Hair loss help

Re: Hair loss help

Kate Richardson — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:34:46 GMT

[quote user="claire godfrey"]Saw 2 small pustules in amongst fur so treated antibiotics 1 week. No improvement.[/quote]

What antibiotic did you use and what dose (mg/kg)? I would definitely do skin scrapes to assess for demodex. Assume not pruritic?

Re the potassium levels, I would also agree likely artefactual, either EDTA contamination (what was the Ca on the bloods) or haemolysis/sample ageing. The majority of potassium in the body is intracellular.

[quote user="claire godfrey"]Did not do haematology[/quote]

Why not? It can be very useful, particularly looking at wbc picture, and anaemia can suggest more of a chronic underlying problem. A lot of endocrinopathies have haematology pictures can can lend weight to a diagnosis.

Re: Hair loss help

Claire Fisher — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:35:24 GMT

oops - didn't mean to suggest my answer!

Re: Hair loss help

Claire Fisher — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:34:13 GMT

I think Malamutes can develop zinc responsive dermatosis so maybe a skin biopsy would help.

Re: Hair loss help

Louise6732 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:53:29 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]In my household it is the GSD that does this leading to extreme struggling of the vacuum cleaner![/quote]

Bob, you need a Dyson Animal. Best money I have ever spent!

Louise

Re: Hair loss help

Clive Ansell — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:43:18 GMT

maybe an ACTH stim test to exclude Addison's would be the next step?

Re: Hair loss help

Claire Godfrey — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:24:02 GMT

The coat does appear to be becoming sparse.

I did think the K+ must be an artifact especially as it has now normalised but was worried the T4 was low, suggests something else going on to suppress this?

Re: Hair loss help

Utlendigur — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:37:05 GMT

I'd have though with a K+ over 10-15 the dog would be collapsed and dying Is it bradycardic. I'd also be suspicious of artefact (EDTA contamination, haemolysis). Don't Malamutes always moult in clumps? Most of the GSDs, malamutes, huskies etc I see seem to do this. Is the coat actually sparse or becoming bald, or is it a normal coat with a heavy moult?

Re: Hair loss help

Mark Holmes — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:24:01 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]

Is it going bald or is it just the fine downy undercoat coming out? If skin is normal, no itchiness and there are no areas of baldness it may just be that this is extreme shedding not a pathological process! The amounts of hair coming out can be dramatic.

In my household it is the GSD that does this leading to extreme struggling of the vacuum cleaner!

[/quote]

In my house its ME that does this. Although the wipe clean surface that my head is aquiring is proving to be convenient.

Re: Hair loss help

Bob Russell — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:55:41 GMT

In my household it is the GSD that does this leading to extreme struggling of the vacuum cleaner!

Re: Hair loss help

Rob Loxley — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:47:18 GMT

[quote user="claire godfrey"]

Dog is otherwise fine and bright

K+>15 (3.5-5.8)

[/quote]

These two don't seem to add up; are you sure it wasn't EDTA contamination in the biochem tube?

Re: Hair loss help

Rob Davis — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:16:43 GMT

I have an addisonian Retriever which initially presented with excessive moulting as the only initial sign. It had developed a very odd puppy-type coat. I didn't diagnose it as addisons until it presented out of hours collapsed a month later, having lost 5kg! This was now 6 years ago, and the coat quickly normalised once the addisons was treated and the dog has remained well on florinef ever since.

It's odd that the electrolytes appear to have normalised in your case.