as:
- Brittle and dry fur
- Fur falls and breaks unevenly
- Bald patches across the fur
- Hair loss followed with some other skin condition
- Dog starts being sensitive when you touch him on the spot where he's losing hair
Excessive Hair Loss and Its Causes
Excessive hair loss can occur due to a lot of different factors including hormonal imbalance, allergies, nutrition insufficiency, etc.
Hair loss can be falling out as a reaction to the following allergies:
- Food. An allergy to some certain ingredient found in the food.
- Medications
- Environment related reaction: household cleaner, carpet or a dog bed
- Pest bites
The best way to diagnose an allergy is the system of elimination. Consult with your vet, and remove all possible allergens from your dog's environment until the fur starts growing back.
One more cause to fur loss can be a hormonal imbalance. Your dog's thyroid might be imbalanced, it's a condition called hypothyroidism, and it's common for dogs, it can be treated with medication.
Also, overproduction or underproduction of testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone can cause hair to fall out more than it should.
Female dogs might lose hair during pregnancy and lactation, which is normal, but if it happens to be excessive, consult your vet what supplements to get.
Shedding Due To Overabundance or Dietary Deficiency
An unbalanced diet can almost certainly cause your dog to loose hair. It important that he gets supplements needed or the right food that contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Mineral deficiency or overdose can also be one of the causes for this condition. Your vet can do some blood tests and determine what the dog is missing in his diet.
If your dog experienced some major change in its life, he might be under stress and shedding can be a reaction to it. Always consider a dog's emotions, they react to situations emotionally just like humans. The change in homes, some familial issue like death, can be a trigger to hair loss. If you get to the conclusion that this is the case, some right supplements can help recover the dog's fur.
Skin conditions can be a serious cause for fur loss also. Bacterial and fungal infections, mange, mites, ringworm, and dermatitis, can all affect your dog's coat. If the area where your Pit Bull is missing hair has a rough or tender skin beneath, take him to the vet to consult on the way of treating the condition.
The Tools for Fighting
You could get some pills and medications that can help with anxiety and stress in the dog if your vet told you so. However, if this doesn't work, then you should start looking for a cause of anxiety, once you found what makes your dog stressful you can eliminate the source and start the recovering process.
The first tool that can help fight shedding is a short stiff brush. Pit Bulls are meant to have short stiff coats, so the short bristled brushes are the best for them. Combine it with a comb to keep the coat clean and free of dead hair.
There are also shampoos that can help fight shedding. The important thing about this treatment is to treat the skin more than the fur. If you manage to keep the skin moisturized the shedding will reduce significantly. Dry skin causes dander and shedding in a large scale.
You can also use a conditioner as well, to keep the fur clean and moisturize the skin. It will also give the coat that reflective shine.
Keep the coat healthy
The shiny and healthy coat is always a sign of a healthy dog. You can give your pet a raw egg from time to time; it's known that it gives the coat an excellent shine. You can get its fur to be nice and shiny by following these steps:
Get your dog the best dog food for pit bulls, high in protein and omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids
Keep parasites and fleas away on a regular basis
Make sure your dog is washed regularly. Dirty skin is a magnet for bacterial infections and excessive shedding
Brush your pet whenever you can. Brushing helps to remove dead hair and stimulate growth of a new one
Conclusion
Remember, Pit Bulls shed the medium amount of fur during the season, this is normal, and it's not something you should be alert to. Pick up some of the tools I covered above, and you'll be just fine. However, if it happens that your bully loses too much of hair then use the system of elimination to determine what can be causing the problem. The best idea is always to check with your vet, and get the advice from the expert.
Shedding is something you can't escape; it comes in a package when you decide to get a pet. You can always reduce it to a minimum with regular brushing. And you can always say, at least is not that excessive as it would be if you had chosen to get a cat.
