Ask The Doc: Elbows

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Our 3 year old yellow lab - Dormy - has worn all of the hair off her elbows. Is there a way to encourage it to grow back - like cream? Thx alot.

Dr. DeMichael: This is a very common situation with Labradors who, as you said, wear the hair coat off the pressured areas of their elbow. It is not likely that the hair will grow back because the affected areas are continually subjected to weight bearing and suffer a "sand paper" like effect each and every time the dog lays down or gets up.

Certainly an aloe-vitamin E cream wouldn't hurt as it would soften the involved area, but I'm not sure I can expect it to regrow the hair back. In any case, it is primarily a cosmetic problem and not a medical one.