Siberian Husky Coat Problems

[rainbow]

I posted a thread a while ago about Logan's fur and how the guard hairs are turning a rust colour in places and he does not shed his undercoat fully.

He has all the symptoms of follicular dysplasia but the skin biopsies came back negative. He also had a full blood panel done, thyroid panel and urinalysis and I was told he is a very healthy three year old. I know I should be happy about that but there has to be a reason why his coat is like this.

Does anyone have any ideas?

[hazelrunpack]

Maybe he's got a dietary imbalance? But if it is, I don't have any suggestions as to what it might be... Not much help, rainbow!

But I hope it's just a temporary thing and is fur gets back to normal quickly...

Just a thought--we used to see rust color on our lab and on our blue setters when they licked excessively--it faded and discolored the hair and actually made it look coarse. Is Logan licking a lot lately?

[luckypenny]

I was thinking about you and Logan today, Rainbow. I managed to get off work while it was still daylight outside and sat on the deck while the dogs played in the yard when I noticed that the fur on Ava's tail and rump also turned a rust color . I called a friend with tonnes of different breed experience and she mentionned that it was most likely due to sun exposure. Since this is the first Spring/Summer we've had Ava, I wouldn't know if this color change in her coat is usual for her (must make mental note to get in touch with Canine14 to ask ). Although she sheds minimally, she hasn't shed her undercoat yet either (neither has Lucky for that matter ). When exactly did the color of Logan's coat begin to change? Does the idea of stronger sun exposure make sense to you?

[rainbow]

Nope....Logan has never been a licker. Sibes are known to have zinc deficiency problems although nothing showed on all his tests. We are going to try him on zinc supplements for a couple of weeks anyway to see if it helps.

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by luckypenny

I was thinking about you and Logan today, Rainbow. I managed to get off work while it was still daylight outside and sat on the deck while the dogs played in the yard when I noticed that the fur on Ava's tail and rump also turned a rust color . I called a friend with tonnes of different breed experience and she mentionned that it was most likely due to sun exposure. Since this is the first Spring/Summer we've had Ava, I wouldn't know if this color change in her coat is usual for her (must make mental note to get in touch with Canine14 to ask ). Although she sheds minimally, she hasn't shed her undercoat yet either (neither has Lucky for that matter ). When exactly did the color of Logan's coat begin to change? Does the idea of stronger sun exposure make sense to you?

Logan does spend alot of time outside.....he'd stay out all night if I let him. One of our previous huskies was black/white and he preferred outside as well but his coat never turned rust in places at all. Also, his coat was smooth and soft whereas Logan's is very harsh and the guard hairs seem to stand up and he has never shed properly.

[jiorji]

could it be just a sun issue?

[rainbow]

If it was a sun issue wouldn't the rust tinge go away in the winter?

[growler~GateKeeper]

I'm very glad the biopsies and blood/urine tests turn out all negative.

My Sibe girls (one a black/white/silver and the other a silver/black/white/cream) never had any coat colour or texture changes, they also loved to lay in the sun endlessly but always had proper coat blowings.

If I come up w/anything else I'll pass it along

[jiorji]

Originally Posted by rainbow

If it was a sun issue wouldn't the rust tinge go away in the winter?

hmm yeah probably

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by growler

I'm very glad the biopsies and blood/urine tests turn out all negative.

My Sibe girls (one a black/white/silver and the other a silver/black/white/cream) never had any coat colour or texture changes, they also loved to lay in the sun endlessly but always had proper coat blowings.

If I come up w/anything else I'll pass it along

Thanks Growler.

[rainbow]

I got the printed results of the biopsies from the specialist and this is what it said:

"Four of the biopsies are normal in all respects with no hairshaft pigmentation abnormaties recognized. The surface shows moderate orthokeratoic hyperkeratosis but no epidermal changes.

The fifth biopsy shows marked epidermal acanthosis, hyperplasia and hyperpigmentation. Mild perivascular mixed cellular nonsuppurative dermatitis. Adnexal units appear normal".

This is all gobbledy-gook to me. I will ask my vet to explain but thought maybe someone here could help as well?

[growler~GateKeeper]

Do you know what Logan's thyroid (T4, FT4, T3) levels were?

[growler~GateKeeper]

Sebaceous Adenitis - http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00094.htm

[growler~GateKeeper]

Non-Hormonal Alopecia - http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proce...0979&O=Generic

orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis is excess forming of outer/hard layer skin/nails/fur with non-nucleated cells present ~ basically there is a harder level of skin (lesion) that grows fast (because the cells have no nucleous therefore divide/replicate fast) on top but the actual surface (epidermal layer) of the skin is unaffected

So the first four are fine, just a mild amount of extra skin cells growing overtop of the skin

Acanthosis nigricans is a clinical sign, not a diagnosis, clinical signs (lesions, skin discolouration) are invariably a result of inflammation due to constant friction and the result of dermatitis

hyperplasia is an abnormal increase in the number of cells in an organ or tissue

hyperpigmentation is a black mottling of the skin, instead of being normal pink

perivascular meaning at or around a vessel (probably meaning the capillaries ~ tiny blood vessel branches at the ends near the surface of the skin)

nonsuppurative means not accompanied by pus

dermatitis being inflamation of the skin

Adnexal units meaning adjoining parts ~ in this case surrounding skin ~ (is not affected)

The fifth one sounds like there is some irritation/inflamation of the surface skin causing extra growth/lesions, discolouration without pus but contained within a bordered area and the surrounding tissues are fine ~ unlikely to spread

[Chris21711]

Well that was quite the explanation Growler, hopefully it will help Rainbow. I sure hope it does for Logan Rainbow, that it is something that will pass.

[rainbow]

Growler .....you should have been a vet.

I skimmed over the info on the websites you posted but will read them better when I have a bit more time. I'm thinking that any of those conditions should have been diagnosed with the skin biopsies though.

[hazelrunpack]

Originally Posted by rainbow

If it was a sun issue wouldn't the rust tinge go away in the winter?

Not necessarily--lick damage, either. It all depends on the timing of their next shed.

Interesting results...but it'll be interesting to hear the vet's take on how abnormal that is and the what the heck is causing it! With luck, it'll be easy to clear up!

[Frenchy]

Rainbow , I also don't understand your vet's mumbo jumbo but I'm hoping you'll get clear answers soon , and that it will be easy to treat.