Lego is a 3 year old male German Shepherd who had a very thick luscious coat until the age of 2 years when he presented to us with loss of his undercoat. His remaining coat was very thin. Lego initially underwent a series of tests to check for health issues and underlying causes of the hair loss. These all came back normal. As he was entire the next step was to de-sex him to eliminate testosterone as a cause.
After 2 months there had been no change to his skin despite desexing and a change to his diet. Lego’s skin had also changed to be very crusty and flaky. It was decided that the next step would be to biopsy the skin to check for disorders of the hair follicles. The biopsy results came back consistent with a diagnosis of Sebaceous Adenitis.
Sebaceous Adenitis is a destructive inflammatory disease of the sebaceous glands in the skin. It is an uncommon condition which is appears to be inherited. It presents as mild to severe scaling of the skin in either a single area or generalised around the body. These scales may also be loose or adhered to the hairs.
Lego immediately began treatment with a medication which moderates the body’s own immune reaction. Lego’s very dedicated owners have also been diligently applying full body oil soaks and shampooing twice per week. This is very messy to do but they have done an amazing job! Thankfully all their hard work has paid off and Lego has recently visited us with his new-look coat!
Lego has responded well to treatment. Not every dog with this condition has their hair re-grow and unfortunately management will be ongoing but it is great to see Lego doing so well!
Lego before treatment
Recent image of Lego showing his progress and hair growth!
