Can anyone reassure me?

We have been having problems with Amy's coat and skin, basically she is itchy all the time and scratches constantly, all the obvious things have been ruled out, mange, flea bites etc. her breeder thinks it could be hormonal and we are hoping spaying may help, she is booked in for 1st May.

As a pup she had a very low immune system and this is worrying the hell out of me, would this affect her ability to cope with the anesthetic? I am so scared of losing her I have almost cancelled the appointment 4 times.

Any thoughts appreciated

Sorry no advice, except that I have a over active immune system, which basically means that before a op I have no anti biotics given to me, as my body will not cope with them.

This is just a thought now, have you checked with your vet and discussed this, it may well be that she will have a course of anti-biotics before hand...if it so warrants.

Has she been tested for food allergies? I would say she is probably a bit young to be having hormonal problems unless she has already had her first season.
Becky

Doh! That`s exactly what I was going to say. I`d also be looking at her environment - dogs can be sensitive to carpet cleaners, pollens, certain fibres - just as we can. I don`t personally see how her hormones could trigger a skin condition in an immature bitch - or how a decrease in testosterone would improve one TBH.
You could try the elimination diet. Just feed one food (chicken or fish for example) for a few days and observe the results, then add another. If her skin gets worse, remove the food you last tried and substitute another.

Just to add, what kind of coat has she coat? Horse or Brush?
Becky

Food would be my first choice and if that's already been ruled out then toxins.

Toxins from vaccines, toxins from flea/tick preventatives, toxins from meds - steroids often used for itching can actually suppress and make it come back twice as bad unfortunately!

I've had exactly the same with one of my girls and in the end it was only homeopathy and a raw diet that solved it, and she is now completely itch free.

All I can add here is the fact that Georgie now has an almost non existent immune system and that is what was causing his itching according to my vet. You could try to boost that homeopathically (the only way I think) and see how that itching goes? Don't know anything about aneasthetics with this condition but your vet will surely?! They must do

If you're going to get her speyed anyways, and this is the right time, then don't cancel coz the breeder could actually be right? Have you not spoken to the vet about all these worries, if not, I would, they're always open to panic stricken owners prior to ops, so give them a ring and I'm sure they'll put your mind at rest with everything.

I've just looked up for London, and dog owners seem to be recommending this guy, Nick Thompson, who comes to London monthly.

London (Hyde Park) - monthly:

Hyde Park Veterinary Centre
61 Connaught Street
London W2 2AE

Tel: 020 7723 0453
Email: raprentis@aol.com
http://www.holisticvet.co.uk/

HTH

Thanks for the replies guys, i will try and answer all your questions.

Amy is a brushcoat she is almost 9 months old and has had her first season (approx 3 months ago), we had always planned to have her spayed.

She is fed a raw diet. The only things ever added are, yoghurt, occasionally natural honey (was told this is good to boost immune system) garlic tablets and most recently evening primrose.

The reason the breeder thinks its hormonal is, the area's she has lost fur are symmetrical on either side of her body and she says this is a classic sign, she was the only female in the litter and none of her littermates suffer the same problem.

To be honest, I havent had her tested for anything yet as I want to get the spay out the way first and then see where we stand, alot of the time a vet see's a Shar pei and ££££££££££ signs appear so, we wanted to try and narrow it down as much a possible before letting the vet loose on her, if the spaying doesnt help, then i am quite happy for the vet to investigate further, I am just worried how she will cope with the anesthetic if she has a low immune system.

She had dry flakey skin as a pup which did improve as she got older and her coat was looking fab until she had her season, now its gone to pot.

The problem area's are her back legs and the area just between her back legs and where her ribs start.

Allergies was going to be our next port of call after the spay. she isnt sore at all just patchy, looks a bit like shes moth eaten.

If i've missed anything please let me know

The only reason I would worry about having her spayed is that the hair loss could end up permanent. It has been found (apparently) in some cases that neutering a bitch that is in a false pregnancy leaves them in a permanent state of false pregnancy.
I'm not against having her spayed but I would want to rule everything else first just to make sure.
Becky