hair loss

Question
I have a 6 yr. old fawn female. She has been my problem child most of her life. I have her 2 sisters and mother as well and they have no problems with anything. Samantha is on Tamaril P - 1/2 a pill twice a day for excessive licking of her paws. She's been on this for approx. 2 years. A few months ago she started losing her hair from her legs up and it's now creeping up to above her mid section. Her legs aren't totally bare, but her belly is and you can see a definite hair line creeping up. Plus the hair that's left is really course and dry. She's on Hill's Egg & Rice dry and Hill's canned Lamb & Rice. The vet said to not change anything, it's just one of those things. But I don't care for that answer. Could it be her medication or food possibly? Vitamin deficiency?

Answer
This is what I found searching on the internet: Chronic prednisone therapy(which is in temaril p) can lead to hair follicle changes as well as thinning of skin and suppression of immune system.

I would get a second or even a third opinion from vets.

Licking of paws generally means allergies. We give our pug 1 - 3 over the counter benadryl per day for allergies. MOST of the time that keeps them comfortable. Does your pug develop hot spots or have ear infections? More indicators of allergies.

I would suspect the pred is what is causing the course coat and hair loss but again, get a second opinion for a different vet.

Also, do some research on Vets in your area. Some are better than others.

Good Luck