Please help with a really dumb question...
The background: Our ten year old sheepie, Portage, has had some odd symptoms recently. They could be old age related, but honestly, they all started quite suddenly, and I'm looking for a cause. He is on thyroid meds (has been for a year). His thyroid was underactive - we put him on a mild dose, and when we tested him the levels were too high. So, we put him on an even milder dose (our vet chuckled that he must think he's a teacup poodle) and now he's right in the middle of the good zone. We retested this week. His guard hairs have really disappeard quickly recently, and he went from being a mid charcoal colour to very very light grey. I know they lighten as they age, but again, it was pretty quick. We're also testing for cushing's, and all his results have been borderline or better, so the vet is hesitant to move ahead. Anyway, a few months ago his pink skin on the back suddenly turned very dark. Now the dark is flaking off and the skin underneath is a very nice pink colour. One of our vets took a look and she thinks that he put down a layer of pigment for some reason (could have been the stress of losing our other dog Theeps) and now it's correcting. She said that it is something she sees occasionally in smaller, housebound dogs, but that she's never seen it in a larger breed. So, she asked, does he get enough sun? Well, here's Portage's dirty little secret. He HATES outside. There, I said it. He goes out to do his business of course. Three times a day and that's that. He doesn't even want to come outside with me and with Hudson. He loves his walks, but fusses if we take him somewhere that's in direct sun. He loves the path in the park, but it meanders through heavy woods/shade. He has scraped all the paint off the outside of the back door, because he flips if he doesn't get back in right away. When we BBQ and eat on the deck, he sits in the air conditioned house and watches us, even with the door wide open. I shared this all with the vet and she said that his skin problems could be caused by not getting enough (any really) sun. So, our goal is an hour a day in the sun. (Watching for burning of course...) Now, this is a nightmare for him. He scratches and whines, and needs to be coaxed to settle down. I've plied him with treats, etc. Today he fell asleep on the deck (after 20 minutes of fussing and begging - I was in the lounge chair right beside him) but it was in the shade. He avoids direct sunlight like it's toxic. Apparently he's part vampire. So, here's my stupid question... Does he get any benefit at all from sitting in the light shade/dappled sunlight? Or is it a waste of time and should I flat out drag him in the middle of the yard (gently and lovingly of course) into the direct sunlight? Today he fell asleep in the shade and the sun moved enough that he was in sunlight by the time he woke up. He gave me the angriest, dirtiest look as if to say "hey, stop moving the universe!" and then he stormed to the door and started scratching furiously to go into his nice air conditioned house. So, does he have to be in direct sunlight to benefit? Or is this better than nothing? |
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| yes I believe he gets sun even in the shade.
odd you know I have a low thyroid dog that doesn't like the heat too. he only wants to be out in the cold weather. its odd because low thyroid dogs are supposed to seek out the heat of the sun. |
| Another thought. When my son little, we have to give him sun exposure everyday for his elevated bilirubin. Using a south-facing window, with no tint, we had him take his naps in the sunlight. It worked well enough to keep him out of the hospital.
Do you have an indoor area that could work like that? |
| Yes, your dog (and you) will get sun in the shade. If you want to test that theory, find a UVA/UVB "indicator" card. What it will do is tell you how long it will take for a human to burn in the sun and/or tell you what SPF you should wear. I can almost guarantee that there will be some color changing on the card. Try it in the sun and in the shade. Also, think about how many people believe that because it is cloudy or in the winter time, they do not need to wear sunscreen.....and they are FRIED! |
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