Need hairless yorkie skin advice
 

I am visiting my MIL in FL and she has a hairless yorkie, named Divot. She adopted him a while ago. He only has a bit of hair on his chin, underneath his tail, and a few wisps on his legs. Other than that, he has no hair.

He is like a little cat always coming up and rubbing against you. He will also sit there for hours on end letting your pet and scratch him. His skin is very dry. He always wears shirts to help shield him from the sun. My MIL uses Suave Vitamin E lotion on him. She puts it on and he soaks it up like nothing ever happened. She also uses Hydrosurge Advanced Skin Care shampoo on him.

Does anyone here have experience with a hairless yorkie? What is the best way to help this little guy's terribly dry skin? In some areas it is flaky. He is a cute little bugger, but boy, he sure is itchy. Thanks for any ideas!

are you sure that is a Yorkie? It doesn't look at all like a yorkie to me

Yes, the vet says he is a yorkie and the breeder who turned him in breeds yorkies. From the sounds of it, he was the runt. She had to have been a BYB. She turned him in to the humane society to be put down because she didn't want potential buyers to see him.

:eek::(

Wow that's so sad... If I couldn't sale one of my puppy, I would for sure keep him then!!

I am glad he found a loving family. :)

I think some salmon oil would be a good supplement for is dry skin.

Also Coconut oil would be good. You can gave him some to eat , put some on is body and let it sit before bathing,or also add a few drops in the conditioner.

I do not want to sound mean but i have never seen a yorkie with a long snout like this. i wonder if the breeder had an oops, i hope she finds something to sooth his itching that would have to be so miserable for him

I just want to say what a cutie he is. I don't know what to say about skin care, but it sounds like your MIL is doing a great job with him, and I am glad she has him.

I have never heard of a hairless yorkie. I don't believe both parents are yorkies something else jumped the gate.

Is it a fox terrier that reminds me of him... not sure..

has she taken him to a dermatologist as that does not look right :(

i use the coconut oil and recommend that as i use it with my skin allergy dog

Has she tried supplementing with Omega 3?

I read on here a while back about blue born yorkie puppies, and how they grow up to have continuous skin and hair problems and how it is a genetic defect. Maybe that is what was/is wrong with this one? Maybe do a search on that and there might be some help in that thread?????? Good luck.

here is some info

dedicated to promoting and preserving the breed through responsible ownership

i would go to dermatologist and have a skin culture done and maybe even a punch biopsy as they take a piece of skin and send it out to be tested to see what exactly this is and on a culture they do a skin scraping send to lab and have analyzed but punch biopsy is two stitches and culture is no big deal my allergy yorkie has had that to get the right antibiotic for her staph infection

here is apolecia

Alopecia in Dogs

Maybe he's got some Chinese Crested in him? I have no advice for you, just wanted to wish you luck.

She did say that the woman was breeding some kind of blue yorkie. I have never heard of that so I don't really know what that means...

I give Omega 3 or Cod liver oil to Sugar, it's good for her skin and hair. I tried different products every 1 or 2 months, maybe you can start with supplement since lotion didn't work out fine :)

read this thread as it is pretty interesting

My dog's skin is turning black. This started on the tip of... - Q&A

i have a couple dermatology books and looked at pics and bacteria folliculitis can look like this as well

I would definitely have the thyroid checked on next blood work up and make sure 6 panel thyroid is done as that is most accurate as that can be part of the problem as well and runs in this breed

does the dog smell or itch?

what is the dog eating as yeast can be a problem too and why i like coconut oil as it is a natural antifungal and antibacterial

benzoyl shampoo is very drying and chlorhexedine is good for bacteria but with a condition like this i would do the punch biopsy and skin culture as you need to know exactly what you are treating and a dermatologist will know this for sure they specialize in skin issues and i would not use human lotions on dogs as it has an ingredient in it that is like anti-freeze which is deadly to dogs

What is Propylene Glycol?

if she wants to put something on the skin the safest thing is raw organic coconut oil and she can go buy nutiva at whole foods or health food store. It is safe for them to lick

here is another possibility sebaceous adentitis and this is tied to thyroid issues so why you need to have thyroid checked out with any hairloss and this can only be diagnosed by a punch biopsy

