Reagan369
04-01-2008, 03:31 PM
Brace youself, this is going to be a long one!!!
I have a female Boxer/German Shepherd mix, she is just shy of 18 months. In November of '07 when we took her in for a Bordetella shot, the vet noticed some hair thinning on her side. We kept an eye on it and it escalated. We took her in to the vet and they did a skin scraping to see if she had demodectic mange. She was clean but they did the dip anyway. Since that time till now, she was tested for thyroid hormone problems, given fatty acid supplements, and dipped 6 more times!! And they have to sedate her every time they do a dip and it's an all day thing that just causes her anxiety and I HATE doing it to her. We've been back and forth to the vet's office for nearly 5 months now with no diagnosis. I've read some information on seasonal alopecia in boxers and the spots on her side do resemble it. But on her, it isn't limited to her flank. She has the two spots on her right side, some small spots on her ears (recently developed), all four of her legs (not paws), underneath the base of her tail, and very tip of her tail. All of these spots are now completely void of hair and the skin has turned black where it used to be a healthy pink. The vet is now thinking food allergy and recommended a food trial, which we are going to try. Can't hurt right? If that doesn't come up with an answer, we are going to have to go to a doggie dermatologist. The issue with this is that I live in a very small town, and the closest one is 2 1/2 to 3 hours away. That means I will have to take a day off work to take her and it won't be a one time thing. I'm all for it if it will help my dog, but it's been such a rollercoaster that I feel like we are never going to figure it out and she is just going to keep losing hair until she is totally bald!! I know I'm being extreme, but we just got back from the vet's this evening and I am feeling pretty hopeless. The vet didn't even seem confident that we would figure out her problem. Has anyone here ever dealt with or heard of something like this?
Thanks to anyone who answers and to those who actually made it through all of my hysterical rambling! :p
I have a female Boxer/German Shepherd mix, she is just shy of 18 months. In November of '07 when we took her in for a Bordetella shot, the vet noticed some hair thinning on her side. We kept an eye on it and it escalated. We took her in to the vet and they did a skin scraping to see if she had demodectic mange. She was clean but they did the dip anyway. Since that time till now, she was tested for thyroid hormone problems, given fatty acid supplements, and dipped 6 more times!! And they have to sedate her every time they do a dip and it's an all day thing that just causes her anxiety and I HATE doing it to her. We've been back and forth to the vet's office for nearly 5 months now with no diagnosis. I've read some information on seasonal alopecia in boxers and the spots on her side do resemble it. But on her, it isn't limited to her flank. She has the two spots on her right side, some small spots on her ears (recently developed), all four of her legs (not paws), underneath the base of her tail, and very tip of her tail. All of these spots are now completely void of hair and the skin has turned black where it used to be a healthy pink. The vet is now thinking food allergy and recommended a food trial, which we are going to try. Can't hurt right? If that doesn't come up with an answer, we are going to have to go to a doggie dermatologist. The issue with this is that I live in a very small town, and the closest one is 2 1/2 to 3 hours away. That means I will have to take a day off work to take her and it won't be a one time thing. I'm all for it if it will help my dog, but it's been such a rollercoaster that I feel like we are never going to figure it out and she is just going to keep losing hair until she is totally bald!! I know I'm being extreme, but we just got back from the vet's this evening and I am feeling pretty hopeless. The vet didn't even seem confident that we would figure out her problem. Has anyone here ever dealt with or heard of something like this?
Thanks to anyone who answers and to those who actually made it through all of my hysterical rambling! :p