[jncaffery]

Hello all, I am new to this community and want to introduce myself and our big boy Sarge. My name is Jon and my wife is Nicki we love our Sarge and need help with skin allergies. We have tried many different remedies but no luck yet so our vet has him on apoquel and Cytopoint shots that are very expensive. Sarge is a very large Doberman. He currently weighs 115 lbs but has come close to 140 at his peak. He stands 31" at the shoulder and is the biggest Doberman we know of in the U.S.

 

[greenkouki]

Welcome to DT. He certainly is a big guy! Have you ever had a full thyroid panel done? The kind your vet has to send out to Michigan State? Weight changes and skin/coat issues are often the result of hypothyroidism in middle aged dogs and often even dogs on the lower end of the normal range benefit greatly from a low dose of thyroxine.

 

[dobegal]

I highly recommend a vet dermatologist they see skin issues on a daily basis Regular vets are good for the every day things as soon as I see skin issues I go immediately to our vet dermatologist

 

[dobebug]

Well, at 31 inches he's definitely a big boy but if those are current pictures he's also a pretty overweight boy.

I'm going to second the recommendation that you ask your vet to do a full thyroid panel--sent out to MSU (they are the gold standard for thyroid testing. ) Hypothyroidism is very common in Dobermans and it can make it hard to take weight off and they tend to put weight on very easily even with decreased amounts of food and no change in the amount of exercise. An underactive thyroid can affect all kinds of things.

And I'd also have him seen by a vet dermatologist/allergist--they can often figure stuff out (because that's what they see all the time)

Good luck with this--and I'm no vet but I've had hypothyroid dogs and seen a lot more of them and the thin hair on his underside is one of the markers of hypothyroidism.

dobebug

 

[4x4bike ped]

Hi Jon. Welcome to you, Nicki and Sarge from the Pacific NW.

I am another who would have a veterinary dermatologist put and eye on Sarge's skin issues. In my experience, many decent family vets, who are otherwise well trained, seem to lack fundamental knowledge when it comes to the some of the medical issues that commonly occur in the Doberman breed. Skin problems are often one of these areas.

My first thought given his skin and weight tendencies, falls right into line with the above comments: Hypothyroidism. Which, BTW, when properly diagnosed is fairly easy and inexpensive to treat medically.

Keep updating.

John L
Portland OR