# Ichthyosis Help



## Breezymama (Feb 5, 2016)

We have just determined that all that flaking going on with our golden is congenital ichthyosis. So now we know what we are dealing with, I'd love some advice on how to manage it! Our vet recommended a mild anti-seborrhagic shampoo but did not give me a name. Can I just use regular "human" shampoo, or do I need something special from the pet store? My vacuum cleaner and I thank you!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Welcome to the forum. 
Sorry to hear your Golden has ichthyosis. 
There's a few members that have experience with it, hopefully they will see your thread. 

I did a search for it here on the board, here is one thread, there are several where it's been discussed. 

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ndard/140410-ichthyosis-5-yrs-counting-3.html

Here's another one that might be helpful, it recommends a shampoo to use and provides more info about it-

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...tandard/171682-head-shoulders-ichthyosis.html


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

I would not recommend human shampoo for dogs.

Try adding some fish oil to the dog's dinner. A quick rinse with clean clear water helps to keep the flakes at bay between baths.


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## Zeek's mom (Jan 18, 2016)

I'm sorry about the diagnosis. How old is your Golden? I have a three month old Golden puppy that we brought home at 7 weeks. At the time, his tummy was scaly/dry and he had dandruff flakes. When we took him to the vet for his first check up, the vet noticed this and mentioned the possibility of ichthyosis, with plans to keep an eye on it. I, of course went home and researched as much as I could about the disorder in Goldens. His flakes got worse over the next couple of weeks, to the point where our clothes were covered with them whenever we handled him. All of the pictures of pups with ichthyosis looked exactly like our pup, so I became convinced that he had it. Over the next few weeks, I completely switched his diet to raw food (commercial frozen turkey and sardines, with some venison at times). I give his food one squirt of salmon oil a day. We also bathed him with a dog shampoo for flaking and itching (even though he didn't itch,) but no more than once a week. Within a couple of days of feeding raw, his flakes started to lessen. Now, at 13 weeks, I can't find a flake on him, and his tummy is completely clear. Not to mention, his fur is silky soft. This may all be coincidental, I know, but I'll take it for now. I've read that puppies can outgrow their flakes, so maybe this is happening with him. Maybe he doesn't even have ichthyosis at all, since we haven't tested him. But for now, I'm happy with how things are going and plan to keep doing what we are doing. One more thing I've added was a spot on called Dermoscent once a week for now. It smells good and certainly isn't hurting! I hope you find something that helps your Golden! One thing that helped me was to read that in most cases for our breed, the dog is not uncomfortable and that it doesn't affect their life span or quality of life.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Fish oil- work your way up to a dose a meal. 
And don't use human shampoo- just a good dog shampoo, if cost is a concern Walmart has one called Mane and Tail that's good... though it might be in the human shampoo department. 
It'll come and go, ZeeksMom, pawprintgenetics has the least expensive DNA test- you'd rub a sterile cotton swab in his cheek and mail to them. It's about $80 for the one test.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Also, please inform the puppy's breeder! As others have said, there is a genetic test for ichthyosis that is not horribly expensive, and the parents should have been tested prior to breeding. The breeder should be told so that he or she tests the breeding dogs and does not produce more affected puppies.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Should your breeder not understand how the genetics work (assuming pup is an affected) just post back and we'll lay it out for you to share with her.


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## Breezymama (Feb 5, 2016)

Thank you all for your input! One of the first things I did was call the breeder and discuss with her. She had become aware of the occurrence and now since genetic testing is available is utilizing that when planning litters. Our Golden will be 5 this July and I do not remember seeing any screening for Ichthyosis on the AKC pedigrees when we were looking for a puppy. Neither of Breezy's parents had been tested back then, but I see they have it on their pedigree now. Her dad is a carrier and the mom is affected so there ya go....our Breezy was one of the unlucky ones who drew the two recessive genes. Luckily, as mentioned above, this is not a life threatening deal just an annoyance. We have been using coconut oil in her food and it makes her coat nice and soft, but really hasn't helped with the flaking. We'll give the fish oil a shot (the vet said either would be fine and we just happened to have the coconut on hand). Again..... Thank you all for taking the time to share our knowledge!
Zeek's mom...... I remember when Bree was a puppy and her belly was all scaly. Of course, we were told it was just "puppy dandruff" and she would grow out of it. I've never tried a raw food. I'll investigate that! Thanks!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I'm sorry I didn't realize that your Golden was going to be 5 years old. It's not really surprising that the parents weren't tested yet back then.


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