I read the first two sentences of your first post and immediately thought "Cushing's Disease". Hair loss in the pattern described is classic in Cushingoid dogs.
There are different types of Cushing's Disease in dogs. There is pituitary dependent hyperadrenocorticism, which is caused by a tiny little tumor on the pituitary gland, there is adrenal dependent hyperadrenocorticism which is caused by a tumor on an adrenal gland, and there is a third variety that sometimes presents after the dog has been taking high doses of steroids, called iatrogenic hyperadrenocorticism. Iatrogenic means that it was created or caused by human intervention. In the iatrogenic form, the disease reverses itself after the steroid use is discontinued, however dogs don't tolerate high doses of steroids all that well in most cases, and other problems can also arise from steroid use in dogs.
Your vet needs to do a battery of tests and consider ALL of your dog's symptoms, however, before giving a diagnosis of Cushing's Disease. It's not good for them to diagnose this disease based on lab results alone. Other symptoms include polydipsia (increased drinking), polyuria (increased urination), a ravenous appetite (uncontrollable, really, to the point where the dog steals food from the trash and even become protective over food), and a pot-bellied appearance due to a wasting and thinning of the muscles in the abdomen and a movement of fat to that area, thinning of the skin and hair loss.
Your vet should do a urine cortisol to creatinine ratio test. If this test comes back abnormal, they should then do a low dose dexamethasone suppression test. If you give a Cushingoid dog low doses of dexamethasone, when you test the blood 8 hours later, most affected dogs will not show no decrease in blood cortisol levels.
An abdominal ultrasound will help to determine the size and shape of the adrenal glands. An abnormally large or oddly shaped adrenal gland can indicate a tumor.
As far as treatment goes, if the problem is with an adrenal gland, it CAN be successfully removed via surgery. Since most cases of canine Cushing's Disease are of the pituitary variety, however, surgery is not an option and medication is used. Lysodren is commonly used to treat Cushingoid dogs, however Lysodren treatment is not without its drawbacks. If the dog doesn't become sick from the Lysodren, it will need lifelong Lysodren treatment. There's another drug called Trilostane that is also used. It costs more then Lysodren but it can be used as an alternative to surgery against the adrenal variety of Cushing's.
That is as much as I know about Cushing's Disease in dogs. It USUALLY doesn't occur until the dog is 5 or 6 years old, however, like everything else, it CAN affect younger individuals from time to time. Please keep us posted and let us know how things go with your Boxer.
Ghilly
That would be hard to do, Karla, esp since she has (I think) had the dog for 3 years and probably had no contract. She would most likely have to file a Small Claims case and, if I remember correctly,she would have to contact the breeder, in writing (by registered mail?) requesting a refund, etc. If the person refused or didn't respond, then she would file a claim and take her to court. Truthfully, after this amount of time, I really doubt she would have any recourse as there was no contract, and she and/or the judge could just say that an animal's health couldn't be guaranteed forever and what proof do they have that this is genetic? And, there would be the time and cost involved.
These are some of the reasons some people don't follow through on law suits and, add to that, they have probably become attached to the animal and don't want to relinquish it back to the breeder.
Hey, that's how these idiots stay in business. :-(
The best we can do is keep trying to educate so people make informed decisions.
Makes me mad just looking at the pet classified section in the paper every day.
Margot has some excellent advice.....I would add: If the butterfly pattern is identical on both sides of your dog, he DOES need to be checked for Cushings Disease....
Also, I'm not sure how you would go about this: You need to file a complaint against the breeder...You've said enough to know that this breeder is not qualified to breed...He/she is not only neglectful of her stock, but also destroying the lives of her puppies new owners because of the pain & financial hardship she is creating buy selling sick dogs! Not to mention the suffering of the puppies along with it!
Do a google search on how to go about a complaint.....IMO,This breeder needs to be arrested for neglect & abuse, ASAP...... Karla
Well, it sounds like that breeder certainly should not be breeding and selling dogs, that's for sure~!!! I am very suspicious of an inherited immune problem. Dermatomyocitis comes to mind but symptoms don't all seem to be there. I suggest you go to the National Boxer Club of America home page and look up some of the posted health issues (I haven't checked, don't have time right now). There may also be a forum where you can ask questions.
In the mean time, if you can, why don't you try feeding a fish based food like Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato maybe and adding some Omega 3 supplements. Blue Buffalo is a good food. There are many good foods out there. I would try to stay away from food with corn or wheat in it. Skin issues are very hard to nail down sometimes. If it's allergy issues, you have to do an elimination diet and be very vigilant about what you feed and keep a diary.
Any chance you have a Vet dermatologist or Vet school/university near you that you can possibly go to for a consult?
Wish I could be of more help.
Hi
My boxer Clyde had alway had this problem, but it would always go away. One vet told me it was allergies and was given medication. This time was the worst it never went away. If you looked at it, it resembled a very large butterfly on his back. The whole area was completely bald. That's when we took him to another vet and he was really baffeled. He never took blood work just ordered a biopsy, and it came back with results of a skin condition with no explanation. Now he wants to do blood work to make sure it's not (Cushing Disease). I'm spending money which I don't really have for him to THINK what he has. My boxer is 80 lbs healthy, great shape etc. Except for a giant bald back with scars on it now. The litter before mine the puppies were not in good health . One was sold but had kidney problems and had to be put down. The female had ovary problems, very thin you could see her rib cage,and weighs 35 lbs and is 5 yrs old.I believe this litter was the same, but the breeder never said anything to us.I'm sorry for bothering you, but I'm so confused, and don't want to lose my dog.have a great day , and thank you for your advise and listening to me.
Marsha (Redrose1952)
Hi
Ive been sending replies back, and I hope everyone is getting my messages. When I go back to view it I don't see my reply I sent you. Please if you didn't get it I will write you again. Thank you for the info, and I will definatly look up what you told me to. I do believe it was the breeder, because there were other problems with the other puppies.
Oh boy, skin issues. These can be one of the most difficult things to try and figure out. Boxers can be prone to some skin conditions that can be hereditary. Did you get your dog from a breeder? A reputable breeder? If so, and they are honest and doing things right, you should give the breeder a call and see if (s)he has had any problems in that line of dogs. Did either sire or dam of that litter have any problems? Does (s)he know if any litter mates have had problems? Look up Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's disease) and read up on it. There are other tests that can be done to help diagnose this.
I'm just leaning toward a hereditary factor possibly going on.
Wow...I'm sorry about his diagnoses...I can't even find enough information about it to offer any kind of opinion, I'm sorry to say....
Is this considered an Auto-immune disease or do you know?
If so, IMO Autoimmune diseases begin with Vaccinations....Have you given any thought as to when this occurs? Does it happen to be/or get worse, when he has his annuals? I'm wondering....Think about that.....
A fresh food diet with NO chemical preservatives would be my starting point.....Then proceed with caution pertaining to Vaccines... Please, let us know what you find out...It may help others dealing with the same thing.....However, this sure sounds rare! I'm surprised that it was diagnosed correctly....I'm usually not that fortunate! :(
Take care, Karla
Try this link. You may get a good helpful answer from one of our vets:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Animal-Health---General/show/112