Could it be stress?

by Judy
(Nanaimo BC Canada)

Angel @ 11 months

Angel @ 11 months

Angel @ 11 months

Dry around eyes..

close up of hair loss...

Hi Sue,
we recently went on a 1 week vacation and left our baby Angel with my parents. This is the first time she has ever been away from me in 11 months, we have been together 24/7 since February and I think it stressed her out.. She was happier than pig in sheit to see us and I wish I could post the video as it was hilarious to see her go crazy back and forth with my husband and I.. we actually made plans to have her greet us outside as we anticipated this.. lol.. unfortunately she has hair loss around her eyes and I’m thinking it could be stress..

Her diet didn’t change but the water was different..Could I be right? Here are a few pics and one is not so good but shows the loss better.. How long should it take to clear up if this is the cause and she is now back in her own environment? Is this also symptoms of allergies? Although her diet didn’t change during her stay she is fairly new on this food as we changed it prior to her stay (approx 2weeks)..there were no signs of reaction prior to leaving her and she is not rubbing or scratching so I am leaning towards stress..

Any feed back from you would be appreciated and would love to hear from others if they have experienced this also..

PS at least she didn’t growl at me like the last posters baby..and she didn’t diss me like our last one use to after leaving her for a week..lol.BUT she hasn’t left mommy side either..true rottie love and loyalty 🙂

Hi Judy
I’m sure Angel is VERY happy to have her momma and daddy back home… grandparents are fun but nothing beats mom and dad! I wish I could have seen her reaction when you got back, I bet it was priceless 🙂

There are several possibilities for the hair loss and allergies are definitely included. However, I tend to think that stress may be to blame, but in a sort of indirect way…..

Stress lowers the body’s immune system and allows conditions to spring up that otherwise wouldn’t cause a problem. Coccidiosis is a prime example (a internal parasitic condition), Mange is another and this is what I think may be causing the problem.

Demodectic Mange in caused by microscopic skin mites which many dogs carry routinely, but which don’t cause any trouble. However, under stress they can begin to multiply and that’s when patchy hair loss can begin to appear. Often it’s first seen on the muzzle, around the eyes, or on the front legs or chest.

You can read all about Mange on this page on my other website…. Mange In Dogs.

I’d recommend taking Angel to your vet so that he can take a skin scraping and see whether or not this is what’s going on. If it is, treatment is usually quick and easy and special lotions, shampoos or dips take care of it.

Of course, it could be something else entirely, but at least you’ll rule out something if it turns out not to be mange, and I think your veterinarian should take a look anyway so that you can nip it in the bud.

Hope this helps and that Angel is back to normal soon. She looks very comfy and happy to be back in ‘her’ bed 🙂 Good luck (and please let me know how it turns out)

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Apr 01, 2015

stress and mange NEW
by: Amy

Hi I have a 17 mo old rott and she to has never been away from me she recently went in to vets to be fixed anb had to stay 3 days I knew she would miss me and she was barking in the back when she heard our voices when we picked her up so happy to see us. She laid around for a couple of days like she was worn out and releived to be home. She had lost weight i figured from stress and fasting.not long after I noticed her hair was starting to miss around her eye and skin kinda swollen so took her to vet and he did a skin scrape and sure enough to my shock it was demodex mange. It is locolized to just her eye part of her other eye and a few small dots above her eye.I never knew this could happen over her being stressed but it did. She loves her family a lot.


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My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone