Vizsla excessive shedding

Question
QUESTION: I came across a question posted in July of 2010 about Vizsla and excessive shedding.  We are having the exact same problem with our Vizsla.  

Our Vizsla is 7 years old and has had a beautiful coat until a year and a half ago. His coat is now longer than before, almost an inch in length and he is constantly shedding. There are piles of hair everywhere, you can not pet him without your hands being covered in hair. He has no bald spots anywhere on his body.
He is in good health. We have him on a strict hypoallergenic diet.  He is only fed Hills Prescription Diet Z/D. We switched him to this food in March of 2010 after trying just about every grain free food we could find. We were hoping the food would solve the shedding and chronic yeast infections in his ears. His ears are no longer a problem but the excessive shedding is not letting up.
In the original answer you recommended a steroid, melatonin or low thyroid hormones. What is confusing me is that the problem is not that the hair is falling out and needs to grow back. The problem is that it is now twice as long and is excessively falling out. What would you recommend to try to correct his coat?

ANSWER: IF there is a chronic yeast infection in the ears, then it is most likely allergic.  Almost 80% of dogs with yeasts have allergies.  If the z/d food has not helped solve the problem after 6 weeks of feeding, then it is not a food allergy and the steroids would be the next step.  If the hair is growing luxuriantly and still falling out, then there may be a problem in the hair follicles and Omega3 fatty acid supplements (Fish oils) may help strengthen the follicle so it can hold the hairs in place longer. It takes 30-45 days for this to help, so give it time.


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QUESTION: Hello,
We have been spraying our dog's food with catalyst liquid Omega 3 supplement and unfortunately have not noticed an improvement. His hair is still longer than it used to be and is excessively falling out. I gave in and took him to a groomer yesterday and they have never seen a Vizsla with hair this long or falling out as much as my dog's hair is. His hair used to be about 1 centimeter long and now it is about an inch long.  He does not have any bald spots. He is still on the z/d and is ears are no longer a problem. Do you have any other recommendations?

ANSWER: Have you had the dog tested for low thyroid hormones?  IF they are normal and the Omega 3 fatty acids have not helped, then a skin biopsy may be needed to see what the hair follicles are doing. Hypertrichosis is rare in dogs and when it occurs, it is usually a hormonal derangement.

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QUESTION: I will look into your recommendations. Thank you very much.  Payton was diagnosis with Addison's disease on Tuesday.  Is it possible that the longer hair and shedding could be related to the Addison's? If his thyroid hormone is low, will the Prednisone that he now has to take everyday help his thyroid as well?

Answer
No, the prednisone will not help his thyroid.  If he is taking the prednisone, then ask your vet to do a T4 by equilibrium dialysis (T4ED)to check the thyroid hormone level.  A regular total T4 (tT4) will be artificially low if the dog is on prednisone.