# My Golden's tail is thin since he was born, can I fix it?



## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Thinning hair can be due to hypothyroidism. Is it possible to have a full thyroid panel run? (not just T4, but T4, free T4, T3, free T3 and the autoantibodies). Even low normal is low for goldens and supplementation is given in pill form 2x/day. It also could be just that genetically your golden doesn't have profuse feathering.


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## ben.dennis (Jul 24, 2013)

*Penny & Maggie's Mom:* My vet is an ass, and he's the only good one in my place. He simply told me, "take the blood to a lab and get it tested there." So, any lab is fine? I mean, a lab that does human blood tests can do _T4, free T4, T3, free T3_ and _autoantibodies_ tests?


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I see you are in India, so it may not be practical to suggest the two labs we use in the US to do thyroid panels.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

I will plead ignorant to your diet choices and that's my fault so I apologize in advance.

*

Sprouted finger/red millet porridge AKA ragi malt (with 1 boiled egg in the morning)
Full bowl royal canin adult dog food in the afternoon
Sprouted pearl millet porridge in the evening, before 7 PM
*I don't know what the millet porridge is or the customs in India about feeding dogs meat. I just wonder if he is getting enough meat protein in his diet and fatty acids. While I have Tayla on a mainly raw diet there are probably great kibbles in your area that have a high meat protein ratio and I would add fish oil, krill oil and if possible some coconut oil to his diet. I'd personally look at what he is being fed to see if he is getting all the nutrients he needs for a good coat.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

ben.dennis said:


> *Penny & Maggie's Mom:* My vet is an ass, and he's the only good one in my place. He simply told me, "take the blood to a lab and get it tested there." So, any lab is fine? I mean, a lab that does human blood tests can do _T4, free T4, T3, free T3_ and _autoantibodies_ tests?


Yes any lab can run the tests. If you want to have this done though the vet needs to order what tests, and then be able to read the results.

You could try contacting Dr. Dodds at Hemopet and see if its possible to ship blood to them. She is the leading researcher in this field.

However, I think you have two things that affect his coat. First genetics. He does not appear to have a heavy feathering on his chest or hips, or in general either. There is nothing wrong with that, it is just his genetics. And I think you are right the climate where you live is affecting his coat. In the winter pictures his tail looks normal.

Increasing the amount of food you give him is not going to change his coat, it will just make him gain too much weight, and he looks great at the weight he is in the pictures. You can add fish oil to his food every day and that will help his coat some.


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## ben.dennis (Jul 24, 2013)

*One question:* Am I to add all these three oils to his food -- fish oil, krill oil, coconut oil -- or any one at a time?

*Tayla's Mom:* That's right. I just changed his food to 400 grams of Royal Canin (royalcanin.com) per day, which is said to meet at his nutritional/energy (kcal) requirements.

As you can see, until now, I was only feeding him predominantly plant food, only because the breeder told me it was best for him (only to realize, yesterday, that dogs can't produce enzymes to digest plant food, meaning I was filling his belly with useless junk). That's why I am wondering if the bad food (although not too bad) is one of the reasons behind his not-so-thick coat, aside from the hot weather which is constantly around 30 - 45 degrees centigrade year round.

*mylissyk:* I am not sure about that mainly because he's never been to a place that has pleasant weather (he soon will, as I am moving him to Bangalore, a city with the best weather in India all year round).

I am happy with the feathering on his chest or hips (as seen in the Winter pics); it's always the tail. It's NOT normal, it's not even close to being normal for a golden retriever. Isn't it supposed to be something like this?



*OR at least like this?*



He never had a tail like that. His father and mother, like I said, had perfect tails. So, if his genetics are right, will I be able to fix his current state with proper food and pleasant climate? Or as he is 3 years old now, is he *unfixable*?


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

ben.dennis said:


> *One question:* Am I to add all these three oils to his food -- fish oil, krill oil, coconut oil -- or any one at a time?
> 
> *Tayla's Mom:* That's right. I just changed his food to 400 grams of Royal Canin (royalcanin.com) per day, which is said to meet at his nutritional/energy (kcal) requirements.
> 
> ...


For some reason on my computer at work I can't see the pictures. Must be some filter block. I'll look at home later. Dogs are not vegetarians and need meat. They don't need lots of carbs, but they do need to protein from meat, fish, eggs, etc. I give a capsule of fish oil, a capsule of krill oil and a 1.5 teaspoon of coconut oil in the morning feeding and 1.5 teaspoon of coconut oil at night. You can give more coconut oil, but it is high in calories and I want Tayla slightly underweight because she has bad hips. It is good for inflammation.


