|
|
Post by weimaranerwhimzy on May 30, 2007 4:30:28 GMT 1
some of you will know of this post..i was on a walk this weekend, i met up with a couple i had met about 6 mnths ago. they have a male grey..and a female blue who is 11 yrs old. she now looks like a dalmation!!!!! her face front legs and honches have blotched up white as rice. not a grey fade like age brings on but realy she looks like a dalmation  . i asked them if she had vitiligo, the vet tels them it is age grey... has any one her bouts heard of this in weims?? is it a thing in blue weims?? rita |
|
|
|
Post by marjolein on May 30, 2007 7:32:55 GMT 1
I'm sure this can happen to any dog (vitiligo that is) so why not in Weims.... Doesn't sound like old age to me.
Have never seen vitiligo btw. Doesn't occur often.
|
|
|
|
Post by weimaranerwhimzy on May 30, 2007 13:32:57 GMT 1
it is most comon in rotts...i tried to look it up on the net but seems to be very little on the subject...
|
|
|
|
Post by Cheryl on May 30, 2007 21:35:50 GMT 1
I was told the Icelandic I had for 12 years was a mouse dun and he'd turn white with age...as he was a rescue and I didn't expect him to live one month after being severely starved and beaten, I was lucky to have 12 years with him, but didn't get to see him change to white. (Over the rainbow now)
Did you get a picture? I keep carrying my cell phone to get pictures and then forget to snap them;(
|
|
|
|
Post by weimaranerwhimzy on May 31, 2007 2:43:22 GMT 1
nope i was on a plesure walk not photo walk that night
|
|
|
|
Post by veerle on Jun 4, 2007 22:35:01 GMT 1
I have seen it by one of my puppies.
When she was about 1 year the pigment on the nose started to faid away at one side. It was winter, so the vet thought it could be a 'winternose'. We waited to see if the color came back in spring-summer.
But after some time, little white hairs became visible on her cheek.
Now she is 2 years old and almost has a half grey/ half white head.
I will post a picture soon (I'll ask her owners to send me a clear picture)
|
|
|
|
Post by veerle on Jun 12, 2007 22:33:06 GMT 1
i15.tinypic.com/5zeje6s.jpgHere the picture off the head. You can see the white hairs. I had never seen it before... (modified by admin because the picture was a bit big)
|
|
|
|
Post by veerle on Jun 12, 2007 22:38:23 GMT 1
A smaller picture:  You can see pigmentation loss under the nose, and at the eye. |
|
|
|
Post by weima on Jun 13, 2007 8:59:02 GMT 1
I have seen it in the UK. It was when I was on holiday in Windsor & I was walking my dogs in Windsor Great park & we met a lady with a Weimaraner bitch like that. The bitch was quite happy & healthy & the lady had spoken to my vet about it in Leeds to see what she thought. It is a small world  During the conversation, I found out where the bitch came from & the lady had paid £2000 for her She was bought as an older puppy & apparantly the breeder was going to keep her but this lady fell in love so she paid the money  |
|
|
|
Post by Rachel on Jun 13, 2007 12:38:02 GMT 1
I have never seen this before, that is so interesting. It was great to see a photo as I did not really understand what you meant. So how does this happen ? Wow £2000! for a Weimaraner. Rachel |
|
|
|
Post by weima on Jun 13, 2007 12:41:04 GMT 1
|
|
|
|
Post by daniela on Jun 13, 2007 19:14:39 GMT 1
I have seen two similar cases, funnily enough, both within the last year.
One was my friend's dog, a different condition, think it was diagnosed as lupus erythematosus. This bitch didn't have any pigment across her nose. I also seem to recall that she was sensitive to light.
The other I saw, was very similar to the above. I thought he had scraped his nose but on closer inspection, he had no pigment around his flews either and according to the owner, he had it from birth. He was very content and happy and I don't think the owner ever got a diagnosis.
I may have some pictures of the dog, which I can dig out. It was different to the ones posted here but a certain loss of pigment around the nose and flews.
|
|
sian
Junior
what shall we play next?
Posts: 214
|
Post by sian on Jun 14, 2007 6:46:19 GMT 1
I agree Rachel - great to see a photo of a dog with this condition.... It's hard to imagine it "theoretically".
A silly question, but is there a risk of the skin burning where the hair has turned white? I'm thinking along the lines of the extra care you have to take with white cats, etc?
