Possible mange but vet thinks I’m crazy?

[Jmonayyy]

So this is a long story that I’m hoping that I can condense. It started about a year and a half ago when my whippet was attacked at a dog park. He had some really intense surgery done, and by the grace of God, he is alive and able to walk...the reason I mention this is because prior to his surgery and staying at the vet hospital while recovering, he was a completely healthy pup with a healthy coat. On one of his post-op visits, I asked the vet about a scab I saw on his back. She said it was no big deal, picked the scab off, and said it was a bug bite. Well, it’s been about a year and a half now since then and the hair from that “bug bite” never grew back and he now has a bald patch on his back. Not only that, but the hair is thinning in many parts of his body, if not gone altogether. His hind quarters, his belly, by his ears, little spot on his tail, around his eyes, and the elbows on his front paws. My mind keeps going to mange, but he’s not terribly itchy or scaly (although he does have dandruff, but it’s winter where I am and very dry), and his appetite and energy are good as well, but he has been licking/biting his feet a lot. I brought him in for a second opinion at a different vet and he said the dog is healthy but was prescribed a topical ointment that didn’t do anything and just cost me a lot of money. I’ve changed his food, added coconut oil and egg, bought special shampoo. Nothing has helped, I’m about to start cooking meals for him to see if it’s some kind of allergy, but my mind keeps thinking it’s mange-even though he’s not showing the red, itchy, scaly symptom. do you have any ideas of what it could be aside from mange/ recommendations for at home treatment of mange?

[sue_rescue]

So sorry to hear about your pup, I hope you can find an answer! May I ask, what was the situation surrounding his getting attacked at the dog park? We take our Whippet to the local dog park and need to know if it's too dangerous.

[Popsicle]

Hi
I'm so sorry your poor little Whippet has been through some troubles.
If it's any consolation our little whippet is quite patchy in the fur department and any trauma at all does scar, even under her front legs where her harness is rubbing on her skin it is really quite bald. Weirdly her tail a strange flaky bald patch which disappeared in the warm weather. It took me a while to realise it was her waggy tail rubbing against her coat!

[MarciaInNM]

I have heard of a few whippets getting a localized non-itchy 'puppy mange', before their immune systems mature.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/ ... ic-in-dogs

Maybe a consult with some sort of dog dermatologist, or at least a second opinion with a reputable vet is in order?

[PAWhippets]

As far as dog parks - you will probably find other threads here if you search, and various opinions. We tried them and decided no more, unless we can find one that's empty. There were too many aggressive, poorly-supervised dogs ("he's really friendly!" NOT!), the speed of Whippets seems to trigger a chase and nip response in many dogs that can result in huge skin tears (and vet bills), there is often a lot of poop left lying around which is not only disgusting but possibly transmitting parasites, just so many reasons. It's much better to have planned play dates with dogs belonging to people you know, and that you know are safe. JMO.

Lois

[OregonLuca]

So I am by no means any expert on this. Could it be allergies? Our girl recently was itching like crazy and licking/biting her feet. We did Nutriscan testing and found 15 food sensitivities. She is now on a limited ingredient raw diet with digestive enzymes and probiotics and doing much better. We did have her get one Cytopoint injection to quell the itching, which worked. The Cytopoint is supposed to last at most 8 weeks, but it has been almost 12, and she is not itching so we're hopeful that we were right about the cause. Might allergy testing be of use? Or definitely the diet change.
I agree with Marcia and Lois--Yes to 2nd opinion, No to dog parks!

[JudeBl]

I know NOTHING but our friend's dog suffers from similar and it's because he has an allergy to cat kibble...he keeps sneaking it apparently