My connection is acting up. I’ll post more when it’s behaving.
Hey Sean,
Yeah, I figured that the vet probably has her on a dry food diet and that she is going to need something more than that. He’s really helped us out by letting her stay there so I didn’t want it to seem like I didn’t trust him with feeding her. I really want her to be able to have a normal life and be adoptable, so I’m trying to figure out the best situation for her from this point on. She is a little dog, only the size of a cat, so I could probably take care of her at my place. Of course giving her to you would be an excellent option, but I don’t know if I can swap with you. I’ve just started helping out at a vet in Taichung, so my time is spread thin between that and teaching at nights. I know you probably can’t just take another dog, so I’m fine with taking care of her with your suggestions on a good diet. The last thing I want to do is give up on her, so let me know what you think is the best thing to do.
Thanks again,
Ian
No problem.
If you can let me know exactly what is causing the skin problem, I can offer some advice on improving her diet.
If you’re really not sure, other than a hormone deficiency, we can just go with a diet aimed at improving the skin and countering skin diseases in general (but obviously far better to know exactly what we’re dealing with).
Great you’re doing what you can for this girl! :bravo:
Sean
Well, he said something in Chinese that my girlfriend didn’t really understand, but the name sounded like Addison’s disease. However, I’ve been looking a lot online and I can’t find anything linking Addison’s disease to hair loss in dogs. It’s related to hormome levels, but the symptoms don’t seem right. I also can’t find any accounts of dogs losing all of their hair like she has. I’ll try to find out exactly what he thinks it is, but I’m starting to think that maybe I’d like a second opinion on this one. I’ll let you know what he says.
For now switch to raw, natural foods, give fish oil and vitamin E, and get a good supplement aimed at improving the immune system.
Sure, I’ll start as soon as I get her home.
I have a couple of copies of the raw diet book that I’ve been meaning to send one of your colleagues; I’ll send one to you too - PM me your address.
Bokgwai- Acanthosis nigricans is a disorder common in Dachshunds, which this dog is. It can be an inherited disorder (poor breeding/puppy mill results) or related to other causes. Do a search and you will find a number of sites describing the symptoms- hair loss with skin thickening and darkening, strong body odor, etc.- and the treatment options, including Vitamin E therapy along with other medications. It may not be curable but is treatable. Addison’s Disease isn’t usually associated with alopecia (hair loss).
P.S. I wish I could bring this pup back home with me…
Hey, that’s great - thanks for posting that, dgr. 
I’m just researching online now, and already I have found several references to Acanthosis nigricans being mistakenly diagnosed as Addison’s, so I think we’re onto something. :bravo:
I’ll post what i find later …
Thanks again!
[quote]Due to its anti-inflammatory and anit-seborrheic effects, oral glucocorticoic medication (ìcortisoneî) has been proven to be very effective in the treatment of acanthosis nigricans. For the first 7-10 days it is given daily: then it is given every other day. Since you mention cortisone-associated kidney damage, weíd like to mention two alternative medications often used to treat acanthosis nigricans.
In some cases vitamin E (200 IU given orally twice daily) has resulted in significant improvement in the degree of inflammation, skin thickening, itchiness, and skin odor. We are unaware of any undesirable side effects reported with this dosage.
Lastly, a hormone known as melatonin has been effective in treating the inherited form (the form seen in Dachshunds).
Melatonin is a hormone produced in the pineal gland of the brain. It is involved in the regulation of several bodily physiologic processes, including the reproductive cycle, skin pigmentation, thermoregulation, photoreceptivity, and other processes including hair growth cycles.[/quote]
As your dog has already overcome the disease, we need to work on stimulating the hair growth, so vitamin E is certainly the way to go, as is adding the omega oils (fish oil or cod liver oil), and feeding high quality protein (raw or cooked egg, and raw meat and bones). Some vitamin B would also be a very useful supplement, as it promotes healthy skin. Zinc, too.
When you say vitamin E, do you mean the gel capsules for humasn you can get in Watsons? Same with vitamin B and fish oil? How much should be given to an otherwise healthy large dog who gets only BARF food. Our’s hasn’t been getting anything but raw veggies, virgin olive oil, garlic, eggs, ground beef and chicken carcasses with probiotic powder and some “green powder.” How serious is the lack of oil?
Omega 3, 6 and 9 are called essential fatty acids for good reason: dogs and cats must have them to thrive (they put these oils in highly processed commercial convnience foods for pets, but the problem is that they soon turn to rancid fat once exposed to air, so the first meal you give from the bag is good, the rest is disastrous).
The omegas are present in raw food such as chicken, but giving that little extra makes a world of difference to the animals health and probably their longevity.
