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RLHAR

by RLHAR on 04 April 2020 - 18:04

I have a small puzzle I am trying to sort out and I'm hoping for some experiences/opinions/input.

Due to health reasons, my father has come to live with me for awhile. Along with himself, he brought his two dogs.

1 - Purebred lab, spayed female, black coat (though I see shades of red/brown that make me wonder if there was a Chesapeake Bay retriever somewhere in her logpile) 13 years old.
2 - Lab x ??????, rescue spayed female, black coat, 11 and a half.

He's had the lab since she was a puppy and the Lx since she was approximately 1 and a half years old.

Both dogs are spoiled rotten, especially after my mother passed away my father dotes on them. That said he follows the advice of his vet, and has always let the vet deal with it and done as he was told. His vet made a crap ton of money off him, but I digress. Both dogs are bright eyed, no issues with input or output, no vomiting, etc.

For years he's fed both dog's Hills Adult Science diet. The Lab has been on Proin since she was spayed. The vet (different vet) who performed her spay botched it and she had continence issues ever since.

About almost 4 years ago the Lab began to have skin issues. Incredibly itchy, bald spots and she did have some encounters with dermatitis that required medical attention/treatment. The vets went over her nose to tail, they treated the issues where there was something to treat, ran test after test, the whole nine yards. The Labx has no skin or coat issues, she has a sleek and shiny coat, no patches, etc.

I have had to bathe her twice in the past three weeks due to a very strong odor, and flakes of skin coming up through her coat. Each time we've bathed her/brushed her out she has obviously been relieved to have someone "scratching" the itch. Along her back in particular I see what appear to be obvious hot spots. Raw patches, but no sign of infection, lacerations, etc.

So here is my thinking:

1) Environmental is ruled out, since the Labx has no issues
2) I thought maybe the Lab had an allergy to the Hills Adult Science Diet and I have taken her off that food and transferred her to the food that has kept my Shepherd sleek and healthy for years.

Could the long term Proin use cause skin issues/hot spots? I know labs are often bred to have coats designed to stand up to retrieving from water, could this be a breed inherited issue? Any ideas on what could be added to her food to help give her some relief? If it could be an issue with the Proin, is there a substitute I could investigate?

Other thoughts or questions?


by ThatWasClose on 05 April 2020 - 00:04

Of course any dog may not get along well with a particular dog food, even if the rest of the dogs in pack are fine on it. That can simply be a trial & error type thing to find out.

I stopped feeding Science Diet years ago due to their use of Ethoxyquin. I have no idea if Science Diet still uses it as an ingredient or not.

I know nothing about the med Proin.

Can you try something as simple as "Dinovite" for the coat/skin issue? It is flax seed based. I bought it once. Seemed to work just fine.

In the late '90's I used "Udo's Choice" for dogs, for the little fluffy dog that road shot gun in my farm truck back then. It too is primarily flax seed based. I have personal no complaints about it.

In recent years I have used "Vetoquinol Triglyceride Omega-3 fatty Acid Supplement." I had a huge working American Bulldog/probably Labrador cross, that always had a harsh greasy coat from the day he arrived. I never thought anything about it. I just assumed it was the Lab in him. After years of seeing the dog, the vet finally made a comment about his coat & told me to use the Vetoquinol. Absolutely amazing change in the coat! So soft & supple.

You could even consider some "green food" supplements.  Such as dried barley grass powder & other such on the market.

Perhaps a change in dog food & one of the mentioned supplements could do some good for your Dad's old girl?  


Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 05 April 2020 - 03:04

Not familiar with Proin, but given it's prescribed for urinary incontinence I'm assuming it's a one-a-day oestrogen ? Maybe marketed under a different name here. But I think there are others available. Ask your vet.

I had a (spayed) GSD bitch with an incontinence problem from 'middle age' (not an immediate result of spay); she had daily oestrogen very successfully (until she died from Haemangiosarcoma), with no additional skin issues, but that does not mean your Dad's girl isn't reacting to that drug.

Can you pinpoint the start of the problem ? You mentioned 4 years; did that coincide with the spay op that went wrong, or was it at a different time ?

Don't think you can rule out environment too quickly, different dogs have different triggers, so just 'cos the Lab has the problem and the crossbreed does not, you cannot say with certainty that the skin issues do not have some environmental cause.


Rik

by Rik on 05 April 2020 - 09:04

there is really nothing more frustating (or profitiable for vets} than allergies. my dad has spent several thousand dollars on his shih zhu,

all kinds of tests, pills, shampoos, rinses and the only thing that has helped is a steriod shot 1x/month. and I don't think this is a good solution, it's just the only that has given the dog a semblance of a normal life. and I have seen this dog with cracked open bleeding skin, foul smell and absolutely miserable, so we are just resigned to the shots.

I bathed the dog in human dandruff shampoo (selsun blue) every day for 2 weeks and it did help some, did not cure.

there is just no one size fits all solution. if his vet did all the tests, then there should be a record of what the dog had reaction to, but to be honest I really don't know many dogs that this info proved very helpful to. some say it has helped.






 


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