# Cream English Golden Retriever Skin Problem



## BrianO (Apr 7, 2016)

Is it possible that he has ichthiosis? This is a genetic skin condition. Goldens can be “clear,” “carrier,” or “affected.” Of those affected, there is a range of severity. My understanding is that a higher percentage of Western European pedigrees carry the genetic markers for this disorder. A blood test can confirm. Search ichthiosis on this forum for multiple threads regarding treatment.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

BrianO said:


> Is it possible that he has ichthiosis? This is a genetic skin condition. Goldens can be “clear,” “carrier,” or “affected.” Of those affected, there is a range of severity. My understanding is that a higher percentage of Western European pedigrees carry the genetic markers for this disorder. A blood test can confirm. Search ichthiosis on this forum for multiple threads regarding treatment.


Welcome to the forum. Your boy is very handsome. My first thought was icthyosis also.


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## BrianO (Apr 7, 2016)

Thanks for the catch on spelling. Do search ichthyosis. Darn autocorrect.

And I agree. He has a rather regal look about him.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I would suspect ichthyosis as well. There is a genetic test that can be done to see if that is it. 


https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/tests/details/18/


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

I agree, my first thought was also ichthyosis. Another thing though, I would stop using the furminator brush. It is very harsh and damaging, especially to long coats. Instead, I would recommend using an undercoat rake to pull out the loose undercoat.


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## jaferry (Oct 6, 2018)

sdakshna I am so sorry to hear about your golden! Hypothyroidism is one issue that is common in golden retrievers and definitely worth looking into. Some symptoms can include: flaky skin/dandruff, oily skin, chronic infections, especially skin infections and lesions, thinning of hair or patchiness, obesity, abnormal eye pressure, hyperkeratosis (can soemtimes manifest itself on paw pads, nose, tips of ears as looking crusty/scaly), lethargy.

My golden has hypothyroidism. We initially just noticed that he had flaky skin and skin lesions. The doctor misdiagnosed it as allergies and treated it as such for a few years. It eventually progressed to all the symptoms above and more. We eventually did a thyroid test. The initial one was maybe $218 and then the subsequent ones were maybe $40. He is now on the medication Levothyroxine (Thyroxine). It basically takes care of his issues and is a super low cost medication. Once we found the right dose of medication we just have to get his T4 test every once in a while.

I found the comments about ichthyosis to be interesting! I've never heard of that before. That also looks like it could be worth looking into. 

If you ever find a diagnosis for anything, let us know! I would love to hear what happens. Very beautiful dog by the way.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

Goldens&Friesians said:


> I agree, my first thought was also ichthyosis. Another thing though, I would stop using the furminator brush. It is very harsh and damaging, especially to long coats. Instead, I would recommend using an undercoat rake to pull out the loose undercoat.


Exactly what I was thinking.


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## sdakshna (Oct 5, 2018)

Thank you all for your replies. The place I stay we have good vets and big vet care hospitals but not sure if any have DNA testing labs. I think they might be sending dna samples out to someother place to get it checked. I will check with them.

For now he is good. The dandruff thing is on and off. We are brushing him daily for minimum 15 mins and it helps. When ever he gets more we give him a bath with alooven an oatmeal based shampoo as he is not allergic to grains and it soothes his skin and he feels very relaxed. 

Now that we know his food is not causing allergies (as we stopped all meat products and kept him on lean vet suggested diet and tested over a couple of months), I am planning to put him back on his regular diet / food as per the vet's recommendation. 

Furminator we use it once a week nd not too much, we will try to use it further less as per your recommendations. I will update you all in sometime with progress. 

Attached are Winter's latest pics.

Thanks.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I used this testing center for my dog's itchyosis test. Maybe you can get it where you are.

https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/


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