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Ask the Veterinarian/Vizsla excessive shedding - almost like a winter coat that won't go away

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Expert: - 7/4/2010


Question

visual of the hair
Hello,

we have a 6 year old Vizsla who has had a enviously stellar coat for years but has taken a turn in last 12 months. His coat looks like when he sheds the winter coat, but it's like that *all* the time (as in last 12 months). His coat is now sprinkled with gray with some gray patches on the neck. The hair is almost an inch in length.

The vet tried to check for number of things with the coat: skin test for microbacterial infection, blood test for thyroid, and general blood panel - all came back negative/normal. We even tried a strict hypoallergenic diet for couple of months, and that didn't help either. He is generally on try Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets Potato & Duck (we mix in some wet version of it in for taste). We also have been giving him generous supply of omega-3 supplements over the years. There hasn't been a triggering event other then we left him with his long time dog sitter for a 3 month stretch instead for a usual week (we were out of the country).

He has been cared for very well over the years, and has been seeing same group of vets on a regular basis since he was a pup. Last full physical with the vet stated that he is very healthy and in an incredibly good state for his age minus some tartar around two of his back teeth, occasional excessive ear guck that we control through Epi-Otic ear flush cleaner, and the coat situation that they can't figure out what's wrong). I tend to agree with the vets as his soft indicators are pointing in the right direction: his behavior is picture perfect (snoozer at home, speedster out in the open, playful at game time, awful friendly to everyone), his appetite is great (always hungry), and his weight is picture perfect (hasn't changed much from when he was 1 year old).

We called our breeder who has been breeding Vizslas for last 30 years and he indicated he really hasn't seen or heard about anything like this. He breeds about half the Vizslas in our areas and has incredible personal and professional reputation and our experience has been the nothing but stellar.

It is really frustrating to have an otherwise picture perfect dog except his coat looks like he is seriously sick. to add insult to the injury his coat used to be the envy of everyone who stopped to pet him.

Any ideas as to what it would take to restore his coat into at least a normal condition, if not the envious one?

Answer
You are doing all of the right things, but they are obviously not helping.  There are 3 things I would try.   The first thing I would try is a steroid for a month.  Some dogs will actually rub or lick off their hair from itching. From your picture, it doesn't look like the hair is actually falling out. So there may just be broken hairs causing the shortness of the hairs. Second, I would give melatonin.  That sometimes restores hair in dogs that are having problems with their pineal gland in the brain.  And third, even though the thyroid tests were normal, about 20% of dogs with low thyroid hormones will test normal. So a 30 day trial with thyroid tablets will not hurt to see if the hair will re-grow.

If none of that works, I would have the vet do a skin biopsy of the affected area(s) to see if there is a problem within the hair follicles that can be identified.
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 5Clarity of Response = 1Politeness = 9
    Commentunfortunately, Dr. Louis did not understand the situation and answered a question/situation we never asked about.


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Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf

Expertise

Dermatology and ear diseases of dogs and cats

Experience

I am the author of "Small Animal Ear Diseases; An Illustrated Guide" published by W.B. Saunders. I have over 25 years of clinical experience with a special interest in dermatologic conditions and ear diseases.

Organizations
American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology

Publications
Veterinary Forum
Veterinary Medicine
Waltham Focus

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