Quote:
Originally Posted by Madikav
Hi,
I've noticed my dog has been losing her hair slowly on her behind/sides (nowhere else). She also has a couple of sores there that I see. I took her to the Vet who ran a heartworm and thyroid test and everything came out okay. I was wondering if anybody can offer some help?
This developed slowly, at first it was just a small patch on her side, then a patch on the other side and then near her tail stopped having fur. In the last photo, there's a photo of an old sore that I saw (hard to see), there's also a fresh sore right on her back (the little dime-sized patch with no fur, which also has a weird brown colour to it????).
I would appreciate any help, I'm quite concerned.
Thank you very much.
Madikav
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Hi Madikav
If your vet just did a T4 test, it's not going to be accurate (a lot of vets don't do anything more than that unless you request it). The T4 can be very deceptive. It can cause them to put your dog on medication even when it isn't needed and vice versa. A full Thyroid Panel needs to be completed. And one thing a lot of vets don't realize is that thyroid levels (what's considered normal or abnormal) can range depending on the breed. My boy (2 yr old Malamute) is hypothyroid and has been since a puppy. We started seeing a holistic vet and he recommended a full thyroid panel and that we send it off to Dr. Jean Dodds at Hemopet in California. She doesn't just complete the panel, she also tailors the results to the age/breed and takes any additional health issues in to consideration. My boy has grand mal seizures, which can be made worse with a thyroid level in the low normal range, which is where his was at. It does cost more to send it away to Hemopet, but for us, it was well worth it. If you can't afford to do that, at least have your vet (or another vet if yours only did a T4, I wouldn't trust him/her)run a full panel. You and your vet may be surprised at the results. My boy didn't have the darkening skin, but he did have the hair loss and sores like yours. His sores were on his face and tummy and the thinning hair was the worst on his hind quarters with little bald spots. His coat was thin, dry, and frizzy all over. Now it's full, thick and he's so soft
He's the one standing on the hill:
This is the link to Hemopet and Dr. jean Dodds. She's an amazing woman. Good luck and let us know how your little one is doing
http://www.hemopet.org/services.html