Cracking nose corners and redness near eye

Hi,

Has anyone experienced where their dogs nose gets all dry and cracking at the corners, this happens and then little pieces peel off. It gets better and then cycles back around to cracking (this has been happening for about 6 months).

Now his left eye has the fur gone around the bottom of the eye and appears to be bothering him. The vet stated it was something but that it wasn't bad enough to treat yet using steroids. Anyone seen this and solved it naturally...




Thanks

Have you been to the vet? I note your dog is a sled dog breed and they are subject to zinc responsive dermatitis.

Did you discuss this possibility?

Thanks for the response. One vet did mention that, but didn't suggest any treatment because they weren't sure, the second vet thought it was a mucus gland disorder.

Based on what I've read online about zinc responsive dermatitis, I've started giving him a chewable multivitamin.

If they are not sure what it is, I'd have thought they would take some samples, swabs or whatever to try to find out? If it were my dog I couldn't agree it 'wasn't bad enough to treat' - I am just wondering how bad it would have to get for them to consider it WAS bad enough to require some treatment?

Very interesting what SB said about the Zinc Deficiency in sled dogs. I'd never heard about it and am just looking it up.
Obviously you have to find out what is causing this but, I was just wondering (and maybe SB knows) whether it would be harmful to give a Zinc supplement anyway?

From what I've read, too much of Zinc can be toxic to dogs.

Yep! Reading about that now too! Getting my education on Dogsey instead of knuckling down to do some work!

I do hope they find out what is causing this. I'd be very distressed about it if my dog looked like that.