Sebaceous Adenitis

if it is this there is a group on yahoo for this but what they do is oil baths so they soak the dog in oil - mineral oil, coconut oil, and some use baby oil which i would not use then they bath the dog after the soak of 20-30 minutes - dr dodds recommended to me murphy's oil soap it is pure vegetable oil so i bathed dd in it as she is hypothyroid and sebaceous gland excretion and you combat oil with oil - usually with sebaceous adentitis vs sebaceous gland excretion they are dry skin vs oily skin but some use the murphy's oil soap with sa and have had great success with it . I freaked out called the mfg and they said many people use this with kids with eczema and psoriasis i bit the bullet and washed dd in it - her coat looked amazine all crusties gone but it has citronella in it which is great as a flea protection too :) but she was itchy from citronella so this is something you may want to try as it will not dry out the skin

usually to join that yahoo group they want you to have done a punch biopsy to determine if it is SA first

see it is tough as without culture, thyroid panel, and punch biopsy and dermatologist exam it can be a few things

it can even be just environmental allergies but having a dog with env allergies she does not have that skin looking like that so i think it could be more than just Env allergies

she will save alot of money and aggravation going to a dermatologist - they charge about $160 for first consult and $87 for follow ups but you will get the answers you need

what food is your mom feeding?

and also skin conditions are usually due to auto immune diseases which runs very heavily in this breed and due to inbreeding this line which is what this lady guaranteed was doing and why this baby suffered and i am sure the lady is continuing to do it so other unsuspected pet owners will end up with these dogs like i did which makes me so ANGRY as it has been a nightmare for 5 years with my allergy dog and i have spent 8k trying everything to keep her comfortable and she is an akc yorkie - NOT COOL. These health issues on allergies and skin do not show up until the dogs are about 6 mos to 3 years then you are attached

sadly these dogs end up in rescues and abused as owners get frustrated as it is hard to see a dog itch and be uncomfortable or they end up on heavy doses of prednisone causing other health issues. There is no cure alot of time for allergies unless food but not for environmental so i am hoping this baby just has a condition that can be treated but you need to get a firm diagnosis and you will only get that with a dermatologist not a regular vet

i prefer omega 3 over cod liver as cod liver is too high in vitamin a for a yorkie as they tend to have liver issues like mvd in breed. the omega 3 i like is Welcome to Nordic Naturals as no mercury in it as mercury can make dogs itch

never heard of blue yorkie but have heard of red leg yorkie though

Same here, but here is that thread

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/bre...e-puppies.html

so it is alopecia as well :( bummer all this inbreeding is destroying this breed sadly the immune systems are shot causing all these health issues - makes me so mad :( what is more sad is my puppy mill pup is healthier than my akc dog now that is just SAD

Is that what the blue puppies are called, alopecia? I don't really know, I just remembered that thread when the OP posted for help and didn't know if there could be a connection. You are right, it is very very sad.......

this was what i focused on in that thread there was this post and link so makes sense as poms get it alot so sounds like it is in the york breed now

Canine Inherited Disorders Database - Introduction

alopecia (blue puppy) is discussed under Yorkshire terrier

here is info

Canine Inherited Disorders Database - Introduction

yep sounds like what this dog has in this link so alopecia X so I would confirm with skin biopsy if you want a firm diagnosis or have derm do the pluck test but i would keep a tshirt on this baby to protect the skin and would use coconut oil to oil up the skin to keep from being dry and a very mild shampoo would be something like the murphy's oil pure vegetable soap or castille soap or you can try the dr bronners mild unscented baby shampoo soap all organic ingredients in it but with a dog with very dry skin i would keep bathing to an absolute minimum the coconut oil will make the dog smell great :) so i would not worry so much about bathing as the more you bath the more you will dry the skin and the more itchy the dog will get. I would do coconut oil on skin daily and cut back if dog gets too greasy

i have not had the best luck with vet shampoos they are full of chemicals and tend to be very drying so if you try one I would recommend duoxo for sebaceous adentitis and call the company for a free sample to try it out but i think i would stay real mild with this pup and i would give coconut internally as well to heal from inside out with oils.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I will show her this thread and let her make the decision for herself. I did tell her she should try the dermatologist, but she said she will just schedule an appt at Banfield and ask then. Not sure how that will turn out, but I gave my suggestion and that's all I can do.

The diet may have something to do with it. They occasionally get either Iams or Purina dry, don't remember which, Cesar wet food, and table food too. It sounds like they get a plate of what they have for dinner quite frequently. I've given my suggestions on that one too...:rolleyes:

I've had two dogs in my lifetime, and she has had a ton more than that, so I don't believe my advice and suggestions hold a lot of merit, no matter how much research I do to back up what I'm saying.:confused:

banfield ???? oh no :( that is not good

he is most likely was born a blue yorkie...you can do a search on YT about blue yorkie...as far as advice i do not have any for i have never experience it. sorry