SizzleDog Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 ... according to the vet, YES! The vets seem to think they might have pinpointed Ilsa's bizarre alopecia. My new vet is a mover and shaker in racing sciences (dog racing), and apparently there's a relatively uncommon condition that some racing greyhounds develop. When the dogs are in optimum physical condition and on a high quality food, some mysteriously lose the hair on their chests, stomachs, and parts of their legs. They don't know exactly what cuases it, but their best guess is that the protein doesn't metaboliza correctly, and affects the coat and nails. My vet took a look at Ilsa and noted many things that are red flags of this condition: ~ Ilsa's alopecia is in the "right places" for the condition ~ her alopecia gets worse at the time of year when she's exercising the most ~ her skin is otherwise healthy, and the hair she's got is in excellent condition ~ she's virtually pure muscle - optimal body condition ~ some of her toenails are changing color from dark brown to light brown He suggested a trial run of Biotin supplementation, if if that doesn't work, he'll refer me to Dr. Noxom, the head dermatologist up at VetMed. The vet said I could call Dr. Noxom whenever I wanted, but suggested that we try the biotin therapy first. Let's hope the biotin does the trick! It makes me feel a bit better to know that her alopecia could *possibly* be cuased by being too healthy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajiesMom Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 What? A dog can be too healthy? That sounds wacked!!! :drinking: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajiesMom Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Maybe it’s like this: Ice cream sales go up when the temp hits over 25 degrees Celsius. That doesn’t mean that the heat causes ice cream sales to go up. The heat causes people to get hot and feel like having a cold treat and then they buy ice cream. The temp is an indirect cause. Maybe being healthy is an indirect cause in this case. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Matty Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 Do you ever change your dogs diet? I have heard of dogs suffering from hair loss from excess nutrients and not enough nutrients. If ya know what I mean :lol: kinda like eating the same healthy meal every day but maybe its too high in some great nutrients and too low in others. Thus causing a build up of one nutrient??? Perhaps TDG will know. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 Fascinating! :o For what it's worth, one of our client dogs had some mysterious hair loss and the biotin thing did the trick. The dog (Schnauzer) now has lovely hair all over where before he had hair only in patches. Probably not the same thing as Ilsa since this dog had sores and inflamed skin. Anyhoo, the client was telling me that she happened to run into someone somewhere and, by whatever stroke of luck, this person told her to try the dog on biotin. All I know is that after medicated shampoos, diet changes, pred, etc., the dog fully "recovered" with the biotin. I would never have known that had she not shared her experience with a total stranger with me. Sometimes my clients teach ME things. :oops: Good luck to Ilsa and I hope it does the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SizzleDog Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 No, we don't change her foods around. No food I've found has made her look and act as good as California Natural, so I'm sticking to it. After about 18 months of experimentation, we finally found the perfect food for her - not gonna change it anytime soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajiesMom Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 Now I don't know what I'm talking about..but Calafornia Natural is basically three ingredients, maybe he is missing something in his diet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SizzleDog Posted September 30, 2004 Author Share Posted September 30, 2004 California Natural is six main ingredients, plus vitamins and minerals - it's nutritionally complete, and has all the essential nutrients necessary. The vets I talked to feel that changing her diet isn't a good idea - luckily the vets around here know a good food when they see one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Matty Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 I have heard of biotin deficiencies in dogs which ate too many egg whites. I have also heard of dificiencies occuring after long anitbiotic therapies which deplete the intestinal fauna. For me, I would think the dog is not getting enough B vitamins. I give my dogs a B complex vitamin once a week. It has all the B complex groups like biotin, folic acid, B12, B6 blah blah blah :lol: I was always told that if you keep you dog on one food too long it can get excess amounts of some vitamins and lack in others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Kat Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 We used Biotin at the surgery for extreme cases of alopaecia for dogs and also its great for horses that have weak hooves that tend to chip easily. Good luck and hope it works :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 can you send some of your dogs excess health to Laurels' ears???? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Matty Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 I am just curious, if the dog is lacking a B vitamin such as biotin, how can that be a healthy dog? :confused1: The dog has to be missing some thing in its diet. :niewiem: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajiesMom Posted September 30, 2004 Share Posted September 30, 2004 [quote name='Matty']I am just curious, if the dog is lacking a B vitamin such as biotin, how can that be a healthy dog? :confused1: The dog has to be missing some thing in its diet. :niewiem:[/quote] Maybe healthy dogs lack biotin. Maybe lacking biotin defines a healthy dog. LMAO ah who knows. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SizzleDog Posted October 1, 2004 Author Share Posted October 1, 2004 It's not that they're lacking biotin, it's just that the protein that they metabolize goes elsewhere, such as the muscles, cardiac, and lung tissue. The extra biotin (I believe) helps the dog metabolize the protein more "efficiently", making it possible for the coat and nails to get extra attention. Sorry, that's basically all I know. Ilsa is a very healthy dog, but she doesn't have much body fat (she's all muscle). One speculation is that some canine athletes have the same problems as human athletes - they're in such good shape that their horomones go wacky... look at the gymnasts that stop having their period, for example. Ilsa's bloodwork came back compeltely normal, as did a skin scrape and allergy testing. My regular vet, my new vet, and all the vets up at the teaching hospital that have seen her agree that she's one of the healthiest dogs they've ever seen - no allergies, great hips and elbows, great eyes, vWD clear, teeth are near perfect, awesome muscle tone... they love her. She's healthy, believe me. She is supplemented, and California Natural isn't lacking in any key nutrients. It's one of the best kibble foods a dog can be on. If you would like to look at the Analysis and Ingredients of California Natural, please check out their website at [url]http://www.naturapet.com[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Matty Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Thank you for explaining :wink: I was just a little confused. I have been in a confused state once or twice before in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkin the musher Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 Yes, I've had the same problem with some of my Alaskans-usually about mid January when the racing season is full out- they're usually running up to 30 miles on training runs 3 or 4 times a week, plus racing on weekends. they usually loose it under the tail and in the arm pits - I do supplement with biotin as well as 400 I.U. Vitamin E, 500mg vitamin C and zinc. Seems to lessen the hair problems and toughens up their nails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajiesMom Posted October 1, 2004 Share Posted October 1, 2004 I totally believe it now. That is so fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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