Ava's Hair Is Falling Out And She Has A Nasty Rash

[Guest avadogner]

Today I noticed that Ava's coat was dull and felt like she needed to drop her winter coat. I pulled out the Furmanator and started combing her. Within a short time, I had LITERALLY A GALLON SIZED zip lock bag of hair. I wasnt paying attention to how much hair was coming off her because she was enjoying the combing so much. When I combined the balls together and saw how big it was, I knew something was really wrong. I stropped combing her and pulled out a flashlight and inspected her skin. She has 3 areas with a redish yellow rash that caused large bald areas. One was on her shoulder and the other two along her spinal column near her rear. Ava has always had a silky smooth coat. The hair left is thin and has the texture of dead hair. It feels dry and brittle which has never happened. She turned 11 in March and has had pain problems with her hips for over 2 years now. She went through a phase of not eating and losing weight but has been eating well for the last 2 weeks. She eats grain free salmon Blue Buffalo with a half bottle of Ensure (Vanilla Lacto free) mixed in. She used to take Rymadyl but it stopped controlling her pain and our vet switched her to Tramadol and Mobic. She takes them daily with meals. I give her Famotidine 40 minutes before to help with GI upset. She also gets a fish oil capsule and glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin supplement in her kibble mix. She had an episode of fever and listlessness before we changed her meds 3 months ago which resolved on its own and getting her pain better controlled improved her greatly. She doesn't act like she is in pain or that the skin itches. She normally doesn't like being brushed but really enjoyed it today. I feel absolutely sick that I combed that much hair off her. I should have noticed how excessive it was. She seemed to really enjoy the combing so I enjoyed seeing her so happy. I should have noticed how bad it was. I am calling for a vet visit in the morning. I am so worried about my heartdog. I am terrified of losing her. My nurse trained mind is already wondering if it is thyroid, immune mediated or medication side effect. The weather here is in the 70s and my Ava only goes out for brief potty breaks and small walks. She enjoys her big bed with her down duvet. She isn't acting like this hurts her but the rash is ugly looking. It doesn't look like sedacious secretions or dry flaky patches. It has a weepy yellowish red appearance and the areas are totally bald and shiny looking. I was tempted to put Neosporin on it but I dont want to contaminate it before the vet can get a scaping to test it. I just hope they have an opening tomorrow.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this?

-ava and augie's mum

[SIGreyLady]

No experience - just hoping the vet can find out what is happening. Hugs and scritches to Ava and you ,

[Guest brindleandfawn]

I think Cooper had some issues with blackhead looking things that resembled a rash and also had loss of hair about 5 years ago. The GALT vet recommended washing with Benzoyl peroxide shampoo an antimicrobial. It may not be the same issue.

 

 

[Chicocat]

There is no substitute for having her checked by a vet.

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

I would have her checked by a vet.... also toss the furminator out, it is not a brush its a stripping blade made to look like a brush thats why it "works" so well. I am a dog groomer and i work with everything from Chihuahuas to Newfoundlanders and i NEVER use that brush it can destroy the coat and skin VERY easily. if you want to brsuh her try useing the "zoom groom" or another brand of rubber curry brush they work very well and dont harm the hair folicles or the skin (average dog skin is only 4-6 cell layers and humans are 8-12 layers). When you do get this all cleared up please remember that dog fur from the time or formation to the time of being shed is 22 days and has more than one folice per pore so damaged fur takes a while to gro back.

What you have described could be seborrheic dermatitis, i see it often on dogs with very sensitve skin, i would suggest not putting anything on the skin until you have had it checked if you are worried about her being uncomfortable/itchy you could put her in the tub and run some water over it for 5-10 minutes that way the skin if fully flushed and soothed from anything that may be on there.

 

i hope you figure out what is going on with her skin so you can get everything all cleared up.

[tbhounds]

Sounds like staph-- vet check.

[fsugrad]

Yes definitely a vet appt is in order. When Robin was diagnosed with pemphigus (an autoimmune disease) the first thing that happened is his fur started falling out. Then a rash appeared, then it became red and crusty...

[Guest HHHounds]

Candyman, my sweet old hound with Thyroid, autoimmune issues and an enlarged heart has had similar skin issues. First was treated for staph infections. Dr. B then decided it was probably allergy - to food. We are transitioning slowly to Blue Buffalo Lamb and Rice, but we still have bad itchy skin. He is also getting some sores on his boney parts so I have not been bathing him in medicated baths until his weepy sores clear up. I will be interested to hear what your vet determines....

[Yamaha_gurl]

No advice since I'm new to dogs...all I can do is send positive thoughts that it's a small issue

Edited April 21, 2011 by Yamaha_gurl

[mychip1]

Positive thoughts for Ava!

[Guest avadogner]

Hi GT Friends,

 

Our vet wont be in until Monday and they offered to let us see a partner but I prefer to see her vet . Our vet is grey savy and he knows Ava and what is and isn't normal for her. We have a Monday appointment but if anything happens tonight or tomorrow, I can bring her in and let one of the partners treat her. I hate to wait but but grey savy vets are not all that common here. Her rash looks a little better today and she is acting like her normal self. She is eating well which is best measure of how she feels. She is a HIGHLY picky eater so I am OK with waiting her for her vet. When we adopted her 9 yrs ago, we soon discovered she has food allergies to chicken. She has been on Salmon based diet since. We switched to grain free a year ago when she started loosing weight and eating poorly. Her coat has always been so thick and silky. This episode of hair loss is different than what happened when she was having food allergy issues.

 

I ditched the Furmanator and will never use it again! We are going back to the hand mit comb! I am still beating myself up for not stopping sooner while combing her. I feel like an idiot.

