Could all my dog's health issues be related?

JMY918 · 10-11-2007, 08:26 PM

I have a 1.5 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

He has a whole list of health issues that our vet cannot seem to figure out, including:

Chronic diarrhea
Frequent gas
Appetite loss
Hair loss under arms and on stomach
Itchy skin
Eye discharge in eyes every morning

He has taken anti-diarrheal meds which help only as long as he takes them, and has been on allergy food (Nature's Recipe Potato & Duck) for about 3 months now.

Has anyone heard of a condition that connects all these? I have a feeling they could all be connected.

Am currently looking for specialists to help get to the bottom of this.

briteday · 10-11-2007, 08:48 PM

I would consider an adrenal or thyroid issue. The hair loss is a tip off to those.

Our vet ran blood work right away when she noticed the bare belly and chest on a shelter dog we adopted. So far everything is in the normal range but she doesn't have any symptoms either, other than the hair loss/or was it never there to begin with??.

True hair loss, when you have known the hair to be there before, is a giant red flag.

Anela · 10-12-2007, 12:03 PM

Thyroid comes to mind.

Your situation is why I always quiz the vet about meds and their timing. I want to know within a certain time period how long it will be before I see improvement.

My experience has been if vet does not want to tell you, or if meds are being switched more than once, vet does not know what is going on.

I also take my dogs to a "qualified" veterinary dermatologist for all skin issues. This type of practice is completely different from that of a regular veterinary.

Has this and diarrhea been going on for 3 months? If so, your vet does not know what is going on. When you switch to a hypo-allergic food, it usually takes about 6 weeks for it to be effective. Usually you see positive results sooner depending on the situation.

You might try a veterinary referral service in your area for new contacts and research specific ailments like hair loss etc. on the internet to educate yourself.

Good luck!

Anela

lovemygreys · 10-12-2007, 01:26 PM

They could all be related. I'd look at allergies and thyroid first. Just a note, thyroid tests need to be sent to an external lab for accurate diagnosis (Michigan State).