Almost two years ago my Pomeranian Kiki went to Petsmart to get her summer groom. We usually gave her the lion cut around the summertime to keep her cool. At this time Kiki wasn’t too keen on getting her hair brushed and usually had a few tangles behind her ears because she likes to keep her ears back. When we got to Petsmart I picked out the length of hair cut and the groomer took a look at her and said because of the tangles they might have to cut shorter. At the time I didn’t think of it since I figured they knew what they were doing…..

When I went to pick my little monkey up at the groomers a few hours later I could not believe what I saw. I had a bald dog!!! I’m not talking “oh she’s she cute with her short hair bald”……oh no…..I’m talking “omg, I have a Mexican Hairless Pomeranian” kind of bald. Literally my little Kiki had hair on her head, tail and feet (although on a side note….she did look like she was wearing little Uggs which made the feet adorable). I was stunned at what they did to my Pomeranian and pissed. *I will look for some pictures and attach them later* They kept telling me they had to cut that short there was no other way, but there was no way Kiki was that matted.

Well, time went on and Kiki’s hair just wasn’t growing back the way it should. It was growing back woolly, she was rubbing her back on the carpet and anything else she could scratch her back on, and her skin was turning dark. I was able to take her back to the groomers two more times (not Petsmart….my sister found this great groomers called Hug ‘n Pups) and the second time they groomed her they with scissors because they said she had clipper burn from Petsmart. Each time she got groomed her hair grew back less and less until the point she had little tufts of hair left, her skin had darkened, and her tail became all ratty (she chewed on it a lot). *Again, I’ll attach a picture as soon as I find a good one.*

Well, about a month ago Kiki got a Dermatologist appointment for an unrelated allergy issue. At this point a lot of you are probably thinking why the hell hadn’t she thought of this sooner? Trust me, I have, but I didn’t have the money to invest in a Dermatologist and I figured it would be way too expensive since there are a whole three in Arizona. Also, being bald doesn’t seem to bother Kiki….she’s just known as the Hairless Wonder. So a friend of my sister’s told me about the Dermatologist she takes her dog Rickey too for skin allergy issue and after calling them to see if they can help Kiki’s other allergy issue (they thought they could) I made her an appointment. It was a little pricey $130 for the initial appointment, but I needed to go to a vet that knew more about allergies than a standard vet (this is a whole other set of posts….stay tuned).

So my fiance took her in for her appointment and after one look at her the vet said she had Alopecia X (black skin disease) from clipper burn and there’s a medicine that he’ll prescribe that will help her. Could it be that simple? (Another side note, I had asked my former vet about a year ago when trying to figure out why she’s bald if that’s what she has and the vet said no and did a Thyroid test instead that came back negative and changed her diet…..yeah that didn’t work). So, Kiki got her medicine (Atopica – 25mg)…..it’s a little pricey….$55 on Dr Foster’s and Smith….and it looks promising…..

Stay tuned for picture updates….

UPDATE: To everyone who has landed on this page and has not seen updates, I’m so sorry, I should have posted links to my other entries.

To see Kiki’s amazing progress check out some of my other entries.

Week 11 (latest and greatest)

Week 10

Week 9

Week 8

Week 4

Week 3

Week 2

1. Kathy Says:
   March 11th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

   I’m interested in seeing the results!

   I have a black pomeranian named KIKI!!! And I have them same horrible groomer story as you. She had a few mats, but instead of cutting them out, they just shaved her bald. Leaving only her head, tip of her tails, and legs furry. So her whole backend and torso / chest is was bare.

   My vet rules out the thyroid decease and Kiki has been on Melatonin for about 5 months now, and we saw hair growing back (slowly) and her skin turning pink again however it recently looks like she’s losing it again. (Hair cycle perhaps?)

   I looked up Atopica & it seems it’s for allergies. I wonder if it might work on my dog. Though she isn’t known to have any allergies. I just think her hair isn’t going cause it’s so cold here in Ohio & she is freezing.