 

I plan on asking her Vet to run a CBC, metabolic profile, full thyroid panel and scrape a sample of the rash. Can anyone think of anything else we need to test for? I am praying it's something that can be managed easily. She is 11 and hasn't been in the best health for a year now. We keep her back/hip pain under control with pain meds but I just don't know how much more she can tollerate. It's going to kill me when we have to let her go. Please say a little prayer for her Augie. He is seeing the Orthopedist Monday at 8:30 and then Ava is seeing her Vet at 3pm. I'll be playing pet taxi and shelling out mega bucks. I just hope we can set up payment plans at both vets because we've dropped $1200!

 

I'll let y'all know how it works out!

-ava and augie's mum

[DesiRayMom]

Mercy!!! Those two puppers can NOT catch a break, can they?

 

Prayers & hugs to all.....

[Batmom]

Don't know why you would do all those tests. Save your $ and start with the symptom she has -- the rash. It's very likely staph or ringworm. CBC, metabolic profile, and thyroid are pointless given her symptoms.

 

Wouldn't need to see a greyhound-savvy vet, either -- not a greyhound problem. I'd want to get scrapings done and meds started as soon as possible.

Edited April 21, 2011 by Batmom

[tbhounds]

I have to agree with Batmom-- don't need a grey savy vet to check skin. I wouldn't get ahead of myself by wanting to run all of those tests. If it's staph it's easy to diagnose and treat-- usually oral antibotics and plus or minus a medicated shampoo.

[Guest avadogner]

Don't know why you would do all those tests. Save your $ and start with the symptom she has -- the rash. It's very likely staph or ringworm. CBC, metabolic profile, and thyroid are pointless given her symptoms.

 

Wouldn't need to see a greyhound-savvy vet, either -- not a greyhound problem. I'd want to get scrapings done and meds started as soon as possible.

 

 

Thank you for the reality check. It's probably something minor and I'm just freaking out because Ava is my heartdog. Being a nurse makes me neurotic at times. They train us to look for and be prepared for the worse case scenario and I often get ahead of myself. The hair loss is all over her body which had me worried about thyroid issues. The rashes areas are smaller than silver dollars with heavier hair loss in the areas close to them. Staph is no laugh but as long as is isn't MRSA I can handle it. Do dogs even get MRSA? I pray it's nothing I can contract (I am immune suppressed for kidney transplant prep). See there 8 go again getting ahead of myself! I guess the first step to correcting bad habits is to recognize it!

[Batmom]

I think it's *possible* for them to carry MRSA and get some symptoms but AFAIK it's not terribly likely. As long as she's not hanging out in the boys' locker room at the University, or in the hospital ....

 

Staph or ringworm could contribute to some hair-loss in between the spots you see, as could just spring shedding -- it's that time of year.

 

It wouldn't *hurt* to run a CBC, never does, but it sounds like her main issue right now is just the skin thing. Hope so anyways!

[Guest zombrie]

My first thought was ringworm or staph as well. Hope you can get this figured out soon! I'm sure it's nothing serious, I know how easy it is to go to the worst possible scenario.

I am also guilty of overdoing the furminator. Mira had a big winter coat she was shedding last year and I brushed her too much and she got a bald spot on her back. Like you, she and I were loving it so I didn't want to stop, there is something just so soothing and therapeutic about it. Don't feel bad about it, you didn't know and the hair will grow back

[Guest LokisMom]

Riverview animal clinic has a grey savvy vet in birmingham and they are open on saturdays. I can usually get right in. If you are worried about that. Dr atlas is his name and dr wood and dr williams are very good too. They did a major surgery on clark and were excellent. I wouldn't wai until Monday but that's just me.

[mychip1]

Keep us updated on how you make out!

[Guest avadogner]

Hi GT Friends,

Sorry that I haven't updated Ava's issues sooner but Augie has had me running ragged. :wacko: The rash/irritation cleared up within 2 days so I think the Furmanator did it . She is still shedding like crazy so I took her in to see the vet. The first thing he noticed was how much weight she has gained. I hadn't noticed beyond that she has been eating really well the last few weeks. She has packed on 7 lbs in a month! She isn't fat but she's doesn't have as much of belly tuck in profile. Her hair continues to feel dry and is shedding from the entire body instead of localized areas. He inspected her skin all over and said she had surprisingly low dandruff (she's solid black so she shows dander easy). He didn't see any areas with rashes or possible infection. He drew blood to run a thyroid panel. He didn't think the CBC and chem profile were needed. He wants to start witht the thyroid and go from there. He forewarned me that canine thryoid med dosage is 5 times greater than human so that if he calls in a huge dosage I won't freak out. Yep, he knows what a freak I am over my Ava! We should have results in the morning. I'll let y'all know what we find. I guess I need to cut back on the treats and Ensure.

-ava and augie's mum

 

 

[Guest Stripeyfan]

Only just seeing this - sorry to hear about Ava and Augie's ongoing problems, but I'm really glad Ava has put on weight! Hope you can find answers - sending hugs to you and your pups!

[DesiRayMom]

Personally, I love me some "plump."

[DaisyDoodle]

Hair loss, and flabby belly can be related to Cushing's. I think weight gain may be related, but don't remember for sure.

 

I think these two symptoms can also be related to thyroid issues, IIRC??

[RobinM]

This is exactly what happened to Ollie back in oct. And nov. It was seasonal alepecia. Do a search on GT for my thread. It has pictures. Im on my iPhone.

[greyhead]

This is exactly what happened to Ollie back in oct. And nov. It was seasonal alepecia. Do a search on GT for my thread. It has pictures. Im on my iPhone.

Wow, did Ollie gain a lot of weight too? Somehow I wouldn't expect that with alopecia.