sweet_ceana Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 This is Pepper. We sprung her from the big house on the way home from work today. The rescue thinks she is around 10 years old. My theroy on her hair is that the back parts were falling out and someone attempted to shave her to make her look "even." I could very well be wrong though. What do you guys think? So far she is an absolute doll! She loves to EYE the other dogs... not so much interested in toys thus far. She will run as well. She came right out of her shell trying to manage Ceana and Poke when the frisbee came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 Could also be flea bite dermatitis - I've seen a number of dogs come into the shelter with sparse hair on their hindquarters that regrows as soon as the fleas are gone. I'd also wonder about some other disorder given her swayback, big bellied appearance. A ten year old should not look that "old" unless they've been uncared for for a while or there's something going on under the surface. If it were me, I'd ask the rescue to have their vet run a full blood panel and thyroid series to see where she stands in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 What a sweetie! Unfortunately, the skin looks pretty inflamed to me, whether it's from her itching/biting at herself or from infection, fleas, what have you, the vet will need to tell you. I'v had both Sami and Shonie clipped really close, and I could never see any skin through the short fur. That's probably part of what's going on medically for her, poor dear. Have fun, and I hope her skin starts to feel better soon, Ruth n the BC3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 I suspect the flea allergy. We had a lab-shepherd who had a terrible allergy to fleas. This was back way before things like Frontline. In the summer we called her a Labrador Hairless. Which is why she was thrilled when winter - and our winters were big in the Hudson Valley - arrived. But I'd have a vet check her out, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 We have the same issue going on here but with less symptoms as I'm bathing the old girls more, to get what ever is itchy off them My fields are all needing brush hoging or haying. So grass is really really long. The dogs go out and run in it anyways. Raven has just come off Pred. and Jazz is on a weekly bath schedule to keep her from itching hot spots or forming new ones. We haven't seen a flea in years. But when the young dogs are out working they come in with this yellow pollen not goldenrod but looks like the same color pollen. They itch a bit but jump in the pond and it's gone. The old girls are not as quick to recover or jump in the pond unless I insisst which I'm trying to do but I can't do it each time they go outside. Raven suffers from allgeries Spring and Fall but this year it's been way worse. So has the rain and the plant growth. You'd never know it's fall here. The fields never dried up in August. She doesn't look that bad to me for body conditioning. Just not worked or excersised. She could have some bybing in her which would tell of her conformation. I'd treat with topical for itchies and if that doesn't stop then I'd treat with pred and keep working on it. If you can have a blood work up done but if she is fine on other fronts I wouldn't hurry for that. And I totally agree, someone tried to make her look a bit better with a shave in the front. Look at her collar area. Looks trimmed to me. Fleas can def. have that kind of look if left untreated. She sure looks happy now! Thanks for springing her. You guys are special! BTW...the speical shampoo I'm using is Nazarol. It's a special dandruff shampoo (I got it at Walmart) that I water down and put in a squirt bottle so it's easier to apply, We do it outside with the hose and I try to let it soak on them for a bit. Seems to be working. Kristen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted September 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 We have a vet appointment on Monday. I am pretty worried about her back as well. I hope that she gets a good review after her exam. I am worried that this dog with so much life could have something very wrong with her. That would break my heart. She is definetly a pleasure to have around the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 Poor dog! Good for you for helping her. Sounds like she is a happy dog now, even if she isn't in the best physical condition. Good luck and let us know what the vet says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northof49 Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 What about Cushings? I know that causes a pot belly effect and really bad thinning of the hair and skin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 We just got back from the vet. She says the youngest Pepper could be is 8, so that is what we are going with. An eight year old dog sounds much better than a 10 year old to an adopter. I saw this funny black thing on her today and my first thought was BLECH is that a tick? I grab Chris, who is more experienced in the area of Ticks than I am, and he poo poo's my theroy. When we went to the vet I asked them about it and what do you know, TICK! Not just A tick, but half of the tick population in Arizona is on Pepper. Paracites give me the uber heebee jeebees so we are tick bathing ALL three dogs and Chris has been nominated the official Tick picker. The vet seems to think Thyroid is a very good possibility. The way her coat is thinning and the tecture + the chubbiness lead her to run a whole thyroid pannel. Pepper is also being checked for Tick diseases, Valley fever, and blood sugar. (Girl drinks a lot of water.) We will find out some of the info tomorrow, and depending on the results we will move from there. She barks and growls at imaginary things so the vet is having us watch to make sure that these "episodes," are not seizures. You now know what we know so cross your fingers the blood work leads to some hair growth...and no more Ticks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tip's Mum Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 So good of you guys to help out this sweet girl. Please keep us posted on her test results, OK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 You guys are wonderful for helping the old gal! Mary had a rescue that I picked up for her that was just about completely bald on his back half (baboon dog!), and when she was done with him, he had plenty of coat and looked wonderful. I'm sure Pepper will look great and healthy in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 You guys are wonderful for helping the old gal! Mary had a rescue that I picked up for her that was just about completely bald on his back half (baboon dog!), and when she was done with him, he had plenty of coat and looked wonderful. I'm sure Pepper will look great and healthy in no time. Yep. Went from this to this in less than two months. His fur loss was due to flea allergy. I've actually had a few dogs come through that looked a lot like Pepper. They clear up and grow their fur back pretty quickly, IME, once they receive the proper treatment. Good luck with him. I hope the blood work is unremarkable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCjetta Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Just from looking at her I'd guess cushings. Some of the signs of cushings are pot bellied, fat pads in the lumbar area, poor haircoat on the body but nice on the head and legs, drinking huge amounts of water...umm, those are the main ones I remember. They can also get very thin skin. The T4 can be a bit low if they have cushings but not super low. Another thing with cushings...a lot of people bring their dogs in after being shaved because the hair just doesn't grow back on the body, it just gets a sort of peach fuzz. Thyroid typically the dog is lazy, slow, not very energetic. They tend to get fat all over the body, not just on the upper part. Hairloss can be anywhere - on lots of dogs they lose a lot of hair on their tails. Their skin can become dark pigmented. They can also have some other problems too but I can't remember them offhand. It would have been nice to see her coat before they shaved it. Poor thing looks a lot older than my girl who's 10 and has been well cared for her whole life. At least she's somewhere good now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted September 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Her blood work came back squeaky clean! Hooray! Now to work. Pepper has a smaller frame than Ceana, who is 31.6lbs and Pepper weighs 40lbs! While this will take time, we are already seeing an improvement in her stamina so we are well on our way to a happy weight for the poor girl. Any coat growing secrets anyone? I have been told eggs are great for coats, so we will be having more boiled eggs as treats. Any other tricks out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I like using fish oil for a variety of things - my vet says it's good for coat and reducing inflammation in the body. A good food, fresh water, and lots of love will do a lot for her in general I'm sure - and we all know she's got all those things coming already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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