Hello & thank you for taking the time & reading this.

I have a Weimaraner spayed bitch born Jan 2004. She is wormed monthly & given tick & flee prevention monthly. (She's treated more often as she lives in the country amongst fields with everything from rabbits, sheep & deer). She's currently on Drontal for the worms & Frontline for fleas & ticks. She suffered severe neurological reaction when she was younger when we switched to Advantix.

She is on the same whole-food as she has been all along, just changing the mix for her size & activity.

Approx 4-5 months ago she had small, raised tufts of fur appear on one side flank. If you separated the tufts underneath her skin was dry had what looked like dandruff. Over a 24 hr period she had developed a patch of these clumps, approx 10" along the same flank.

I have checked with her Breeder (who is also a Vet) & there are no known allergies in her, or any other related litters/blood-line). We've scrutinised all we could think of that had changed, from air fresheners to carpet mites, even to running her in different locations. The only noticeable thing when this started was it was when it was so hot & humid & we were suffering a large amount of flies in this area. Initially it was thought that she could have been reacting to bites of some nature. Her breeder had encountered a similar thing with midge bites but that was a localised problem which only required one course of treatment.

Over time the bumps & dandruff have been treated by her Vet with antibiotics & steroids. She has also had lab tests done for mites, yeast/fungal infections etc in the form of both bloods & skin scrapes. Having been referred to a specialist dermatologist she is now having fish oils put onto her food & is being washed twice weekly as per instruction with a prescribed shampoo. He has also taken dandruff & skin scrapes & found nothing unusual after microscopic examination.

When she is on the antibiotics, steroids and anti inflammatories her skin settles again. Within a week after stopping each course the tufts appear again. They have gradually spread when they re-appear & can now appear on both flanks & her head. She also has red spots on her underside closest to her tail.

The next thing that the Dermatologist wants to try is to shave a patch along her side, approx 16" square & perform multiple allergy tests. Obviously with a Weimi this will be very noticeable & according to her Breeder/Vet it wont grow back very well & would be very noticeable for the rest of her life., Also she has queried why he can't do the allergen tests on her belly.

I know there is a vast number of members here who are very knowledgeable & experienced in caring for our beloved dogs & was wondering if anyone has come across anything like this in their experience. If you have, what happened next, or what else could we try?

Obviously it goes without saying that her health & well being are my highest priority. Any advice , help, or suggestions would be gratefully received. Thank you.

Pushy x

As your breeder is also a vet, has she advised going down the exclusion diet trial route first?  Despite your dog having done well on a particular diet for many months (even years) she could have developed an intolerance to one or some of the ingredients - more often than not these intolerances show as skin conditions and do indeed briefly appease when being treated with steroids.

However if you do not show your bitch and since this recommendation has come from a skin specialist, perhaps it would be better to agree to the patch tests for multiple allergy diagnosis.  This would be a significantly quicker way of establishing whether or not this is an allergic reaction and what (if anything) is causing it.  IMO it's altogether preferable for your girl's comfort to have a diagnosis sooner rather than later.  Treating the symptoms as they appear is no substitute for confirming and removing the cause.

HTH, best wishes Teri :)

Yes my Papillon is allergic to a lot of different foods -he gets all scabby and itchy. It took quite a few attempts but in the end we found one that does suit him and he's in great condition with a very nice coat now.

Hi Pushy
I'm sorry to read that your poor girl is having problems.  It is horrid to see our dogs uncomfortable.

Firstly, if she were mine, I would drastically reduce the amount of preventative treatment that you are giving her.  (But I must stress this is just my personal belief!)  I also live in the country, on a farm, and we are surrounded by cattle, deer, sheep and vast quantities of wildlife.  I do not ever use flea or tick treatment for the Ridgebacks, just give them a garlic capsule in their food daily.  They have never picked up fleas, but I have removed the odd tick from them.  I have however used Frontline on my Australian shepherd as she is soo hairy.  This has not stopped her picking up ticks, but they tend to die in situ.  I only worm them all at the recommended intervals. 

I have one Ridgeback that has sensitivities.  She gets itchy feet, rubs her chin on them, and is prone to ear problems.  I have treated her as needed with steroids, but I do hate the other effects that they have.  Recently, my vet suggested allergy testing her, but by sending off blood samples to be analysed.  It turns out that she is allergic to chicken - a real pain as she was having chicken wings for breakfast.  Perhaps you could think about trying this route first rather than the more invasive route of shaving her side?  Or maybe your dermatologist has considered / tried this already?

Best wishes
Carina

Good point Carina re the preventative meds for ticks/fleas etc.  I don't use them either and my dogs are regularly exercised in areas where deer run wild and our garden constantly visited by foxes, hedgehogs, squirrels etc

My lot get a little garlic in their diet and it seems to do the trick.  I avoid heavy duty chemicals at all cost - my personal choice and it certainly works for mine :)

regards Teri

Hi Teri
Thanks for the vote of confidence on that - I hate the over use of chemicals.  We have only had our farm for about a year and are converting it be be organic. 
Carina

The other thing to get checked is thyroid.
This can give skin trouble - i.e. excessive scurf/dandruff/dry skin.
The only thing is to be careful re steroids as this could affect blood test results.
So best check the vet when asking.
Thyroid issues also affect regrowth of coat...i.e. it's very slow to grow back etc.

Oh and just because they don't exhibit all the 'classic' signs/symptoms doesn't
mean that they aren't affected. Best checked via blood test.
Speaking from personal experience ;)

Our Dobe had these little tufts and spots.  They were all over her chin, neck and back, very itchy and inflamed.  They really did look horrendous.  The vet described them as a type of dog acne and said that she would be plagued with them for the rest of her life.  If they got particularly bad she would have a course of antibiotics and they would settle down.

In December 2005 i changed her onto the BARF diet.  Within a few weeks her skin had cleared up completely.  She has not had the skin condition since.  I am adamant it is down to her diet.  There is no other explanation.  She had been on dry complete food before (complete with additives!)  It is quite amazing, especially as we were told she would be inflicted with it for life!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and suggestions.

I knew that I'd find the answer if I posted here. I'm following up on all your suggestions.

Thanks All,

Pushy x

Hope you find something to suit her.  I also do not use any flea treatments etc, and although I am not in an area where we would get ticks, I very rarely ever see a flea.  All my dogs get a garlic capsule a day.

I can agree with you Jok

I have 2 dobes, my boy (now 16 months) used to always have scurfy skin and 'Acne spots'  after changing his diet to raw minces with biscuit added (only a handful at each meal)  his skin has cleared up dramatically!!

Also to say that my bitch dobe had an op on her back at 8.5 weeks old to have an abcess drained and had her back shaved (a big patch for a pup!) just to say that hers has grown back perfectly and the scars from the drains can't be seen (unless you look for them) she is now 5 months.

is there a reason why they said her fur wouldn't grow back properly?? I know that weims and dobes are very similar in coats!

Thank you so much for the continuing advice folks.

I'm taking it all on board & will be changing her food & her "protection". I was just following my Vet's advice on that until these tufts appeared.

As for the regrowth of fur, that's what her Breeder told me when I contacted her to check if any other dogs in her bloodline had any allergies. As the Breeder is also a Vet, I didn't think to question her opinion. I shall ask her to explain the reasons when I next speak to her.

You are all very kind, thank you

Pushy x

Shaved fur can grow back darker than the surrounding fur in some breeds.  Perhaps yours is one of them.  I believe that it will come good after 12 months or so.