Zinc Deficiency-ZRD?

[DesertHusky]

I know I’m a total newbie, but I found this forum about huskies as I was looking up zinc deficiency and ZRD. I think my little boy has zinc deficiency/ZRD. At one point he shed all his guard hairs and was just undercoat. So with the blessing of my vet, I started Zinpro. His guard hairs are growing back a little, so that’s a definite improvement. He also has the skin rashes that get all scabby on his nose only right now. My boy is a 60 lbs and I give him the recommended dose for his weight. While I’ve seen a big improvement since we started zinc, he still seems to get the rash on his nose and his guard hairs haven’t grown back completely. I was hoping there might be others in this community that might be able to offer us some support. Below is shot of my little boy’s nose. It was once completely scabbed, but the scabs don’t seem to completely go away, either. I guess I’m looking for some support, advice and any tips this community might recommend. Thank you so much!

As an aside, I spent an ungodly amount of money taking him to a vet and a dermatologist to make there there wasn’t something wrong. He came back with every workup as perfectly healthy. 

Again. Thank you for any tips and support.

[2Huskyfun]

O I have seen this before!!! 🙂

If he is completely healthy... which it sounds like the docs have told you....

Bagbalm! Cake that on his nose as needed. It is safe for him to lick but, it will stay. 

I have used it on my horses, dogs, and other farm animals. 

* make sure it is clean. This is how I used it... washed with Dawn soup, rinse well ( I used a  syringe) then a little  bit of iodine ( sterilize ) then glob bagbalm on it.

 It will not form a scab and takes a long time to heal. (Scabs are the drier form of skin and causes itching, liking, and  irritation that doesn't allow it to heal.

Since it doesn't form a scab with bagbalm it will allow it to heal inside out instead of outside in. Plus coats it to keep it from getting  infected. 

Just what I have experienced 

 

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

It doesn't look like zrd but that's not to say it isn't, fish can help
Not sure where you're from but sudocrem (it's a nappy rash cream that contains zinc) can help if u put that on his nose once a day too,

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[wolfpup]

The attached file may be of interest  -  huskies have a far higher need for zinc than other dogs    -  humans need 15mg a day   - dogs need 40mg  but some huskies need 100mg or more a day.    A raw diet could well help, as with most dog food  (especially dry) the type of zinc they add can make a tremendous difference  (the attachment explains.   Hope it helps.

zincdeficiencyinsleddogs.pdf

[DesertHusky]

Thanks to all your responses!  Nappy cream suggestion and the bag balm are definitely some things to try. 

I haven’t gone completely raw with his diet because I haven’t done the research to make sure it’s balanced. I noticed a thread on this website, but I’m also trying to work on minimizing variables as I change them so I can pinpoint where and when certain things make a difference.

Since I’m seeing an improvement since zinc supplementation, I’m working on finding the correct dosage for that, too. I’ve thought about increasing his zinc beyond the 45 mg of supplementation he’s already getting, but I also know you can overdose with zinc.

Has anyone ever done a higher dose of zinc than is recommended on the Zinpro bottle?

Thanks again for all your help. 

[wolfpup]

This is an exerpt from the pdf above which I think might answe some of the questions you have:

Zinc Toxicity Levels Zinc does have a toxicity level in the body but because there is no way to store Zinc in the vital organs, toxic levels of Zinc come from one time large doses. Single doses of 225mgs to 450 mgs will cause vomiting in a dog. Lethal doses of Zinc begin at about 900mgs. The signs of Zinc toxicity in dogs are vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, jaundice, excessive panting, rapid breathing with rapid ore erratic heart rate. They will also have excessive haemoglobin levels in their blood and urine. Emergency medical intervention is necessary to deal with the rapid destruction of red blood cells and the high possibility of organ failure so make sure that you keep Zinc tablets out of the reach of dogs. Do All Forms Of Zinc Work Equally Well For My Husky? No, not all forms of Zinc work as well to add available Zinc to your dog’s diet. There are several different forms of Zinc that you could use. Know which forms work well and which ones work less well.
20
Zinc forms ranked from best to worst:

Zinc citrate, picolinate and gluconate are very easily absorbable and well● utilized by your dog’s body. ( 25mgs up to 100mgs daily)

Chelated Zinc does not bind to iron so it tends to upset the stomach less● than some other forms of Zinc but maybe slightly less absorbable than picolinate and gluconate forms.( dosage is the same as above)

Zinc Methionine combines Zinc with Methionine and is reasonably well● utilized in most dogs. ( 40 mgs daily dosage) Zinc Sulphate tends to be very hard on the stomach causing unnecessary● stomach upset. For that reason it is recommended that it be crushed and added in with food but this also makes it less absorbable. ( 200mgs daily dosage)

Zinc Oxide is a very cheap and highly un-absorbable form of Zinc. Sadly this● is the form of Zinc being used by most mid to low end dog food manufacturers. No wonder so many Snow Dogs suffer from Zinc Deficiency.

Did you know: while Zinc is less likely to cause stomach upset when given after food is in the stomach, it works best when it is given 4 hours after a meal has been eaten. The reason for this is has to do with calcium interfering with the efficiency of Zinc absorption. So try giving the Zinc  just before the evening bedtime. There will be food in the stomach but it will be far enough into the digestive process that calcium will not interfere with Zinc absorption.

Calculations For Adding A Zinc Mineral Supplement To Your Husky’s Diet The actual calculation formula for Zinc dosage is a complicated mathematical process guaranteed to leave anyone without a Mathematics degree scratching their heads. But I will share it with you none the less. The National Research Council recommends the following protocol for arriving at the Recommended Daily Allowance for dietary zinc for dogs. It is 2.0 mgs/ KGbw/0.75.
 

As I feed raw only I can calculate the amount of zinc Marley has by weighing his food and checking on the type of meat for its zinc content.    Roughly though 100grams meat contains 100mg zinc   -  about 40% of ingested dietary zinc is absorbed into the body  (from memory)  -  as Marley is epileptic I ensure he gets more than enough zinc for his needs but far less than toxic levels.   

Giving too much zinc can cause a lot of problems - but the pdf explains this all.

[DesertHusky]

Thanks for all the information, everyone!

I had read the article before, but I haven’t found any other sources that have corroborated those dosage recommendations. I usually try to find multiple sources; you guys are definitely a source. I decided to up the zinc another 15mg and see what happens. I know that article says zinc toxicity takes a lot of zinc, but I also worry that changing too much too quickly can shock the system.

Has anyone found a brand for cheleated zinc or zinc citrate? Right now we do the zinc methione and do administer it with food, but I’d prefer to do something a little more absorbable. Thanks!

. 

[chelseafan]

Snow paw store stock a zinc supplement called Nutrazinc, a friend of mine used this with great results.


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[hannahpatterson93]

http:// https://www.snowdog.guru/zinc-deficiency-seizures-huskies/


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[DesertHusky]

So we upped his Zinpro by 15mg. His nose seems to be doing a little better. He still has a little rash around his mouth, but I would definitely say there is improvement.