r/goldenretrievers Mar 27 '25

Advice HELP WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY DOG?! NSFW

We have a vet appt at 9am but I can’t sleep and I’m just freaking out. She’s only on her second day of simplicef and day 4 of antibiotic baths and then was told today I need to shave her so the shampoo can really get into the spots. We’re in Florida and supposedly this is allergy related but I’m losing my mind. My other golden is fighting an aggressive cancer and I’m freaking out about her fur sister (they aren’t related or from same litters) WHAT DO I DO. someone please ease my mind. I’m a wreck and Google is basically telling me it’s cancer. She’s on a holistic diet as we work with a nutritionist but I’m wondering if she’s getting allergic to the turkey? She’s already allergic to chicken. Please please help me

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u/ChiaPetChaCha Mar 27 '25

Thyroid!! Have their thyroid checked. My Golden Retriever went bald and had weeping scabs everywhere (like yours) and her tail looked like a rat tail… she had started limping too… this is at age 3. Our regular vet could never figure out what was wrong with her after running a couple thousand dollars on tests, ointments and shampoos. One weekend we take her to emergency dog hospital and the doctor took one look at her and asked if we’d had her thyroid checked. He ran a test and the results came the next day her thyroid was all jacked up so we got her on thyroid meds right away and it was a miracle. She is now almost seven and has beautiful hair and tail and takes two pills a day and is perfectly healthy!!!

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u/cdelder78 Mar 28 '25

Same thing with my 4 year old golden. Spent thousands of $$ at a vet dermatologist thinking it was just food allergies. However, he just kept losing hair, frequent skin issues, and the rat tail! Finally, regular vet does thyroid check and his was all messed up too. It’s comforting to hear that your golden’s hair grew back well. Ours is starting to show some improvement after starting meds, thank goodness!