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## ben.dennis (Jul 24, 2013)

Okay, thanks for the advise. *One more thing*, that I forgot to mention earlier is that my dog's coat is rough. That's one of the reasons I believe it's not genetics. It's food and/or climate. Just wanted to let you know all the details.

PS: As for the images, they are hosted on imgur. Should I change the host? Any suggestions? Or simply open the pages the images are linked to. That should work fine.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

I'm really very limited in my picture knowledge. I'm lucky I can post my own so I'm of no help there. Sorry. Others seem to be able to see them. The foods you feed and the supplements can go a long way towards a great coat. Some is genetics, but if they start with good genes then what you feed them will go a long way to enhancing their coat. It comes from the inside out and good skin leads to good coat.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

It looks to me like he has chewed and or plucked his tail 'feathers'...
If he has had an itchy tail or itchy thighs...they will pluck and chew the coat right off.....


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Does he drink water from the kitchen tap? Or do you buy bottled water? Highly mineralized water will effect coat and will also effect itching. Environmental pollutants will cling to coat and make it feel hard or rough...
There are so many factors.....


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## ben.dennis (Jul 24, 2013)

*LibertyME:* Yes, he does that. He's had minor itches, and the vet prescribed me a shampoo, ointment and powder.

Yes, he does drink water from the kitchen tap sometimes, if don't notice and yell at him.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I don't know if it's his genetics or the environment but I do agree with others that he seems to not have very much feathering or coat overall. Normally, an adult golden male's "junk" is not visible when the dog is standing because the hair is long enough to cover it.

I do know of a male golden who is 2 or 3, I can't remember, and his coat is similar to a typical 6-7 month old's. Very little feathering and short coat, but he has a field background. It could be that he is just slower to mature, like your boy may be. I am sure the new and better food will give him a healthier coat as well.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

HA! You've never met Trace!
His pants are straight and well...his kibbles are, well, visible! LOL!



Vhuynh2 said:


> Normally, an adult golden male's "junk" is not visible when the dog is standing because the hair is long enough to cover it.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

If he chews it off faster then it grows - voila! No tail feathers!
Has your vet discussed using diphenhydramine hydorchloride tablets (Brand Name: Benadryl) to control itching so that the skin will have a chance to heal?




ben.dennis said:


> *LibertyME:* Yes, he does that. He's had minor itches, and the vet prescribed me a shampoo, ointment and powder.
> 
> Yes, he does drink water from the kitchen tap sometimes, if don't notice and yell at him.


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## ben.dennis (Jul 24, 2013)

*Vhuynh2:* I guess you are right (wrt "an adult golden male's "junk" is not visible when the dog is standing"). I'll have to see if better weather and food will turn things around. Wishful thinking, I guess. :-/

*LibertyME:* When there's a skin problem he gives an injection, and asks me to use the same ointment (Topiderm). But all skin problems happen only during Summer, and just as my golden recovers from the issues, well, there's summer again. :-/ Gotta move to another place and see.

I'll be moving to the new place in around 6 months from now, i.e. by the time Summer is up. I'll be sure to update the results here.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I have a 6 year old golden girl, who has much less coat than your dog has. Her tail has very little feathering on it, and always looks like a young dogs whose tail have yet to uncurl. She also has no fluffy undercoat, which on the bright side means she barely sheds . 

She is eating a good quality kibble, and gets salmon oil supplements, but I just have to accept that this is the way she is meant to be. Her thyroid is normal. I think it would be a good idea to get his thyroid checked, and agreed with the suggestion of Dr Dodds at Hemopet, if you can get the sample to her. 

I am not a big fan of Royal Canin, what are some of they other brands of dog food available to you.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

LibertyME said:


> It looks to me like he has chewed and or plucked his tail 'feathers'...
> If he has had an itchy tail or itchy thighs...they will pluck and chew the coat right off.....


This was my thought from the first picture also. It looks like the dog has been chewing on his tail. They can pull the hair right out. He's a good looking dog but overall he doesn't appear to have a lot of feathering. There is a very broad range for Goldens in the amount of feathering.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Some dogs just have thin hair in some areas. 

Buddy has a full tail and full butt hair but looks like an adolescent boy in the chest hair department. The rest of his body is not fluffy just his butt area! When I wash and dry him he looks like he has a fluffy duck butt.


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