|
|
|
|
Post by christina on Jun 14, 2007 22:20:11 GMT 1
There might be other causes, but vitiligo is usually linked to endocrine diseases - mostly Hypothyroidism and other autoimmune diseases. A dog with vitiligo should be checked with a full thyroid panel. You might see clinical signs and symptoms of thyroid problem many months, sometimes even years, before a test will show up positive for HypoT. The thyroid glands would have to be about 75% destroyed before the figures fall into the red....it is worth remembering that, as most vets give the 'all clear' only too readily. Best wishes, Christina www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070411-14173600-bc-us-vitiligo.xmlGene implicated in autoimmune diseases DENVER, April 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found a connection between a gene and an inflammatory skin condition called vitiligo, as well as in other autoimmune diseases. Dr. Richard Spritz, director of the Human Medical Genetics Program at the University of Colorado-Denver, said the search for the genetic origin of vitiligo began more than 10 years ago. Vitiligo is a chronic condition in which white patches appear on the skin in different parts of the body and hair growing on those areas sometimes turns white. "In the beginning we were looking for multiple family members with vitiligo," said Spritz, who said questionnaires were sent to members of the British Vitiligo Society asking whether other family members were affected and also inquiring about other autoimmune diseases. Researchers learned vitiligo was highly associated with a number of other autoimmune diseases, including thyroid disease, pernicious anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus, Addison's disease, and adult-onset autoimmune diabetes. That finding led to the discovery of a gene, NALP1, that was found key to predisposing people to vitiligo and other autoimmune diseases, particularly autoimmune thyroid disease. The study was detailed in the March 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. |
|
|
|
Post by daniela on Jun 14, 2007 22:51:09 GMT 1
Not the best pictures in the world but here are a couple of pictures of the dog I mentioned. This is the one who I thought had scraped his nose but he was born with it. Not sure what the condition is, as it wasn't diagnosed. However, he was very content and it didn't appear to cause him any problems.   |
|
|
|
Post by weimaranerwhimzy on Jun 15, 2007 4:17:04 GMT 1
veerle..this is just what elli looks like her face and her front legs chest and bum....two of thses links i have seen...they were not as spacific as i had hoped..
christina thank you for you info on the thiroid this is what i had hoped to learn more about...
rita
|
|
|
|
Post by Muriel on Jun 15, 2007 8:20:04 GMT 1
Rita, if thyroid is suspected, the regular tests are basically rubbish, the best place to have the test sent to is Dr Jean Dodds, her tests are much more accurate. Google her, she's in USA
|
|
|
|
Post by christina on Jun 15, 2007 12:42:56 GMT 1
Hi Rita, Muriel is right - anything less than a full thyroid panel would not give you a reliable result - whatever your vet may tell you. The best option - if you wanted to test your dog's thyroid function - would be to send blood off to Dr. Jean Dodds. Please click on the following two websites, and, if required, print them out for your vet. It contains everything he or she needs to do to send off blood samples to Hemopet for a full thyroid panel. It's up to you, but I would recommend to go for a "profile 7200", as it is excellent value for money, and it also helps to get a clearer picture of what might be wrong with your dog. www.itsfortheanimals.com/Adobe/3-07UpdatedTestRequestForm.pdfwww.itsfortheanimals.com/Adobe/instructionsForTesting%203--07.pdfTo read up about Hypothyroidism in general, the following website would be a good start and it gives you an overview on the over 50 clinical symptoms for Hypothyroidism. www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ThyroidDisease.htmIf you have any questions that you feel I might be able to answer, please just ask. I am part of a team that run a support group for owners of dogs with autoimmune conditions, and I'd be happy to help. Best wishes, Christina |
|
|
|
Post by veerle on Jun 16, 2007 22:12:00 GMT 1
I must say that the dog in my picture is/seems to be in perfect health.
She now has the white hairs for more than a year, it doesn't seem to get wurs or spread over the whole body. (just the head). Brothers, sisters and other relatives don't have any symptomes.
The only 'problem' her owners have, is that people ask questions and think she has an infectius skin disease or something, or think she is a cross-breed .They always have to explain what she has...
Perhaps it is better to contact a specialist... This isn't done yet because the (Belgian) vet didn't see any further abnormallitys...
|
|
|
|
Post by christina on Jun 17, 2007 11:51:56 GMT 1
Hello Veerle,
When a dog has vitiligo, it does not automatically follow that he/she must be physically ill and/or develop Hypothyroidism. I was just saying that vitiligo is usually linked to endocrine conditions (not just Hypothyroidism) and it would be worth to keep an eye especially on the thyroid function - by which I mean it would be a good idea to include a thyroid panel in the yearly check-up and to be vigilant . Millions of people and dogs all over the world are hypothyroid and are not aware of it. I am hypothyroid myself, and I only found out recently... For years I had contributed my little ailments to menopause and just 'getting older'. It is worth remembering that the thyroid glands are not failing from one day to the next. It is a slow decline, often over a few years with widely varying symptoms and only when about two thirds of the thyroid gland is destroyed, will a thyroid test show up positive. It takes a very clued up vet to spot the early warning signs. Many vets and lab pathologists give the 'all clear' as long as the thyroid parameters are within the norm ... often even without performing a full thyroid panel - and there is no way on earth that Hypothyroidism can be reliably ruled out by just looking at a couple of parameters... as most vets do.
If this dog shows no sign of being ill, then in my view it would not be necessary to rush off to see a specialist - but it would be advisable to keep a close eye on the dog and to spot any early warning signs. I would certainly include a yearly full thyroid panel to see how the thyroid glands are performing and to watch for any downward trend.
Clinical symptoms for malfunctioning thyroids do not just include weight problems and a bad coat... many dogs are slim, agile and their coats are fine. One of the early signs can be that a dog seeks the warmth, has intermittent limping, cruciate ligament, a slow heartbeat, occasional vomiting or diarrhoea, allergies, eye trouble, seizures, "tragic" expression, sudden aggression, fearfulness, symmetrical hair loss.... the list is very long and varied.
Best wishes,
Christina
|
|
...to this