Vitamin E is great for the skin but it also acts to prevent the oils turning rancid. It’s a great supplement to give, and should always be given when giving oil.
This is the same vitamin E and fish oil that you buy from the chemist. I’m away from home right now, so check in your book under ‘Supplements’ and you’ll get an answer to how much to give.
DGR, I’ve seen the name Acanthosis nigricans come up a few times in my searches. I agree that is seems like a likely culprit for her condition. I was also thinking that it might be a breed specific or inherited problem, so maybe I can try suggesting that the vets take a look down that path if they haven’t already. I went to see the dog today and the vet told me again that she has Addison’s. I asked if that would make her hair fall out, and he said yes. However, I think we have both seen that Alopecia is not associated with Addison’s. I don’t know if they have even done an Addison’s test at all. Either way, I’m getting the dog on Friday and I’ll try to have my girlfriend find out exactly what she has been tested for.
Her skin color has improved in some areas, but she basically looks the same as two months ago. I’m probably going to have the vet that I am working with take a second look at her. With two months of care and little improvement, I need more reassurance that they know what is going on.
DGR, you’re more than welcome to take her home when you come. Or maybe you can take Lucy, she’s been trying to take over the house lately. I’ve tried to make her watch the Cesar Millan videos, but she’s too busy biting on my hand.
I finally found out what the dog has yesterday. It’s called “wrong diagnosis.” I brought her to the vet that I’ve been working at lately and they checked her out for a bit. After looking at her and considering whether she could have Addison’s like the other vet claimed, one of the vets took a scraping of dead skin from her side and put it under the microscope. In a minute or two, we were all looking at textbook demodex mites on a color monitor. The other vet had ruled out demodex on the first day we brought her in. She spent two months under his care taking prednisolone and antibiotics. It turns out that prednisolone is probably one of the last things you want to be giving her if she has demodex.
So, now she’s on medications for demodex and I gave her the first of her special baths that are to be repeated every few days. We’ll be documenting her progress with photos, so it should be interesting to see what kind of progress she can make now. I’m just glad that we have finally nailed down what she has and that it is something well known. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who have dealt with demodex before. Does anyone have any good advice on helping the dog make a speedy recovery???
Glad to see that this thread is working properly again. I couldn’t get the last page to come up for a while. Here are some recent pics along with a link to my girlfriend’s blog. It’s in Chinese but you can get a good idea of her progress through the sequence of pics. She is taking less medication now but she still has to be scrubbed with a medicated solution to kill the mites. I’m getting her used to raw chicken bones and trying to educated myself more about the raw diet in general. I’m hoping that will improve her condition more and I’ve also been told that getting her spayed will help too. Things are going well though, so I’m pretty optimistic. More to come soon.
Anne’s blog
tw.myblog.yahoo.com/chocolatefre … 8&next=402
Bokgwai, in addition to a good diet, fresh aloe vera works wonders for skin, and because it’s topical you can probably use it in conjunction with medication – check with your vet, though in my experience, many vets here don’t like anything “natural,” only expensive medication.
Looking at those pics, maybe Doo Doo could use some soothing aloe after she’s been scrubbed with the medicated solution. Avoid the “100% aloe vera” you buy in Watson’s and go to the Chienkuo plant market. They sell small plants for immediate use and/or growing and it will grow in practically any environment. Just cut off a leaf, split it and rub it all over the affected areas. I do this every other day for one of my dogs that used to have bad skin due (apparently due to allergies OR hormone problems: different vets said different things), and while he’s not completely cured yet, his skin is noticeably less inflamed and he’s stopped scratching. His hair has also started to grow back. We spent a fortune on meds from that specialist skin vet in Taipei about a year ago to no effect whatsoever; a good diet, fish oil and vit e supplements and aloe vera has made a real difference.
Keep us posted!
Ian, I have lots of aloe growing on my terrace. If you want, I will bring some. It grows fast and is pretty easy to take of.
She’s not scratching a lot and she doesn’t have much inflamation at all, but I think I will try some of the Aloe. I have a few plants out front, so I can just take a bit from there. I’ve actually put some in the fridge before and used it on myself when I get a bad sunburn. That definitely helps me out.
She’s cut way back on the medication which makes me happy. I never feel comfortable with lots of pills involved. She gets a skin supplement everyday and a set of three shots once a week. The vet still wants me to scrub her with Amitra in the hairless parts. She handles raw bones pretty well, but I think she needs to chew them more. Sometimes I think she is swallowing rather large pieces. Nevertheless, the hair keeps on coming, so I’m just happy with that.