Hi I'm new and I have an 18 month old female siberian.

(she is covered in mud as you can see... hard to see the pink nose with mud on it hahaha)

I'll give you the run down on what my issues are with her.

She is solid white, has pink skin, is lacking the black or dark pigment around here eyes mouth and nose... and has dark red pupils.

Her hair under microscope comes up with no pigment cells at all.

I'm very worried about her getting sunburned when I take her out for walks and was debating on weather or not to make her a hat to shade her face. She is also sensitive to the bright light of the sun.

I have had siberians before in the past and normally even the Liver reds have a little darker shade to there nose and eyes and have the normal 2 toned eyelashes but she is soooooo pale in skin tone and is lacking all color.

Any one have a very diluted liver or solid white husky with pale skin? And what are you doing about sun damage and light sensitivity with the eyes?

Would a hat help?

I know it sound funny or down right silly to have a dog wear a hat but she is always hiding in the shade or covering or closing her eyes when resting.

Any help or ideas would be wonderful and greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Here you can get shades to protect her eyes.

http://www.doggles.com/


Sorry I can't help on the skin problem others will soon.

I have doggles but use them for car rides to protect their eyes from things flying into them... I never walked Koda in AZ when it was too hot or too sunny, I did it in the early AM or in the evening when it started going down. He did love to sunbathe in our yard though, belly up, so I'd put a teeshirt on him so his belly didn't get burned. My sister's white chi got skin cancer from sunbathing so I was always very ontop of that.Koda's not completely white, though. His belly/legs etc underneath are and his hair is this there though so I make sure he's fine with that.

Snow is pure white like that, but her eyes are dark. We do not let her outside unless its really early morning or later in the evening once the sun goes down. If she does go out to play during the afternoon hours I spray Epi-Pet sunscreen on her. and whatever you do, do not shave her.
If she does get sunburned use 100% pure aloe, that helps soothe the skin.
I keep aloe plants around the house mainly because we are an outdoor family and you can never have enough aloe! lol

I wouldn't recommend using the human grade sunscreen, mainly because there are a lot of toxins in them.

Yeah I know about the toxic stuff we humans use... and a shaved husky? wow! that to me is just cruel.

I have buckets of sun screen for horses (I have a Cremello Horse and he BURNS!!!) but is says right on the bucket "For equine use only" so I didn't want to use it.

If I had it my way I would move back to Alaska... still thinking I will but money is an issue right now so that is a little squashed a.t.m.

I use Snout Soother on my Pit mix nose frequently. It helps. The vet said to use baby sun screen on his nose but he licks it off constantly. I bring him outside early morning and late in the afternoon, My male Husky has blue eyes and is sun sensitive. He has doggie goggles but doesn't like them that much. Sounds like your dog is an Albino. I would be very careful with sun exposure. Moonlight strolls are in your future!!!

We are using this on Cato right now:


http://www.amazon.com/Epi-Pet-Sun-Protector-Sunscreen-Spray/dp/B002AI39QW

He still has a lot of weight and doesn't have his full husky coat yet, because he's a pup, so we didn't wanna take any chances. It seems to work quite well.

I'd love to visit alaska! lol
I think you can use baby sunscreen as well, it might be a little more cost effective....but thats just what someone told me, i haven't actually researched it yet.

There are also u/v sunsuits you can buy for them...I just couldn't imagine snow wanting anything to do with it, so i didn't bother with it.

That is the same spray we use...it works great!

Well I made her a hat... that didn't go over well... I'll keep trying... I'm very good and coming up with stuff but i figured I would ask others what they have done.

As for Albino... she is as close as you can get with out her being one. She is a carrier of the cc Gene if I were to breed here to a male that had the same cc Gene I would have a 50-50 chance that 1/4 of the litter will be albino with 3/4 of them being a cc or ff carrier (though ff is not found in huskies as far as I know)

If we were to look at the genes for just coat color... D/C is sooo lacking in that department
D/C: K sw cc = total white and lack of pigment cells (standard coat lingth)
My old dog,
Bandicoot: K ach F E tbl s sn = Silver coat with black points, nape star, bald faced (no mask, Standard coat lingth)

OK now my head hurts

I would get her a cooling coat.

It would help to start with http://www.backcountry.com/ruffwear-swamp-cooler-dog-vest

ljelgin wrote:

I would get her a cooling coat.

