Dog Community

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

Posted : 3/14/2011 3:14:40 PM

Anybody has any experience with this condition at all? I know it's rare. I have a friend who's dog has it and she feels lost and alone.

janet_rose

Posted : 3/14/2011 6:12:46 PM

I have no experience with this hereditary syndrome, but here are some articles so folks can understand what the symptoms can be. There may be skin, coat, eye, and/or joint issues. What issues does your friend's dog have?

“Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in a dog”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1480711/
“Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, also called cutaneous asthenia, is a rare connective tissue disease reported in humans, dogs, cats, mink, cattle, and sheep. The skin is hyperextensible and may also be very thin and fragile with greatly reduced tensile strength. The hair coat is often dry and fine. The disease complex may include joint laxity and ocular abnormalities. Histologically, the dermis is thinner than normal, with fragmentation and alterations in size and orientation of collagen bundles. There is a decrease in the number of collagen fibers. The disease is hereditary and appears to be autosomal dominant.”

"Disorder - Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome"

http://sydney.edu.au/vetscience/lida/dogs/search/disorder/341/Ehlers-Danlos%20Syndrome"
The skin of a dog affected by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome will have one twenty-seventh of the tensile strength of normal skin, and will tear very easily. If surgically stitched the skin will heal normally. However, without stitches the wounds will form large scars. These scars may be thin and highly pigmented. Other include loose joints, bruising on the legs or body due to fragile blood vessels, small lumps under the skin, fragile muscles, lameness without pain, and a thin and dry hair coat. There may be abnormalities of the eyes such as cataracts (cloudiness of the lenses) and poor ability of the pupils to contract in the presence of light. It is unusual to see all the symptoms in an affected animal. The most common is fragile or loose skin. Activities that may lead to skin damage should be avoided, and rough or sharp objects or areas in the dog's environment should be removed or altered to decrease the risk of injury to the dog."

Articles on humans:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers–Danlos_syndrome

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002439/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ehlers-danlos-syndrome/DS00706

janet_rose

Posted : 3/14/2011 6:46:57 PM

If your friend is able to contact the breeders of this dog, they should be advised of the situation since the condition is hereditary.

Dogs with Ehlers-Danlos can suffer from chronic pain. In that case, your friend should reference this web page:
http://www.dogaware.com/health/chronicpain.html

babelfish

Posted : 3/14/2011 7:17:02 PM

Dear Janet,

thank you so much for all the information.

The poor baby has the symptoms focused on skin and joints.

janet_rose

Posted : 3/14/2011 9:02:16 PM

babelfish
The poor baby has the symptoms focused on skin and joints.

Since this is a genetic problem the only useful suggestions are going to be those aimed at alleviating the dog's symptoms, so can you be a little more specific? Where is the skin being torn? What joints are giving the poor thing trouble? How old is the dog? Is he full grown? What breed, size, etc? Neutered?

There are a number of sites with supportive harnesses, braces, garments, etc. For a small dog some baby clothes can be converted to dog clothes without too much effort.

Example sites:
http://www.woundwear.com/
http://www.dogleggs.com/
http://handicappedpets.com/
http://www.yourdogsuppliesstore.com/2/Fashion_Pet_Sweet_Dreams_Dog_Pajamas.html
http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com/2010/02/baby-shirt-to-dog-shirt.html (baby shirt to dog shirt conversion)
http://diyfashion.about.com/od/diyfashion101/qt/Dog_Clothes.htm ("How-To Dog Clothes";)

babelfish

Posted : 3/14/2011 10:17:49 PM

2 year old Golden Retriever

The vet actually designed a special protective coat for him.

janet_rose

Posted : 3/14/2011 10:48:36 PM

babelfish
The vet actually designed a special protective coat for him.

Sounds like she has an inventive vet! Does the special coat cover the legs, too?

Is the joint problem luxating patellas?

babelfish

Posted : 3/15/2011 12:05:31 AM

Yes, I think the vet is really trying hard considering he's never encountered this condition before, and neither did any of my online vet friends! I don't know the details you asked, but I'm asking her and let you know as soon as I find out.

Thank you so much for your support! I think the two hardest things for my friend are

a) there is no treatment or cure and the poor pup is so young

b) it's so rare, she feels very alone in her situation

Mostly any other condition has support groups and forums, but not this one.

babelfish

Posted : 3/15/2011 2:53:15 PM

Most tears happen on upper torso and head if he scratches.

Affected joints are both hips, and recently left elbow. He is on Rimadyll for the really bad days.

It's a two part coat to help protect any major arteries as well as internal organs. He also wears booties when I can't be with him. But he sneaks in a scratch or two once in awhile.

Goldie23

Posted : 8/15/2011 1:17:41 PM

Hello

My goldens skin is easily breaking. The paws mostly, but recently it is occuring on her face. I knew her skin was delicate but my vet thought nothing of it until I went for a second opinion. She has not been officially diagnosed but her symptoms are very close to what I have read online. My vet says she seems to not have any collegen in her skin, which is why it breaks open easily.

I know there is no cure but it there anything I can do?

My worst fear is that something is going to happen to her that I am not able to fix based on my income. My dad thinks I should give her to someone else, but I love her so much that is the last thing I want to do. If you know of anything that helps or would like to stay in contact to try and find an answer together I would really appreciate it. The tearing on her face is new, but I have noticed the healing is different then normal. I am not sure what to do. It seems if she has an itch, and scrathes her face, she breaks the skin...

shadowsgin

Posted : 8/17/2011 11:56:43 AM

Sorry to hear of this problem. I see that you are new to the forum, welcome. There are so many knowledgeble folks here that I am sure you can get help. Check the links on this thread, catch up with Callie she is very well versed on skin conditions usually.

Goldie23

Posted : 8/26/2011 3:09:07 PM

Do you know how I find Callie ?

The skin issue has gotten a worse, in the sense her skin is tearing on her face. It starts to heal and then she tears her skin on her face some where else. I am very worried and I am do not know what to do even more.

calliecritturs

Posted : 8/27/2011 12:05:57 AM

*smile* you've found me! I'll e-mail you my contact info. I don't know much about this but I am usually pretty creative and there would be things that might help calm things down.

Probably my first suggestion would be NutraJoint. At this point its full name is "Osteo Bi-flex Knox Nutra Joint" -- it will help rebuild where the cartilage has worn away in the joints. It's *not* a pain med -- but rather it's putting the stuff at the body's disposal to help build better joint material. It's not expensive - let me know your dog's size and I'll help you dose it (just once a day in food -- and it's not bad tasting -- kinda milky/gritty but the dogs like it)

My second suggestion would be Traumeel cream -- that will help with the sore joints **and** it will help any sores on the skin. It's a homeopathic ointment that helps reduce inflammation.

What do you topically to help restore moisture to the skin? I'd be thinking Vit E and maybe Co-Q-10 topically. Have you tried any sort of topical collagen cream? What does the vet think about that?

I can help you with joint pain -- typically I'd say peppermint or wintergreen oils but they may be too intense (altho cutting it with olive oil might work to provide a bit of joint pain relief. But the Traumeel really *will* help the joint pain. It's got homeopathic arnica in it and it truly rocks for joint soreness. And it would be good for the sore skin as well. I've got psoriasis (totally different but lots of dry, itchy really fragile skin) so I understand the basics here.

Catahoulamom

Posted : 6/29/2014 8:26:56 PM

Is this post still active?

calliecritturs

Posted : 6/30/2014 12:27:32 AM

You can post on any "old" post and those who like to help will get notified of your post. I haven't heard from her in a while, tho