Baldness And Body Heat

[Gryffenne]

Does a grey that has bald spots (other than the butt & belly) feel "unusually" warm on those bald spots vs the spots with hair covering?

 

I had a little girl grey rest her head on my leg and I was amaze at how warm my leg instantly felt! (Her throat is almost bare) and when I petted her head (sparse) and by her ears (bald behind them) again I was feeling heat from her. I started touching her in various spots and comparing to Sammi who I know is perfectly relaxed and healthy.

 

Both bald bellies felt cool to the touch, and her thighs also matched Sammi.

 

Where there is "normal" hair covering, she felt perfectly normal. Her nose is normal. Pads of feet are normal.

 

These hot spots worry me tho Is it normal for baldness in teh head/ears/throat area to radiate more heat than the rest of the body?

 

other notes:

She recently was diagnosed with a thyroid problem and is a week into medication for it. From her thyroid issues prior to diagnosis, she has had a lot of hair and weight loss.

She recently had a living arrangement upheaval, so she is and has soft stools (that REEK, btw ) She's getting the yogurt & pumpkin treatment atm. As soon as things settle her foster mom -who is remaining nameless atm- will start in on her weight and dry skin issues. If the soft serve turns to Big D, she'll fast and go bland, but so far the poo is holding some shape, but very soft and very stinky.

Edited March 2, 2009 by Gryffenne

[greysmom]

How was her thyroid problem diagnosed?

 

I ask because I had much the same concern with Dude. He came to us on thyroid Rx, and we never thought to check if he actually was clinically hypothyroid. But after I had been around GT for a while and reading about greyhounds and thyroid issues, I began to doubt if he did have a low thyroid problem. He was very skinny, and completely unable to do any training exercises because he couldn't concentrate and was really hyper. He had some hair loss but not anything out of the ordinary for a greyhound - bald butt and thighs, no hair on his belly, chest or neck, and a bit around his ears. Also, his body temp ran a few degrees higher - not abnormally high but on the high end of the range, and he always felt very warm to the touch. His ears and other extremities never got cold, even out in the below freezing winter.

 

So we took him off the thyroid all together and we now have a remarkably calmer grey than we had before. His temperature is smack on normal and his ears do now get cold from being outside. Turns out he was HYPERthyroid instead (too much rather than too little). He's also put on weight and grown some of his hair back (though not everywhere).

 

Weight loss and dry skin can have other causes than thyroid - we are currently supplementing with salmon oil for dry skin in the cold winter. No answer about the soft poop other than to give the yogurt and pumpkin time to work. A lower protein/higher fiber kibble will also help her poop firm up.

 

Good luck!

greysmom

[Gryffenne]

From what I know, she was diagnosed by a vet and has to go back in 30 days to be rechecked (bloodwork) to make sure the meds are the correct ones.

 

She shivers almost instantly outside, and the past few days have been sub-zero here in Northern Michigan. Potty breaks have been difficult for her.

 

Very calm, quiet.. except when the zoomies hit the other grey in the house and then she joins in for a bit before crashing again.