The mysterious bald spot

[EmmaLou12]

Hello everyone! I have kind of a multi-part question I am hoping to find the answers to, and, being new, I hope I have posted in the correct area (it begins as a grooming-related issue that turns into a possible health issue).

Our 1-year-old Havanese, Emma, has a tendency to get knots in the groin/front thigh area of her back legs. I haven’t been able to find any information online as to why this specific area is affected, but I am guessing it might have to do with her movement or how she lays down. Though we brush her out daily, there was a time about a month and a half ago where she had such a terrible knot that I brought out the scissors. I carefully cut the knot out, leaving about 2 cm of hair behind, which wasn’t too noticeable on her puppy cut body.

The problem is, as her hair grew out, the trimmed area did not grow out, and actually has lost hair. It looks like there is some hair there (please see photos), but it feels stubbly as if someone shaved the area and now it is growing out. I see no signs of “phantom razorburn”, irritation, redness, bites, or otherwise (one of the photos looks a bit pink but it isn't any different than the rest of her pink/purple/black skin; actually, as you can sometimes see irritation of the skin better in correctly lit flash photos, we even took a bunch of pictures to analyze for spots we might not have seen with our eyes alone!). She is up to date on all shots, as well as flea, tick, and worm treatments. She does not have any known allergies or health problems. She has never had a problem with her hair growing back after coming from the groomers, and even after she was spayed her hair grew back normally.

We spend the majority of our time with Emma, as our work schedules and living in a dog friendly country (Germany) mean we almost never have to leave her home alone, and we have never witnessed her chewing or licking the area.

We have waited for the hair to grow back for this last month, and, as there is no irritation visible, we have put off going to the vet. I thought it might help to put some triple-antibotic ointment on it (not sure why, my mom used to put this on me anytime something might have been wrong), but I don't want to draw her attention to the spot when she isn't bothered by it. It is time for her to get another haircut, so perhaps the bald patch will magically be spurred to grow back? Does anyone know what the problem could be? Any suggestions for how to re-grow the hair or how to keep the area tangle-free in the future? Thank you in advance for reading and for any insight you may have!

[Suzi]

I have no idea but I wouldn't put the ointment on its not for dogs and wont help hair grow. Maddie had some hair loss as a younger puppy then Emma. She too had mats and I used a razer thing that her breeder said would make it easy to get the mats out. Well it also took half of her hair with it. I'm thinking that you just over groomed but the good news is she wont be getting the mats for awhile. I bet her hair grows in stages and she will grow it back soon. I hope so anyway. I know karateen in jello is good for hair growth but I don't know if its good for dogs.

[whimsy]

hmm.....I would take Emma to the vet and have him take a look at it.

[davetgabby]

Welcome to the forum. Yeah I would get a vet to check it out.

[The Laughing Magpie]

It could traction alopecia, drop coat dogs with tender skin are at risk for traction alopecia, when this happens in dogs it is often in the top knot area and is why one needs to be very careful how tight rubber bands and hair clips are placed in their dogs hair. Dogs that go in to rescue and are full of heavy mats will often have these spots when their coats grow back after shaving. It is from continuous pulling or tension. Matts can also be good places for fleas to lay eggs and cause a infestation.

In the case of a young pup like yours her fine hair may have matted in a way that when she moved her legs it would pull or she may have kept scratching or biting the area. If you are getting lots of knotting you might what to put moisturizer (coat handler has and inexpense one) on the areas that matt and for awhile you will need to brush just those areas several times a day. If you have a busy schedule you might clip the areas that don't show short until after she blows her coat and her adult coat grows in.

[TilliesMom]

the 'tiny knots' could have been blowing coat... she is the right age for it for sure...

[EmmaLou12]

Thank you everyone for your replies, and I apologize for the late response. I truly appreciate your input and we have made an appointment at the vet to see if they can figure out what Emma's bald spot is a result of! Fingers crossed that it is just her blowing coat!

Again, thank you very much for your quick and helpful replies!