Vol. 12, Issue 3 (2023)

Background: Integumentary system is considered as the largest organ of the body and it exerts both internal as well as external affections on the body. Canine dermatological cases account for nearly 25% of the routine clinical cases. Several human dermatological studies came up stating the importance and use of placental extract but, the same on animals were lacking. Hence, the current study was aimed to pinpoint the role of equine placental extract on non-specific cases of canine alopecia.

Methods: A total of 30 client owned dogs with localized or generalized non-specific alopecia with or without dermatitis were selected for the study. After a through clinical, physical and haemato-biochemical examination, alopecia dogs with specific etiology were ruled out and only dogs with non-specific alopecia were recruited for the study. All the dogs were administered with equine placental extract supplement at the dose rate of 2 ml/10 kg body weight orally, weekly thrice until 3 weeks, followed by weekly twice for a two-month period initially, with monthly evaluation. After recovery further one month, the supplementation was continued to keep the hair growth in a stationary phase.

Results: Breed-wise prevalence of non-specific alopecia was high in Labrador (36.67%), followed by German shepherd (23.33%); the study reports the highest prevalence in female dogs, and dogs in the 1-5 year age group were highly susceptible. Common presenting signs were generalized alopecia, patchy hair loss on back and neck region, dry skin with scales, pigmentation and mild erythema. Hemato-biochemically, no significant difference was noticed. Supplementation of placental extract evidenced hair regrowth, shiny coat, prevention of hair fall along with overall improvement in skin and coat. A high percentage of dogs (66.67%) recovered moderately after two months of supplementation, and recovered completely by the end of 3 months.