Can Hypothyroidism have other symptoms?

Question
Hi,

  I got a Red Doberman from someone who didnt have a clue or time for him. My first look i saw: Overwieght, dull coat, dry skin.

Over the past few months i got him to peak health (2+ hours of exercise, 3,000mg of omega 3, 1,000 mg of glucosamine, 1tsp of coat enhancer (http://www.chevalinternational.com/page2.html), 5 cups of grain free food (Taste of the Wild), and neuter :)

I got him late August 2010, and a dramatic change was seen coming into November BUT, he started to get 'pimples' on his back. It started spreading in a dorsal/caudal manner right along his spine. December i took him to the vets, got him on Cephalexin 500 2X daily with medicated shampoo. Janurary came, no difference, changed to Amoxi-Clav 500 2X daily. It calmed down, but never disappeared. Blood tests came back (i can give you full results if you like) everything is within normal range except: RBC .1 above the norm, A/G Ratio .1 above the norm, T4 2.5 LOWER than the norm.

Here are pictures of his back: (Last photo is the Earliest i caught the skin problem)

http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h249/morleykerry/Chase%20and%20his%20Skin%20Pr...


Can Hypothyroidism show up in dogs that only have one symptom? (skin) he is a hard keeper (5 cups at least a day) he is VERY active, and his coat is very soft, shiny and not overly oily.

What type of skin problem is this? Scrapings have been done, vet just mentioned neg. of mange. He now has big pustuals that make lumps on his back, hard, not squishy. There are hairs stuck underneath the skin, a slight odour, and small amounts of blood and yellowish puss comes out. He scratches, but not often. Flaky skin and sometimes redness will appear. No redness seen in between his paws, or other naked areas (inc eyes and mouth), he is also showing no other signs of illness (runny nose, sneezing, lack of appetite ect) and he is now 2.5 years of age.

Thank you very much for your time, im simply looking for a vauge second opinion. More pictures and other information i can give to you if you need it.

Kerry Morley

Answer
This looks like a bacterial pyoderma unique to the Doberman called Dobie Bumps. It seems to be a problem with the Doberman's immune system where they cannot handle Staph bacteria.  There may be a resistant strain if you have used both cephalexin and clavamox.  A bacterial culture of these pustules may give your vet information as to the best antibiotic to use.  Some of these dogs are actually immunized with a Staph phage Lysate to get the immune system better equipped to deal with the infection.

A skin biopsy can also tell your vet if there is another type of problem such as an autoimmune disease, like pemphigus, that shows up with pustules on the skin.  

A 2.5 T4 value is well within the normal limits of thyroid hormones.