Help for hormones

I have a 9 year old Spanish Water Dog bitch who has not been spayed.

I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem to deal with. Her hair is thinning over her body and she is itchy, itching her feet and tummy. Not all the time but 15% of the day. 

She is in good health with a normal appetite and drinking. She does like to mount my 1 year old male dog with gusto.

The vet has checked her for everything and nothing is showing up even her thyroid blood test came back as normal.

I have bathed her in gentle soothing solutions and she has been on an allergy free diet for a few weeks.

The vet thinks that it must be hormonally related and is suggesting getting her spayed.
I have heard of dogs being spayed and it disrupt hormones. She is 9 and I am concerned about the the risk, although she is healthy and well apart from her hair loss and itchiness
I was also thinking of trying alternative therapies but not sure what?

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,

Dogs Today reader, by email

Richard Allport, vet, advises…

My own view is that spaying ‘just in case it helps’ is not a very logical way to approach such a case. There is no proof that this problem is hormone related – though it could possibly be – and spaying can certainly cause undesirable side effects.

Although your vet has ‘checked for everything’ (is that humanly possible?!) I would question particularly the thyroid test being ‘normal’. Thyroid testing in the UK is notoriously inaccurate. In fact the only lab I would trust to carry out totally accurate thyroid testing is in the States, run by a fantastic vet, Jean Dodds, who really knows all there is to know about thyroid problems in dogs. I often advise clients to ask their vets to get a blood sample sent to Jean’s lab (details at www.hemopet.org then click on hemolife diagnostics) and find that patients who have ‘normal’ results after testing in the UK do actually have thyroid imbalances.

I’m interested in the ‘allergy free diet’ as well. A diet can only be allergy free if an allergen has been isolated and then a diet without that allergen is formulated. I

guess she is on a so called hypoallergenic diet which is just free of some common allergens – but as a dog can be allergic to almost anything, it cannot be allergy free.

My advice is as follows. Change on to a raw meaty bone based, cereal free diet – for ease of use try Honey’s Real Food for Dogs – www.honeysrealdogfood.com -   

or Natural Instinct or any of the other ready prepared ‘BARF’ diets now available. If this is a step too far try a high quality cold pressed natural diet such as Gentle  - www.gentledogfood.co.uk .

As a general supplement to help improve hair growth and reduce itching, I find the herbal supplement ‘Itchy skin and allergy relief’ – www.diet-dog.co.uk – is excellent.

If despite the change of diet and the herbal supplement the problem persists I would definitely advise getting a full thyroid test from Hemopet, and if this does prove normal I’d ask your vet to refer you to a vet experienced in natural therapies for pets. Good luck!

Ditch the itch

Hello,

I would be pleased to have your opinion with regards to my cross Cairn approx. 9.1/2 years old. She was found on a very busy motoway here in Spain and we have had her now for 8 years. Obviously we do not know how she faired prior to this.

She suffers from itchy skin, but only in the summer when it is very hot here. she can get quite a few sores, loss of hair etc. The vet prescribes Atopica 50 mg. this we give her in the beginning for the hot weather, and she has Omega 3 all year round. Usually around July she has to have a cortisone injection which last approx. 6 weeks when the itching will start again, through the last 4 months of the year she will probably have 3 cortisone injections, which we know is not very good for her, but it makes her more comfortable.

It is very frustrating that we cannot seem to do much to help her. I have tried all the itching sprays without a lot of success.

I would like to here your views. She only has fresh turkey, mixed with Royal Canin Dermocomfort meal. daily with a few treats in between which cannot be the cause of her itching as she only itches during hot weather.

I look forward to your comments.

Regards

Carole Hall, by email

Common culprit

I have a two-year-old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier who scratches a lot and her skin is a bit flaky. She just looks so uncomfortable, poor thing. My vet has confirmed she doesn’t have mange and has suggested it might be an allergy to an ingredient in her food, so I have changed brands but this hasn’t had much affect.

A friend at training suggested I try an elimination diet to see what the cause might be. Could you tell me if you think this will help, and if so, what are the common culprits as I think I should begin with one of those?

Ms Sanders, by email

Itchy and flakey

My dog has dandruff and scratches all the time. She has big patches where the hair has fallen out and vet cant help. Any advice?
Via Twitter

Start from scratch

Hopefully the Think Tank can help as to why both my collie and Tibetan Terrier puppy scratch at their mouths and under their chins? The Tibetan seems to have more itchy skin usually at the back near the tail and went through the frantic paw chewing on the pads but that has eased right off, thank goodness.

I just hate to see him so itchy and have tried changing food. I have them both on Advocate so certain its not fleas, and I’ve added Evening Primrose Oil to try to help. They are both wormed with Drontal and the poor puppy even had the vet clear his anal glands as they thought that may be the reason for the back gnawing. I can only think some sort of allergy, but help!!!

Thank you for your time, very grateful,

Kim, by email