Melatonin - Pattern Balding

[shez78]

Charlie Brown is a Mini Foxy. At around 9 months of age I noticed a few bald spots that seemed to be getting bigger. Charlie malts a lot but where it was going bald it looked more like the hair wasn't growing back. I let my fingers do the typing to investigate it & came up with the obvious answers. Skin allergies, Food allergies, or alopecia but none of it seemed to fit her. There is no redness or welts & Charlie doesn't bite or scratch at the area.

And so started the long investigation into what was causing her problems. My vets first suggestion was fish oil which I had her on for a couple of weeks then came the change of diet, shampoo, lotion and so on. The only place it affects her is under her neck & around the base of her ears & a tiny area, smaller than a five cent piece on top of her head. Around the back of her back legs the hair is a bit sparse but not like under her neck. Nothing was working so the next step was to take her to see dog Dermatologist, Beth McDonald, at Sydney University.

Beth did a skin scraping & enquired about scratching to which I advised it is more like the hair is falling out and just not growing back. The skin scraping confirmed that the hair shafts were falling out & not breaking off & that the hair isn't growing back in that area. Beth suggested a biopsy just to rule anything else out such as diseases and so on. I will post about the experience concerning the biopsy in another forum re: vet care!

When the biopsy came back it showed that Charlie Brown has pattern balding which is apparently very rare in females & even more unheard of in her breed. On her back legs it is a low grade dermatitis - contact allergy. Beth suggested Melatonin to stimulate the hair growth for a period of 3 - 4 months. I hate putting my dogs on any type of unnecessary medication, especially when the pattern balding is not causing any health problems. This would be just for vanity's sake & to put an end to people asking what's wrong with her.

Plus from all the articles I read regarding Melatonin, I was a tad concerned with the side effects caused by long term use. I did decide to try Charlie Brown on it & at the 3 month mark discontinued use. I was just posting to see if anyone else has tried Melatonin and if by any chance you could see a difference or that it actually worked? I decided at the 3 month mark it wasn't worth putting Charlie Brown's health at risk just for vanity's sake but I would be interested to know if anyone else has come across pattern balding & if any other treatments were used/ and or worked?

[Nekhbet]

If you are concerned about it you should head straight to your specialist for advice about medication and discontinuing use so suddenly.

1) Melatonin is a naturally occuring compound. In fact it is a hormone that helps affect mood, sleep patterns, cell growth and perpetuation, weight control, etc

2) It has not been approved for long term use because no one has done a long term study. Does it mean it's bad? No. But no company will write 'yup take it as long as you want' without scientific studies otherwise they open themselves up for monumental law suits.

3) The side effects from what I can see are quite minimal and are mainly based on the wrong dosage being applied. I can only find headaches, bad moods, lack of ovulation/sperm production/libido (which shouldnt worry you anyway as your dog wont be bred from) Other listed side effects like rash, allergy etc may have occured in one or two test subjects over the years and these days everyone writes that in particularly due to the fact it is a byproduct of another organism.

[shez78]

Sorry, I must not have communicated my post clear enough. I wasn't looking for information or advise regarding discontinuing of use & what my next course of action should be. I had OF COURSE spoke to my vet & Dog dermatologist (specialist) before I stopped giving the melatonin to my dog.

I am aware & have read up the information you posted in regard to the actual side effects, what the medication is & what it is used for & what studies have been carried out. My vet, dog dermatologist ( specialist) & I went through all of the veterinarian reference material & information that is currently available on the internet before I would even consider giving a treatment to one of my dogs. The reason I took Charlie Brown off the medication (Melatonin) was for that very reason, that there have been no clinical trials on long term use & possible side effects, if any, caused by it.

I was however posting to see if any other members have had their dogs on Melatonin & they're personal experience with it, if it indeed actually worked & so on. If anyone's dogs have pattern balding & what they are using as a course of treatment.