It would help to start with http://www.backcountry.com/ruffwear-swamp-cooler-dog-vest

I like that idea! thanks thanks

How was it ruled out that she wasn't? Very interesting. Eye color being red would be another indicator or not? How is her hearing?

She hears just fine. especually when the cookie jar opens... for the longest time i though the was mute though... she doesn't howl or make much noise like like Bandicoot did.

Both parents of D/C are reds with liver points. at least that is what there papers said that came with her... I found out a few weeks ago that the breeders live just down the road from me so i went over there to see here parents.

I found out where D/C gets here size from lol. Dad is a whopping 94 lbs lean and a deep deep dark red. (this confused me at first) Then I went and looked a mama. If she had more yellow I would have swarn she was an Isabella White but she had no yellow on her, just hints of red. (still confused...) (then again I work with snakes and reptilian DNA works a little different than Mammal's DNA when it comes to color)

I asked to see photos of litters from the past and was shown lots of puppy photos... D/C was not the firs puppy born with her good looks... each littler produced gave one single puppy with the white factor with red eyes all the other puppies were reds. D/C how ever is just 1 of 2 puppies out of 6 that have survived to there first year. (that scared me and still dose hence this whole thread)

Red or dark almost black red pupils in mammals it just a visible marker for the gene responcable for albinism, humans can carry this gene for a lack of pigmentation to the retinas. I my self have a 70% lack and have a red hue to my pupils when looking at me but I have red hair and freckles.

The vet did a thuro work up on D/C and gave her a clean bill of health. Her CT and MRI's came back with everything inside looking normal, blood work came back with no signs of an immune disorder (common with albinos or "partial albinos) And oh boy this little girl has cost me a bloody fortune in vet bills but I trust U of A and there students to pick up anything and I my self have seen the scans and she looks fantastic. (she has a cute little brain too )

D/C has light light liver points (almost pink.) but as she is getting older she fades out. her nose and eye liver is faded into a pinkish now so the Gene that is responsible for that is doing it's job.

This is very interesting. Thanks for the info. She is very Husky looking in appearance... mud and all!!!
I once read somewhere that two reds would produce all red puppies... obviously not the case. Wish I could remember where I read that. I read too much and the old memory just isn't what it used to be. lol What happened to the other puppies?

Albino mammals have a tendency to to have other genetic flaws. liver issues, sight problems, cancer, and heart and lung issues. Albinos are VERY easy to breed for but the chances of having one make it to adulthood are slim to none. the red factor is known as "Deadly Red" and for a good reason.

as for 2 reds making an albino.. it is a little more complected than that... this picture should help.
https://2img.net/h/i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa327/furry_bandicoot/albinomaybe.png

Wow, D/C is a rare girl! For a while they though cc was only a theoretic possibility in siberians! That is great the university is willing to cover the costs. I should have studied coat color genetics. Way more interesting than the cortisol levels I look at. Very glad to hear she is healthy and has a great mommy who spoils her!

Off topic, but do you do your own illustrations? I love them! I totally want a tattoo of my girls that is more cartoon like! You like herps, any cool illustrations of them? I ran a lizard rescue myself, so I'm quite fond of them as well!

Thanks Lu and Kat's mom. and YAY some one who understand genetics!!! 9 times out of 10 people think I'm speaking Greek hahahahah!

I do some of my own ilistrations.... I'm not much of a drawer, I sculpt for the most part. I have issues with light and shadow so I let the dementions of the sculpture add the shadows for me (sorry about spelling boo boos... I'm on my phone)

Alot are drawings I have done on the computer but what I'm know mostly for are my costumes...

(no worries folks... I'm not some sick and twisted person you hear about on the news I'm normal all year round besides christmas and halloween )

This kid was a big fan of mine... i have like 80 photos with this kid hahaha!




This was me with one of the teachers... she ordered a costume of her beloved aussy Boe who passed in January of last year.


I did this costume right before my first husky of 18 years passed. it was my way of keeping here spirit alive. she has been a big hit!

Awesome costume! Love how you included the x-back harness! Bet the kids love it. I think my dogs would freak out if they saw a human in a husky costume.

D/C LOVES it. The Teens go gaga over it and the little little ones cant get enough of it... it is the 4 to 9 year olds who freak out... go figure.

oh and the X back was my old husky's harness, I figured if I was going to be going as her and a sled dog I might as well wear it. LOL