[Cheetah]

Just a week ago, I was sitting at work with Eevee, playing with her ears, because she likes that, and I noticed some clumps of fur come off the tips of her ears, with dead skin attached. I was like "WTF?" I felt around and the tips of her ears felt thickened. I took her home and ran a brush over her ears, and a LOT of clumps of fur came off.

Over the past week, she's lost enough fur that I can see a few small bare spots on the tips of both ears. There aren't any sores or anything, but I notice she tries to turn her head now when I mess with her ears, which is unlike her. I'm freaking out about this whole thing, because she's never had hair loss of any kind in her entire life! I've obviously quit taking her to work for now, and Shippo is showing no signs of hair loss.

We've got a vet appointment tomorrow so hopefully we can figure out what's going on. Until then, I guess I'm just needing some encouraging words. Eevee is my heart dog, and she's always been incredibly healthy, so I guess I'm a bit scared. I talked to a few people and have been told a number of things, like it could just be a normal shedding thing (although in my many years of having Eevee I've never noticed this during her shedding), allergies, something fungal, irritation from touching something, and even mange (Scary)!

Good vibes needed please! I'll keep everyone updated.

 

[Pepper]

Awww poor Eevee!! I'm sure the vet will figure out what's up and Eevee's hair will be as good as new!!

 

[cshellenberger]

Keep us posted on what it is, I'll be thinking of her!

 

[rosemaryninja]

Poor pretty Eevee I hope you get some answers from the vet, and that it's nothing too terrible.

 

[4lilmunchkins]

Sorry to hear about Eevee! Hope the vet is able to figure out what is going on for you...

 

[Thracian]

Good thoughts coming your way . . .

 

[Cheetah]

Ok, well the vet plucked some of Eevee's ear fur off and looked at the hair and skin under the microscope, and he said there are no mites, so it's not mange (whew!). He also created a culture for a fungal test - he says it will test for ringworm, and the results won't show up for at least a week, so he'll call me with the results. He says another thing it could be is some hormonal change that happens to some dogs, and if it is, there's no treatment for it, it will get worse, but then it WILL clear up on its own, but it could take weeks to months. I forget what it's called as it had a very complicated name so I'll have to look it up.

I also mentioned that she goes to work with me and that she's exposed to cleaning chemicals there because the people from the other camp have got us all screwed up, and he says that if she doesn't have ringworm or this other thing, then that could be a possible cause, so he wants me to look up our chemicals online and send him the ingredients.

He says that it won't hurt anything to wash her ears more often than the rest of her right now and rinse, rinse, rinse.

So that's all for now until we get the results back from that one test... *sigh* He says she looks really healthy otherwise and that he loves how slim and fit I'm keeping her. *gleam*

 

[rosemaryninja]

It's good to hear it isn't mange, and I hope Eevee feels better soon. Your vet sounds like a good one. Is it just hair loss, or is she itching/in pain?

 

[Cheetah]

For the most part it's just hair loss but I notice she kinda turns her head away when I try and mess with her ears now because she thinks I'm going to pluck her fur out. So there's a little irritation I think.

 

[jsawvel]

It could be a skin problem and skin problems are usually related to digestive problems.

If your dog has an unhealthy gut, small food particles will make their way into the blod and settle out into various parts of the body, including the joints.

The immune system will then attack these foreign particles are create skin conditions and arthritus over time.

You should consider changing your dogs diet off a grain based food if that is what you have been feeding.

You might consider a raw meat diet which I have heard good things about.

 

[Cheetah]

It's not Eevee's diet. Period. If you knew me, you'd know that I am a dog food buff and that I obsess daily over my dogs' diet. You'd also know that I avoid things such as corn (because Eevee is allergic and I know this).

This is the first time in her ENTIRE LIFE that she's had ANY problem with her health.

And what's with the sig ads? Those aren't allowed. Are you for real?

 

[cshellenberger]

LOL, nice job in the siggy ad Cheetah!

 

[Cheetah]

Actually, somebody got to it before I could lmfao. Less work for me right? >^^;<

 

[cshellenberger]

Ahhh, it was probably Curb or Ron then, they both have that twisted sense of humor LOL.

 

[pawcurious]

Is it just the *tips* of her ears? I've seen a number of dogs with something similar that had a vasculitis that only affected the pinnae. Most of the time we never figured out what the underlying problem was but they resolved on their own or with a little antibiotics.

 

[MissMutt]

Cheetah, very interesting that you post this because Marge has something similar right now. I waited about a week to see if it'd clear up, but it's still happening. It's only on the very very tips of her ears, the hair is coming out with something attached to it that looks like dead skin (flaky stuff) I think I'm going to call the vet tomorrow.

 

[rosborn]

not sure .... never had that happen and i have had dogs/cats since i was 2 ~ maybe neighbors spraying lawn chemicals?

 

[MissMutt]

Well, I called my vet and the Tech said to give it a couple of more weeks, while adding Omega-3 to her diet and cleaning the area with Nolvasan.

I don't want to wait too long, so I'll do that over the course of this week and see whether it improves/worsens.

Cheetah, let us know when Eevee's test results come back. I'm thinking of you!

 

[Cheetah]

Ugh. I'm STILL waiting on the results. If it's fungal at least I can treat it and then it will go away. I don't think it's lawn chemicals because nobody gives a crap about their lawn in this place.

It's more likely a reaction to the over-use of cleaning chemicals at work than a reaction to lawn chemicals. The vet did say that one of the chemicals we use CAN cause a reaction if it's not rinsed properly after cleaning. Well, we don't have drains at work, so it's a big possibility. Nobody rinses ANYTHING! Maybe if that's what it is I can get HIM to tell my boss what I've been trying to tell her for MONTHS - that those chemicals NEED to be rinsed.

 

[3212]

Ugh. I'm STILL waiting on the results. If it's fungal at least I can treat it and then it will go away. I don't think it's lawn chemicals because nobody gives a crap about their lawn in this place.

Yeah we do fungal cultures at work. They can take a week to 10 days so it sucks having to make people wait that long to know what is wrong!! It would be good if it was fungal though...definitely an easier fix than a lot of other problems.