Thin, brittle, dull fur on legs?
Jeez, seems like there's a lot of fur issues lately. Well basically, I started noticing that Ninja's fur on his legs have been thinning out and have become brittle and dull. Front and Back Legs - worse on the back legs. Do you guys have any ideas on why this is happening or if it is a symptom of a health issue? The color looks more grayish red rather than a vibrant red that is on the rest of his body. Its kind of odd. I started noticing the brittle hair a couple weeks ago. Now it has really thinned out and is becoming a dull color. Is it possible that it might be from playing with Portia? She tends to go for his legs and nip at them...But really, nothing has changed in our routine...so im pretty clueless.
Comments
I've been giving him an antibiotic, and cleaning his legs with diluted Betadine (around 10 to 1) and aplying a skin repair lotion that is called Bepanthol around here. It's from Bayer, I don't if it sells there. Also applying a soothing/hair repair spray called Douxo.
Check it with your vet. I thought it was just a behavioural thing, or over grooming, and I was in for a surprise when the vet started going "it might even be mange".
Do you see ninja biting at them?
A simple test to see if hair-loss is caused by over-grooming or another problem is to run our hand against the grain of the hair where the furloss is, if it has rough ends compared to the other fur it is most likely over-grooming although that can be caused by irritation, it is not always behavioral. But with ringworm(fungus) or mange you do not feel the rough ends as the hair falls out as it is damaged by fungus and the mange digs holes into the skin destroying the roots. Wash your hands afterwards as ringworm is contagious to people and mange is no fun either.
Leonberger: Did your vet do a skin scraping? It is a simple test that will tell if there are any mange organisms in a few minutes, they simply scape the skin with a razor and then look at the scraping under the microscope they should see the organism if it is there if not you are good.
For fungus did they do a fungal culture? This would tell if it is ringworm or otherwise but it takes a while and sometimes inconclusive. try feeling the fur in the area where it is being lost as recommended above.
Skin problems are like a hydra, a many headed beast, hard to pin down, possibly fungal,bacterial, parasitic, allergic or behavioral or even a expression of a deeper disease.
typically food allergies present in the head and face, though and flea allergies present in the hind and scruff area, Have you treated for fleas and mites? monthly?
try the rub test and take ninja to the vet is the best thing to do.
Good luck! Skin problems are always tough!
I also have a hunch that it might be weather related, as Tsuki just turned a year in June (and Ninja isn't a year yet, right?) so there might be weather/environmental changes that we haven't experienced with them yet.
*EDA: Do you take him hiking or walking through tall grass?? We just had a puppy playdate with a shiba who had a grass allergy! Her leg hair would get thin and prickly if she'd spent too much time in high or fresh cut grass!
Are there any lesions, scabbing, etc.?
If not, you should definitely have Ninja's thyroid tested. Thyroid disorders are common in Shibas the "thin, brittle hair" sounds like a definite symptom. We sent Maui's bloodwork to HEMOPET in CA. Dr. Dodds compares the results to the breed levels so it's a pretty accurate test. We got the full blood panel done. Here's a little more info on hypothyroidism too. Hope this helps!
I just took some pics of what it looks like.
Right Back Leg
Right Front Leg
Left Back Leg
Left Front Leg
Right Side Body Shot
I emailed my vet and sent him these pics too - we will see what he says. I will prob. have the bloodwork done regardless. Thanks for those links Jen! And Glad you finally came on! We miss you!
Get better Ninja!
He is very quiet and fast. He sneaks up on us all the time. - that is why we named him Ninja.
Oh and to answer questions:
Jen - no he doesn't walk through tall grass. We have grass in our front yard though - but its been there since he came to us. Ninja is turning 1 on the 13th.
Jess - I do live in a townhome community. There is no grass though. Only palm tree's, bushes, and other kinds of small tree's. Whenever we're walking in my neighborhood its always on the sidewalk since there is nothing else for them to walk on. Although they do walk on grass outside of my neighborhood on public little grass patches between neighborhoods on the sidewalk.
Has Ninja ever blown his coat? Those pics look kinda like Loa's coat when she's blowing her coat. But the dullness of the coat is still definitely worth checking into.
You should get that checked, just in case.
http://dermvet.com/
Go to the FAQs section for descriptions of various ailments.