Coat in very bad condition

[Leonor Ferreira]

I’ve adopted an Red Setter (Maggie) and she arrived in a very poor condition. She hardly has any fur in her back, and the reaming coat is dry. I’ve been giving her some fatty acids, I scrub her coat with a good body cream and brush her every day with a soft brush. I’ve been doing this for the past 1.5 months but I cannot see big improvements. Can anyone give any tips to help her?

[Susan Stone]

Hi Leonor,
Lovely to see the pics of your dear old lady, looks like she has been lucky finding you!
I have a almost 14 year old bitch Shannon who has been spayed. This not only affects the type of coat (profuse undercoat) but also causes dry skin and dry coat in some. Has Maggie been spayed? The area on her back with not much coat could be due to this also, but it is also possible she has some other underlying problem (thyroid, hormones, ... ). Suggest if you are worried to have her checked by the vet.
All the best with her!

[Leonor Ferreira]

Tnak you for your reply, Maggie has not been spayed. I don't know how to say this in English but when she arrive she had dermatities caused by flees bites. In those areas she had no coat.

[Teresa]

Leonor,
I had a dog that had "dermatites" too, and everytime he had a crisis it took him about 3 months to get his coat back to normal.
On the other hand, I saw in your page that she had tumours and that you removed those recently. Maybe you should check with your vet a condition called "hiperadrenocorticismo" that causes that kind of coat problems.
(sorry everyone about the portuguese terms, but in this case it was easier, heh).

[Leonor Ferreira]

Thank You Teresa!
I'll have a word with my vet. About the Portuguese, it's always a joy to read my own language.:-)

[Margaret Sierakowski]

If she has had dermatitis due to flea bites, she could also have a secondary bacterial skin infection. Or a reaction to flea treatment with something like Front line. Some of my dogs get very bad reactions to Frontline, their coats drop and the skin irritation caused by Frontline can take months to clear A mild anti bacterial shampoo or wash might help too

You could also try feeding her a dog food with a high fat/oil content. Or add olive oil or sunflower oil or eggs to her food.
or add oily tinned fish like sardines, or tuna in oil, to her food. And Omega 3 , 6 and 9

[Leonor Ferreira]

Thank you Marget!
My problem is that I've been doing all yo've mentioned - the fatty accids are omegas and I mix tuna sardines with her food (at least 3 times a week). I also boil eggs to mix in the food (more or less twice a week) and the food I bougth for her is rich in fat content. Still, I cannot see big improvements. I taking her to the vet tonight. Do you think that that trimming her coat at this stage can help?

[amandapyman]

hi leonor,

there is a food supplement called bionic biotic which you add to food, there is a website called www.poochandmutt.com, i dont know if you can get it where you are but have a look you might be able to get it or something similar

regards

amanda

[Eduarda De Sousa Pires]

ola leonor bom dia
ela teve anestesia a pouco tempo será q pode influenciar???( teresa da pitanga sabe?)
cá em lxa na fac há um colega mto bom em dermatologia se for preciso... posso marcar a consulta. se ajudar e quiser falar com o luis ou o sergio pelo telf eles tb a ajudam eu posso telf primeiro e dizer q é mais uma das minhas aventuras e eles colaboram de certeza.
a maria levou meses ate ter as peladas cobertas e uma ainda tem uma parte sem pelo.
uma enfermeira vet ensinou-me a fazer massagens na zona com oleo de amendoas doce e a seguir passar mto halibut - vit A liposoluvel, aquilo fazia uma pasta horrivel. durante meses andou feia com a pele branca do halibut e eu pensei q nada q nao recuperava das peladas, mas recuperou.
bjos
E

[Leonor Ferreira]

eu vou este mês com o Ziggy à Clinica das laraj para os exames de rotina - posso levá-la (mas para ela é um bocadito stressante a viagem). A vet deu-me uns ómegas mais concentrados, eu ponho-lhe de tudo que posso na comida, bepantene azul com força, boas escoadelas e - nada!! Dei-lhe um baho com vetriderm no Domingo e ela parecia mais sedosa - mas foi sol de pouca dura! Vou tentar este produto natural - mal não lhe fará concerteza.

[Teresa]

Hmm, dos conhecimentos que tenho, a anestesia em si não afecta o pêlo. No entanto, todo o stress de ter sido realojada e toda a adaptação a uma nova vida, ainda por cima com cirurgias pelo meio, podem prejudicar o aspecto do pelo. é uma reacção semelhantes à dos cães que ficam com caspa no veterinario, so que no caso dela seria um pouco mais grave, dado que o stress foi maior. Se for esse o caso, com o tempo e adaptação a nova vida, acaba por passar. Não se deve esquecer que o facto de ela ja ter alguma idade significa que todas as recuperações são mais lentas que num cao mais novo.
Em relação aos produtos naturais, também sou fã, e sempre que os meus cães têm algum problema, trato com produtos naturais, sa tal for possivel.
Se ela tem a zona muito aspera não sei se será o ideal, mas o velho sabão azul e branco também faz muitos milagres, era o que usava para dar banho a um cão que tive com muita tendencia para os mais diversos problemas de pele!

[Thomas&Merete-Kennel Alvertoppen]

Dear Margaret.

Thank you so much for telling about Frontline and your dogs reaction to it. Our Skadi has lost so much fur now that she is almost "naked". It has been like this the last 2 years and we have not found out what it is, we had a suspicion that it could be the flea color that she wears, but know I'm almost certain! What do you use instead of Frontline?

Best
Merete

[Margaret Sierakowski]

That is interesting. It is Skadi's grandmother Bruar and a litter sister of Goshawk (Skadi's sire) and another half sister who have allergies to Frontline, which causes skin irritation and loss of coat

I hear that the environmental protection agency in the US has been raising concerns about the use of Frontline

Recently I have used Revolution which is based on Selamectin, which seems safer and doesnt have any side effects. I have also used small doses of Ivermectin on some of my older dogs
I get Revolution from Australia as it isnt sold here, but I think Stronghold is very similar?