Hi everyone!

So Repede has been having some issues lately. A few weeks ago, he started to lose some hair on his ears. This happened a few months ago as well, so I started using an anti-fungal cream that our vet suggested. However, unlike last time, it hasn't gotten better. He's been very, very itchy, and is scabbing around his eyes and mouth now as well. I'm leaning towards him having a zinc deficiency after reading up on it and finding that it's common in all three areas he's having problems.

He has a vet appointment this coming Saturday, but I'm wondering if anyone here has some advice on zinc deficiency (if that's what you think it could be), what we might expect, and also some possible itch remedies that can hold him over until then! He's been driving himself nuts scratching and he keeps reopening the wounds and making them bleed

His mouth

His ear

His eye.

We found out after months of trying meds from the vet that jack had a zinc deficiency, i figured it out, we have been treating him with this
zinpro
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000OUY8OA/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1421123680&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
after about 3 weeks everything started clearing up.

I'm going to have to look into this stuff! Thank you!

Did Jack's problems look similar to Repede's?

Jen, do you know if that is an okay supplement to start giving even without a vet recommendation?

Ashleigh, i pretty much told my vet i was starting it and she said ok its worth a try as she did not think it was a zinc thing. Sure enough he got better and she said well i guess he did, and told me to keep using it.
Jessica, somewhere on this forum are pics of jacks issues, will look when i get to work. His lips were red and inflamed, he had hard paches of skin on his eye and ear, was itching his face like crazy and had a constant ear crud issue. Its all gone now.

I told my vet that I thought it could be ZRD when Mishka has his biopsy sent to the lab and the lab said that he was too young to have immune issues. I even told them that ZRD is common in huskies so even though his issues have gotten a little better, there is a patch on his right eye and his nose is still red and crusty. So I may start with a small dosage and see if that helps.

Thank you.

And Jessica good luck! If it is a zinc deficiency, starting a supplement usually clears up the symptoms.

Thanks everyone! I'm definitely going to be looking into this. Right now my biggest concern is if he doesn't have a zinc deficiency and I start having him take those tablets. Are there any adverse effects if he isn't zinc deficient, or would it simply not work?

http://www.snowdog.guru/zinc-deficiency-the-hidden-cause-of-sickness-in-huskies/

http://www.snowdog.guru/correcting-zinc-deficiency-in-huskies/

this should help you, its what got me thinking it was Jack's issue

Hi Jessica, my dog Kodabear has ZRD. The vet took scrapings of his ear and muzzle to make sure it was not bacterial or fungal infection. We then proceeded with a blood test $95 to check his zinc level and it turned out that he was low. She recommended 50 mg of zinc a day and said it would take up to three weeks to see improvement.

As I did more research, I found a product called Nutrazinc from www.howlingdogalaska.com. They tell you the dosage on the website. I give my dog 1/8 of a tsp once a day with his food, it just sprinkles right on the food. Within three weeks he was healed and has had no flare up for over a year. Also, it is less expensive then Zinpro.

Fyi, if your dog is not zinc deficient your dog could have adverse reaction to the zinc such as toxicity from too much zinc in the diet, so I do recommend get his levels checked.

I also found he had stomach issues caused by any type of flour, so he now only gets protein or carrots as treats.

Hope your dog is doing better soon.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post an update!

We took our two boys to the vet to get their vaccinations ($1000 seems a bit excessive) and I spoke to the vet about it. I mentioned zinc deficiency and she said she didn't think it was a zinc deficiency because of how itchy he was. Instead she said she was going to prescribe a medication for sarcoptic mange.

Fast forward 3 weeks of treatment, no better. Possibly even worse on his right ear. He's still acting fine, despite a three-day-long funk where he had to be on a bland diet for some stomach problems. I recently ordered some zinc supplements for him as well as some fish oil to add to his diet. He surprisingly doesn't mind the pills. Nothing yet as it's only been 2 days, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the cause! Poor boy wakes up throughout the night to scratch his face. I've tried using socks but they don't work for him, and I'd rather not use a cone if I can avoid it.

I'm also going to be seeking a second opinion from another (possibly holistic) vet in the area because I wasn't real impressed with this one. She was too eager to suggest a hundred different tests that I really didn't think were necessary, and the prices seemed a little too over-the-top. Will keep everyone updated, and thank you for the helpful information!

it took about 2-3 weeks to see a change with Jack, just keep up with the new stuff for a month, you will know if it is working by then.

Jessica how is your pup doing? I have not been on the sight in a while. Just FYI my dog is itchy around his eyes, face, ears and neck when he has a break out. He just had another one and is recovering with higher levels of zinc. It was the same time last year, so I think it has to do with his shed cycle.

http://loveyourhusky.org/zinc-deficiency-as-the-root-cause-of-these-common-ailments-found-in-huskies-and-malamutes/

This article is very informative about ZRD and shows how important it is to make sure the dogs levels are where they should be. The skin issues are only the beginning of what can go wrong.

Hope your pup is doing better

Hi everyone!

Wanted to post an update. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the zinc is doing anything. We are keeping him on the zinc supplements since it hasn't been too long yet and it's still good for his diet. Unfortunately, his ears are still bald in the same areas and his lips go through cycles of getting better for a couple days, then getting worse for a couple days.

We are now thinking it might be localized demodex, but we don't want to do another vet appointment just yet. I'm starting to wonder if his lip problem and his ear problem are different, since his lips look like he has acne and his ears just look bald. The medications and shampoo that the vet prescribed have done nothing, and we don't want to pursue any more unnecessary tests if we can avoid it. Our boy is not too fond of the vet since getting the rectal thermometer

We've read about ointments such as goodwinol for treatment, but we are a little wary about using anything that might make our boy sick, especially since biggest problem area is on his lips and I know that not everything is safe for him to ingest, even in the smallest amounts. Any recommendations?

We have had a husky in the family for a long time - Montie.

Several months back he had started losing his hair and scratch consistently. Looking all over the web, I stumble upon husky's are prone to zinc deficiency, who knew.

Ironically, I have several friends that have Wilson's Disease, which is a disease of excess copper and they take zinc - Gluzin to manage their zinc deficiency. My human friends had mentioned, they tried other OTC Zinc, but have not had consistent results. They have been on Gluzin for over 6-8 years, so I tried it on Montie, and within 2-3 months, his symptoms started clearing up.

Looks like much of our food sources, soil and etc lacks essential minerals. I'm a believer of Gluzin for Montie - you can get more info at www.gluzin.com.

I also have a Husky that seemed to have a "zinc" deficiency. We have had all types of blood work and biopsy's and everything comes up negative. Our vet said zinc fluctuated so it is almost impossible to determine this without ruling everything else out.

We have put him on a all raw chicken, salmon and sweet potato diet for months with zinc supplements. Did nothing. Increased his exercise, nothing changed. Finally our vet said he could be stressed from lack of social interaction with our huskies since we have a Pomeranian. So I finally caved and bought another husky, secretly I did want another so this was my affirmation. And everything cleared up with 2 months.

He had a white/yellow scabs on his ears and lost the hair inside of them, he had sore around his eyes and muzzle and huge hard lesion-like calluses on his legs that he would lick until the bled.

I know buying another husky is a big commitment for some but not only did he get better they play all the time so when they are with me they are so calm, he is like a totally different dog.