2. Kasia Says:
   March 14th, 2009 at 6:32 am

   Kathy – Kiki doesn’t have skin allergies, however, ever since she lost her hair she constantly scratches her back, we think it’s because Arizona is so dry and her skin gets dry and itchy. We took her to a dermatologist and he thought that the Atopica was the best solution to treat clipper burn and it’s working wonderfully! Hopefully this might be a solution for your little Kiki too!

3. Jennifer Says:
   March 30th, 2009 at 6:38 pm

   Kasia – I would really appreciate seeing your photos. Is Kiki’s coat coming back in?

   My 7 year old female black Pom had the same experience with a groomer several years ago and her coat has never been the same. It is now getting worse. I have tried new and high quality food, salmon oil, armour thyroid, countless blood tests and now special food supplements and tinctures from a very expensive animal nutrition specialist. I have been to three vets and none of them know what to do. My dogs parents do not have skin or hair issues. She is healthy, happy and energetic. But I feel like there is something that everyone is missing. I don’t think this this is Black Skin Disease. (I have read that BSD cannot be treated or cured!)

   I have seen so many posts that claim that their dogs coat was never the same after getting shaved. My dog’s coat along her bum and back is course, light and her skin is a bit dark and flaking with dandruff.

   Your photos may help myself and others. Thanks for posting your story. I will check out a dermatologist and and Dr. Foster’s site.

   Thanks so much!

4. Carly Says:
   September 6th, 2009 at 5:40 am

   3 months ago I found a neglected pomeranian on the street – he was missing some hair and a little “rough” looking, but I got him neutered, microchipped and vaccinated and gave him to a “seemingly’ nice family. 3 months later someone called be to tell me my dog had been found (identified via microchip). The poor little guy had been severely neglected by hus new family and lost all his hair. He had the worst flea infestation I had ever seen, but the vet fixed him up right away. Now I am trying to find a way to regrow his hair – I’m feeding him vitamin E and Brewer’s yeast and shampooing him with Selsun Blue and massaging him with Vit E to try and get that fur to grow back. I just ordered Atopica. Any advice would be much appreciated. Of course, I don’t plan on giving him away anytime soon. People are so mean to animals carlylyn@gmail.

5. Kasia Says:
   October 7th, 2009 at 1:02 am

   What I did to try and get Kiki’s hair to grow back before taking her to a dermatologist was mixing flaxseed oil w/ her food. Also she went on a protein rich diet of sardines (boneless and in water…..smelliest thing ever) and eggs and then we fed her Solid Gold Holistique dry food (as recommended by her vet). You might want to try that if you can’t take your little guy to a dermatologist (they can get expensive).

6. Casey Says:
   October 15th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

   I have a 3 year old red/blonde little pomeranian, Lily. I’ve been through this exact same experience! I took her to the groomer in June, they gave her a pretty short lion cut bc of some matting and the upcoming summer temps. Her skin under her short, shaved hair has grown darker, but I thought maybe it was her other coat coming in (her winter coat is dark in areas). Now it’s October and her hair is still as short as the day it was clipped, in areas on her back and hind end. However, other parts have grown back in just fine. She also fights dry, itchy skin. I’ve experimented with various oils and foods, but can’t seem to give her much comfort. I kept thinking that when it cooled off for winter, that the lower temperatures would promote her fur to grow back to normal. When I saw your site, I immediately called my vet/groomer. We have an appt tomorrow for a thyroid check, and I will definitely mention this BSD.

   I feel sooo guilty for not researching this earlier!

   How long does it normally take for results to be visible and for my Lily to feel better? If this doesn’t work we will have to go sweater shopping bc she will freeze this winter!

7. Kasia Says:
   October 16th, 2009 at 10:45 pm

   It took Kiki a couple of months to get her hair to grow in completely. I’ve been terrible about updating the site, but she now has a full coat. I will have to post pictures this weekend. I would probably recommend getting a sweater for the winter, Kiki used to get really cold when she didn’t have hair and it took her until spring/summer to get her coat fully in.

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website