# bald spot on head



## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

We are on vacation for two weeks, so we won't be able to see our vet until July 9 at the earliest. Two days ago, when I was putting clips in Shama's hair, I noticed a HUGE bald spot (slightly smaller than a dime) on the top of her head! Attached is a poor quality photo taken with my old flip phone. (I won't be posting vacation photos until we get home as I'll be downloading them from our camera.) The coloring you see is just the uneven pigment of her skin. This bald spot is completely confounding us. She has always rubbed her head on things whenever I put clips in her hair, but she's almost never succeeded at getting them out, and we've never noticed tufts of hair coming out with the clips. Also, wouldn't hair be growing back out of the spot if it were simply a matter of hair being ripped out? This is not a spot she can reach with her paws or her teeth. We're hoping this isn't sebaceous adenitis. There isn't any crustiness or scabbing. We'll make an appointment with our vet for when we get home. Meanwhile, do you have any thoughts?


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

My guess is this is the result of consistent rubbing or tension from rubbing over time rather than an isolated incident of her ripping her hair out, hence the lack of regrowth. Glad you are getting it checked to be safe though.


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## Cmward (Jun 28, 2017)

Is there any chance it is traction alopecia from having her hair up in a clip?


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I don’t have any insight on this but I hope it is just a result of her hair clips. Keep us posted!


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

The vet said that it didn't look like anything to worry about and that we could just keep an eye on it. She didn't scrape anything off it for further examination because it wasn't oozing or crusty. It was just hairless. This morning, it seems to have tiny hairs growing back in. My DH's theory is that she got her hair caught in the little metal clip that was hanging down in her new carrier for the car. He found some tufts of hair there. He has since moved the clip to the very top of the carrier so that the strap hangs down without the metal clip. (We've never clipped that clip to her collar when putting her in the new carrier . . .) We're relieved that it was nothing serious!


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## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

Our first Havanese, I tried keeping a top knot. I noticed that hair was missing in that area over time. Traction Alopecia is a term I had never heard before but it makes sense. I immediately stopped pulling her hair up and just cut it. The bald spot never grew back.


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