Dog Fur Problem

[Lost in LOS]

I have my dog here for the last 7 years. His fur us usually perfect.

For the last year the hair on his tail isn't growing and instead of being really full it is getting bare. When I ask the vet he said the skin dead. strange

for the last few months his fur is gone missing on his back, he scratches and it looks horrible. I was him twice weekly with flea and tic shampoo. I brought some special medicated shampoo to wash his back but nothing seems to work. Any ideas?

In America we have this medicine called sulfadine for hot spots. If there was ever a problem, you put that on it and in a few day its okay. Cant find it here

Edited March 13, 2013 by Lost in LOS

[ignis]

one of my dogs has something that looks the same, he is also 7 years old, Vet = use medicated shampoo @ 450 baht for a little bottle, did nothing....

watching TV a few weeks back, did not understand much as in Korean, but was showing dogs with same condition... then came an English name, so used Google search.

Eczema in Dogs

Maybe what your dog has ?

[Cuban]

Difficult to tell from the photographs but I suggest this is mange, small points where scratching is resulting blood spots, loss of fur?

Caused by a skin parasite, easy to cure. Dectomax is sold by many vets and shop-houses that sell farming supplies, about 30 Baht for a dose (IIRC 0.5 ml per 10Kg dog weight) of the drug including the syringe. Pinch a fold of your dog's skin and inject there. Muzzle dog if required, we have done but the dog in question doesn't really fuss much.

It takes about four weeks (one dose/treatment per week) to see an improvement, to encourage good skin fur regrowth a BARF diet that includes raw whole mackerel 2-3 times is wise. Fur looks polished in 3 months.

EDIT. If it is mange do not shampoo or wash the dog, this is not helpful and will just exacerbate the problem. Keep dry and as the parasites inside the skin die off the dog's immune system will digest them, the skin scabs and dry skin, shed fur on the outside can be combed out once a day.

Mange is contagious as was probably contracted by close contact with an infected dog.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Cuban

[BottleBlonde]

Looks like mange, most likely Demodex mange if the dog has not caught it from another (Sarcoptic mange). All dogs are born with the Demodex parasite, passed on from the mother, but if the dog's immune system drops for any reason, then the parasite can start to take over. Normally treated by fortnightly injections of Ivermec by a vet. Normally 4-7 injections and then less regular treatment as the dog's own immune system improves and can fight it. Some dogs return to normal, others can have all their life but normally this would have been the case from a young puppy if so. Sometimes changes in whether can also cause changes in the bodies immune system (e.g rain).

Shocked the vet seemed to be of no use as this is an every day problem in Thailand. Hope you can get it resolved for your dog soon. Ivermec can also be given orally but a smaller dose and then every day, this often takes longer to cure the problem.

[LeCharivari]

(edited) .....

Caused by a skin parasite, easy to cure. Dectomax is sold by many vets and shop-houses that sell farming supplies, about 30 Baht for a dose (IIRC 0.5 ml per 10Kg dog weight) of the drug including the syringe. Pinch a fold of your dog's skin and inject there. Muzzle dog if required, we have done but the dog in question doesn't really fuss much.

It takes about four weeks (one dose/treatment per week) to see an improvement, ...

Sorry to shout, Lost in LOS, but DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ADVICE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

This "advice" is almost unbelievably dangerous. Not only are you being advised to start injecting your dog by someone who is not a vet, and that advice is based on nothing more than one photo posted here, but Dectomax can be FATAL to some dogs, particularly certain breeds, as can injecting your dog with anything if you don't know what you are doing.

Dectomax is designed and approved for cattle and pigs - NOT DOGS, even though it is frequently used on dogs UNDER VETERINARY SUPERVISION.

It very probably is mange, but it could be either sarcoptic or demodectic. The former is easily treatable, but the latter is far more resistant and the treatments are very different (and can include specific medicated shampoos). Testing for both is very simple and can be done on the spot by a vet by a microscopic examination of a skin scraping.

If you aren't happy with what your vet has told you then go to another one - nobody should be treating a dog with a serious condition based on what they are told here by someone who isn't a vet and hasn't even seen the dog, and however well meant that advice may be nobody here should be giving that sort of veterinary advice.

[Nienke]

I go with Le Charivari's shout. Do not just inject meds into your dog without even knowing what your dog suffers from.

It could be mange although to me it doesn't look like mange (first impression based on only 1 picture). It can be an allergy, even 1 flea or tick gone unnoticed can cause huge scratching. It can be a bad working thyroid (my late GSD dog had that). It can be too much bathing with medicated or normal shampoo. It can be a fungal infection. It can be from the food your dog eats. It can be a side-effect of vaccines (yup, vaccines can cause unbearable itch, hypo-thyroidism, skin auto-immune diseases, allergies and all other miseries).

I would go back to the vet or consult another one and ask for a skin scraping and skin culture (mange, bacterial and fungal). Maybe a full blood test and ask to have his thyroid tested. Also intestinal worms can cause itch. You may like to bring some of your dogs feces to the vet for a check up under the microscoop.
And if he would be my dog I would switch him over on a raw food diet, no more grains, and no more vaccines (sick dogs should never receive a vaccination anyway. It's in the guidelines that comes with the vaccines).

I hope you will find out soon what your dog is suffering from.

[Potosi]

Check for leprosy, it's common in Thailand. Not a high risk of transmission to humans, but one you don't want to get. Mange and leprosy both show similar symptoms, like on the 2nd pic. Could be a more harmless for you infection, but better don't risk anything.

[Nienke]

Check for leprosy, it's common in Thailand. Not a high risk of transmission to humans, but one you don't want to get. Mange and leprosy both show similar symptoms, like on the 2nd pic. Could be a more harmless for you infection, but better don't risk anything.

Canine leprosy? Are there armadillos in Thailand?

Do you have any links to back up your claim that it is common in Thailand? I"m interested as I haven't heard of it.

[meatboy]

our dog had something simular[hot spots] that wouldnt go away,we bought quite a lot of medication but they still came back we would see him biting and scatching till one day the vet came out and asked us what shampoo we were useing,straight away he found the cause the shampoo although a good one was too strong for our dog.i think its a year since and he has had no problem.we had been useing C-1 which was ok.but the mrs.saw a large bottle of bearings shampoo with tick/flee powder free so from the time we had been useing that one the problem started.we now use PEZZIO MEDICATED HERBAL SHAMPOO hope he gets well soon.

[kaizoku]

Perhaps this could be also ringworm.

Like the name suggest this is not a worm but a fungus.

My dog is lossing is fur also I had him tested last week.

The test is about 10 days long for 600 baht.

Now that I'm sure of what is it I can give him the correct treatment.

I give him Itrazole 100mg per day. I'll maybe give 200mg next week. I buy the pill at the drugs store as this the same than for human and twice cheaper. My dog is above 40kg, so too expensive at the vet price.

Mange is a good bet. Just bring the dog to the vet.

Fur problems are usualy long to solve (1 month mini).

Edited March 17, 2013 by kaizoku

[LeCharivari]

Hopefully your vet's warned you about the risk of renal failure from Itrazole and similar drugs, Kaizoku, and the increased dangers from over-medication. Many fail to, and they also fail to advise you to give Simarin 70 (Silymarin) at the same time to reduce the chance of these side effects.