OEM with dark patches with limited fur

[jreach72]

Hey all:

So, Payton our going on 8mth old OEM over the past few weeks has developed a couple of patches of fur that seems to be very thin and the skin below is darker and rough. First thought was mange but she doesn't itch or scratch the spots. Next thought was the dogs (our 1 year old lab/mix) where playing a little rough. Now I am wondering if its the food. She is eating 2cups 3x per day and is still under weight (only about 84lbs as of early last week) she is skinny but has firm stool. She is on Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Fish and Oatmeal Recipe. Any thoughts on this?

Other than the patches of fur she is happy, seems healthy (definitely not overweight) and very very HUNGRY. She eats her food and then looks around for more. We have thought about switching to feeding more but at 2x per day instead of three. Also, we are feeding the quantity based upon vet recommendations and the recommendations of the folks at Blue Buffalo because they use "Finished Adult Weight" to determine the quantity of food for puppies, which is confusing as I have NO IDEA what weight she will be when all grown up.

Food Analysis is:
[h=2]Guaranteed Analysis[/h]

Crude Protein	26.0% min
Crude Fat	12.0% min
Crude Fiber	5.0% max
Moisture	10.0% max
Calcium	1.0% min
Phosphorus	0.9% min
L-Carnitine*	100 mg/kg min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids*	1.0% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids*	3.0% min
Glucosamine*	400 mg/kg min
Chondroitin Sulfate*	300 mg/kg min

Ingredients are: Deboned Whitefish,
Peas,
Oatmeal,
Whole Ground Barley,
Menhaden Fish Meal (source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids),
Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids),
Natural Fish Flavor,
Whole Potatoes,
Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene),
Whole Carrots,
Whole Sweet Potatoes,
Dried Egg,
Blueberries,
Cranberries,
Barley Grass,
Dried Parsley,
Garlic,
Alfalfa Meal,
Dried Kelp,
Yucca Schidigera Extract,
L-Carnitine,
L-Lysine,
Glucosamine Hydrochloride,
Chondroitin Sulfate,
Turmeric,
Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols),
Dried Chicory Root,
Oil of Rosemary,
Beta Carotene,
Vitamin A Supplement,
Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1),
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2),
Niacin (Vitamin B3),
d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5),
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6),
Biotin (Vitamin B7),
Folic Acid (Vitamin B9),
Vitamin B12 Supplement,
Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C),
Vitamin D3 Supplement,
Vitamin E Supplement,
Iron Amino Acid Chelate,
Zinc Amino Acid Chelate,
Manganese Amino Acid Chelate,
Copper Amino Acid Chelate,
Choline Chloride,
Sodium Selenite,
Calcium Iodate,
Salt,
Caramel,
Potassium Chloride,
Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae),
Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product,
Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product,
Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product

 

[voidecho]

Six cups a day seems like a reasonable amount. That's what I was feeding my EM boy at eight months. At nine we bumped it up to 7 a day based on the feeding guidelines of the Orijen Large Breed Puppy Food. We were feeding Six Fish, but the guidelines were confusing so I used the guidelines on the Puppy Food which were more straight forward.

As for the food, seems like a lot of people use Blue Buffalo with good results. The only negative I've heard about it, is that I think it's a Diamond food and some people avoid Diamond foods in general because they've had quite a few recalls.

 

[jreach72]

Here is an image...not the best but it will give you the idea of what I am seeing.

 

[jreach72]

Do you happen to remember how much your dog weighed at 9 months?

 

[Tailcreek]

You might want to consider having a skin scraping done for evaluation and possibly having her thyroid checked. I always use Jean Dodds for any thyriod testing. Your vet can send the blood sample to her clinic and she send the report to you and your vet. Here is her website: http://hemopet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24&Itemid=39

Jennifer
The Natural Carnivore - Home
www.tailcreekmastiffs.com

 

[Rugers-Kris]

I have never dealt with this sort of thing so I don't have any advice but maybe others will pop up and offer something. Ruger has been eating Blue Wilderness Adult Duck Formula since he was 9 weeks old and has never had issue with it. Personally, if she is still hungry, I would give just a little more and see if that appeases her. That is just my opinion, though. Ruger was 132 pounds at 8 months but he is on the large end of the EM and a male. There are several people on here with Female EM's maybe they can tell you what thier girls weighed at that age. If she doesn't look too skinny, I wouldn't worry too much but maybe she just needs a little more. The feeding guidleine on the bags of food is generic so it may be just a bit different depending on the dog.

 

[DennasMom]

I'd have a vet check it out if you think it looks 'wrong'. It could be mange or some other bug, but since he's otherwise healthy, he might not be having a bad reaction to it like some dogs do. As for food... if she's eating everything you give her and still underweight... why not feed an extra 1/2 or 1 cup a day? The guidelines on the bag are just guidelines. If she's got a high metabolism, she might need more than 'average'.

 

[Robtouw]

Is he on a topical preventative for heartworms/fleas? Demodex is a mite that all dogs carry, my boy had an overabundance of it when he was about 5-6 months old. We applied revolution twice monthly for a couple of months and it took care of the issue. He has the same kind of patches that you show on both sides, a few along his side infront of his hip area and a thin patch on the top of his head all from scratching. We did a skin scraping but it did not show the mites, the vet said it was not always helpful. We at first went through food changes and tried benedryl for allergies, nothing seemed to work until we applied the ivermection based topical.

 

[jreach72]

She was diagnosed yesterday with demodex

Poor thing. Vet blamed parents, breeder for bad genetics.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

[jreach72]

She will start Ivermectic oral injections on the 24th as the flea, heartworm we have her on now reacts poorly. She is on antibiotics and medicinal baths weekly now.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

[Robtouw]

I was going to say demodex! We went through a similar process but I did not use the injectables, instead I treated with revolution twice a month for three months and it cleared right up! We had similar hair loss on the spot you showed in the pic, along the rear flank and on top of the head. Demodex is found on every dog, but can become overpopulated and is often transmitted from the parent, but it is not always due to poor genetics.

 

[jreach72]

Yeah, my wife was miffed that she blamed the breeder although in all fairness it was a bit of a backyard operation....if I hadn't seen the puppy I would not have gotten the dog, but when I saw the pup there was no way I could leave her there...and if I would have had the cash on me I would have bought her sister to.

Well hindsight is 20/20 and considering we had 0 problems with our last dog until the end of course, I guess I am due. Between our rescue lab/mix and this one we are going to go poor, but at least we have some cute dogs!

 

[kacopley]

We have had the same issue with our 4 1/2 month old EM. Scrapings tested positive for Demodex. Dr. gave us a dip to do every other week for eight weeks. I'm going to call in the morning for information on the Revolution. Thank you all. This sounds to be an easier solution than two months worth of dips.

 

[KenBusse]

My 5 mo EM was just diagnosed with demodex found on her right hip and top of head same patchy spots ! I give one demodex injection once a week for 8 weeks... I would rather the salve

 

[Robtouw]

Even the most well bred pup from a reputable breeder can have an overabundance of demodex. Genetics is a part, diet and environment too, but some times nature just adds to the mix and causes trouble. Don't be so quick to blame a breeder both independent or professional, some things they cannot control.