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Expert: - 7/5/2010


Question

Bambi
Hi, I hope you don't mind if I ask you two questions.
I have a chocolate standard poodle and since I got her at 16 weeks(she is 2 now) she has had a dry strip on the top of her nose. I haven't thought much about it until now that I notice that I have never seen another dog with it. I don't know what might be related but she seems to be prone to infection, skin/licking, anal gland, bladder. She does not have dry skin other than a small symmetrical patch on the top of her tail where the hair is thinned, she doesn't chew it. And discolored teeth(brown splotches not related to tarter)

I have been moisturizing her nose with canola oil, because she can eat it, and been giving her a tbs of it each day for a week now. The strip has turned from whitish to dark brown almost black and I think it has receded a tiny bit and maybe looks a tiny bit scaly, I'm not sure.

My second question:
I just got a standard poodle puppy and he has white lines all over is trunk/body, long ones on the body and shoter ones on the neck and base of tail. They kind of look like scars but the hair grows on them and they still look like normal skin. I thought they were stretch marks but the breeder told me that the other puppies did it with their sharp teeth. But I still wonder how this could be. It couldn't have been a blood fest with all the puppies. He did get a cut last week from a puppy play date and that looks more like a real scar. Could they be stretch marks? He had very frequent baths starting at 3 weeks with human shampoo.

Answer
It looks like nasal hyperkeratosis on Bambi.  That is not uncommon, but it is sometimes the result of canine distemper virus.  There is a product called Kerasolv that may help dissolve this hickenning.

As far as the puppy.  They can get superficial wounds that will heal with hairs.  Only if the deeper dermis is involved (where the hair follicles live)will hair not grow on scars.

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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