BrinksBlue

Brinks has really dry skin and what the vet has described as a "brittle coat." She spent 6 weeks on antibiotics and Pyoben shampoo for a skin infections which has still only partially resolved. We will most likely end up doing a skin scraping to try to pinpoint the culprit so we can target it better. While I think the Pyoben made her skin dryness worse, she has always had dry, flaky skin. We feed raw her a raw diet, which I think helped a little but not as much as I had hoped. We also give her fish oil but since we are awaiting vWD status, we cut way back on the amount because I know it can increase bleeding. Is there anything else that we can try to improve her coat and skin? She doesn't seem bothered by it really, never itching or anything like that, it just always looks like she needs some lotion!

ETA: Before getting her off all grains and putting her on a limited raw diet, her skin was red and she had a really thin coat. The raw diet has improved that problem so I feel like we are at least headed in the right direction!

GingerGunlock

When Elka has had dry skin, we've added olive oil or coconut oil to her food. She is on kibble, though, so maybe you want to ask your vet first before trying that?

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monicaei

She's a blue? This is gonna happen. Get used to it.

We use a grain free food, fish oil, Vit E and some other supps for our fawn with mild CDA. He's also VERY chemical sensitive, so baths with ONLY limited ingredient shampoo, plus a tea tree oil based spray on "Free" baby wipes.

Occasionally a baby oil moisturizer, if it's really bad, can help. Very greasy though, apply then pat dry

Andrea

Salmon Oil

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Take care Andrea and Dobermans


Dobermannzwinger The lone star

monicaei

Not to discourage you from getting all appropriate testing done... but a "Brittle Coat" and dry skin on a blue = CDA.

Sorry, but this isnt one of the universes big mysteries. read up on CDA (Color Dilution Alopecia) and get REAL familiar with ALL of it. A good diet can help. There is a better than 50% chance your dog is going to lose its coat, regardless.

You have participated in several dilute threads, and I'm sorry that your blue puppy's perfect coat didnt last.

BrinksBlue

We have researched CDA and are prepared for that if it happens. At less than 6 months though, that shouldn't be happening quite yet. Her coat has been brittle since 7 weeks old. We've definitely seen some improvements with the raw diet. I just wasn't sure if there was something else we could do to see further improvements. We'll keep trying things. If something works, great. If not, that's fine too. As long as her skin doesn't bother her at all, I'm fine with full coat or not.

BrinksBlue

Here's some pictures of Brinks from the last few days. None of them really show any of the issues I see but maybe I'm just worrying to much. With all the other problems we've had with her, its easy to do!I showed my husband this thread and he said that how I wrote it, it makes it sound like she is constantly flaking, which is not true. She will go through a flaky day with lots of flakes and then be fine for awhile. Maybe related to the frequent shampooing all the time. I guess for now, we'll just wait and see what happens now that she's done with the Pyoben shampoos. If we get improvement, great, if not, we'll still love her! Thanks!





Today's play date with our friends American bulldog pup.

honda123

How far are you from Chicago downtown?

I was at a Vet Conference, and there was a DVM that specialized in breed specific skin disorders and it was fascinating the slides of a Westie with black dry hairless skin and who had treatment/meds, and the "after" photos were remarkable.

There were also other breeds presented. PM me and I'll get the DVM Specialist, if 1.) you are able to travel to Chicago and, 2.) specialist are expensive.

Maybe, you should start a DT thread on different dog Insurances and potential coverage for DVM specialists?

(If said insurance would cover a specialist, then I would suggest getting the insurance first and then proceeding.).

Please, keep us posted! We are all learning. Thank you.

monicaei

The top close up and crate photo looks like classic CDA