Shedding & Dandruff

[mysweetkaos]

So over the last two weeks, Kaos has been blowing coat, something horrible!! I am brushing him 2-3 times a week and able to get 1-2 grocery bags of hair off each time. Such a weird time....as it is finally starting to cool off around here. Also he is having dandruff...
Both of these problems are new. He has not changed food, he is on Castor and Pollux weight management. He gets fish oil daily. What could be causing this problem??

[onyx'girl]

Have you had lab tests run/thyroid? You can up the fish oil to 4000mg or switch to coconut or hemp oil. Dont forget to add vitamin E every few days. If your house is dry, add a humidifier.

[mysweetkaos]

He had bloodwork run a couple of months ago to check functions after a mysterious nose bleed. The numbers were all good. I will try upping the fish oil....I did run out of Vit E but that was just last week, so it hasn't lapsed yet. House doesn't seem overly dry....but we will be getting the humidifiers out soon as we always do in winter. Thank you for all your suggestions.

Edited....not sure if they checked thyroid. I will look up the numbers and post them here.

Edited again....here's his numbers we got from the vet as of September.

Total protein 6.8 (5.8-7.4)
Albumin 3.5 (2.7-4.4)
Globulin 3.3 (1.6-3.6)
A/G ratio 1.1 (.8-2.0)
AST (SGOT) 20 (15-66)
ALT (SGPT) 17 (12-118)
ALK PHOS 10 (5-131)
GGT 1 (1-12)
T. Bilirubin .1 (.1-.3)
BUN 19 (6-31)
Creatinine 1.0 (.5-1.6)
Bun/Cre ratio 19 (4-27)
Phosphorus 5.1 (2.5-6.0)
Glucose 77 (70-139)
Calcium 10.5 (8.8-11.4)
Magnesium 1.8 (1.5-2.5)
Sodium 145 (139-154)
Potassium 5.4 (3.6-5.5)
NA/K ratio 27 (27-38)
Chloride 112 (102-120)
Cholesterol 307 (92-324)
Triglyceride 86 (29-291)
Amylase 468 (290-1125)
Lipase 459 (77-695)
CPK 82 (59-895)

[WVGSD]

I give Max 25 mg. of zinc (caplet) with each meal. He had horrible dandruff, worse when shedding, and giving him the zinc stopped it all. His coat is now glossy and he no longer has more than a few flakes after a good brushing with a slicker brush.

[mysweetkaos]

Originally Posted by WVGSD

I give Max 25 mg. of zinc (caplet) with each meal. He had horrible dandruff, worse when shedding, and giving him the zinc stopped it all. His coat is now glossy and he no longer has more than a few flakes after a good brushing with a slicker brush.

Thank you I'll look into that.

[LisaT]

Originally Posted by mysweetkaos

He had bloodwork run a couple of months ago to check functions after a mysterious nose bleed. The numbers were all good. ....

The numbers above, they don't have any blood counts, which is what you want to look for when there is a nosebleed. You want to see the values for things like the platelets, RBC's, WBC's, monocytes, neutrophils, etc.

The values are above are what are what are called chemistry values, and you want cbc values (complete blood count).

Looking at the cholesterol, getting at the high end, would be good to check the thyroid (T4) if it wasn't done. Cholesterol often, but not always, raises in thyroid issues. He's a senior, am I remembering correctly? In a senior, the T4 for the thryoid is often sufficient.

[mysweetkaos]

Originally Posted by LisaT

The numbers above, they don't have any blood counts, which is what you want to look for when there is a nosebleed. You want to see the values for things like the platelets, RBC's, WBC's, monocytes, neutrophils, etc.

The values are above are what are what are called chemistry values, and you want cbc values (complete blood count).

Looking at the cholesterol, getting at the high end, would be good to check the thyroid (T4) if it wasn't done. Cholesterol often, but not always, raises in thyroid issues. He's a senior, am I remembering correctly? In a senior, the T4 for the thryoid is often sufficient.

They did not check the other #'s....not sure why. I did protest and he is due in January for more work. I will make sure they check it all at that point if not sooner. I have wondered about his thyroid.....as he's starting to gain weight Which is no good for his arthritis.

[LisaT]

Egads, nosebleed always warrants a check in blood counts

So you will want a panel that includes CBC and thyroid for sure. Those chemistry values above are good, the only ones that stood out were the cholesterol, and you want to watch the glucose so it's not too low, but so far it's fine.

Btw, my boy here is starting to blow his coat too....

[Stellae]

My boy Sprocket is doing the same. Shedding everywhere, and dandruff. I had assumed the dandruff was because the heat in our new apartment sucks all the moisture out of the air. Let me know if you figure anything out - maybe it's just the crazy St. Louis weather?