Hi, I am a new member to this forum however I have a question I hope someone can help with on behalf of my elderly, computer shy friend. After loosing her old lab last year she took on a 6 month old, very light coloured stocky lab. A few months ago he started with a scabby nose that has increasingly become worse....her vet said, quote! "I've seen this before in labs" end quote....and had no further advise! I'm worried that it will become infected (owner a little short on sight) as the nose cracks, looses scab and process starts again. Can anybody advise my friend? Many thanx
Hi and welcome to the forum It's kind of you to seek help for your friend. I'd really recommend that your friend find a different vet and get a second opinion. Something is causing the scabby nose and I wouldn't consider it good enough that the vet wasn't willing to get to the bottom of the problem. Does your friend have access to another vet in the area?
Hi and welcome to the forum . It sounds like the nose could already be infected and to be honest, in many years of owning Labs , I`ve never heard of this being a common problem . The youngster probably needs some antibiotics so I would urge your friend to see the Vet again , and if not happy with the response, see another Vet . Hoping it clears up soon .
Thanx for the advise...I've tried to suggest this the her but she has such faith in the vets that I worry. He's also a dog that eats every thing in site including stones and I wonder if any of those activities are related. I will mention that I've asked the questions on this forum and see if that changes her mind! I'll also check if she has insurance because maybe that is a factor in 'looking the other way'....wish me look
This sounds like Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis which is a genetic condition of Labradors. It is relatively common and most vets will have several patients with it. There is now a genetic test for it for health screening prior to breeding. It varies in severity from mild to severe, many dogs with the mild version get away with doing nothing at all, some people use products like vaseline to help prevent the nose from cracking too much. More severe cases benefit from trimming of the fronds of keratin that can develop, and this is best done by laser. Some dogs do get infection in the cracks which will then go pink, moist and oozy and a topical antibacterial cream usually sorts that out very quickly. If this is HNPK then it is a lifelong condition with no cure available. There are other causes of scaly scabby noses in Labs but they usually start in much older dogs and HNPK has such a typical appearance that the owners vet will be fairly confident in their diagnosis with no other testing required. And if it is a mild case then, as above, little or no treatment will be required or indeed effective.
Good luck I don't think the scavenging would be related to the nose issue. Eating stones is not great though as the intestine can constrict around them and then a blockage can form. Hopefully they're just small stones though. Could you get a photo of the nose and put it in this thread?
I've got a few photos of severe cases which we've lasered but sadly they are all on the work computer so I'll have a dig around tomorrow and see what I can find.
A few photos of HNPK in a labrador. This is a relatively severe case and had laser removal of the affected areas. P1010479.JPG by , on Flickr P1010478.JPG by , on Flickr P1010787.JPG by , on Flickr I've mainly seen it in yellows and choccies.
Thank everyone I have learned a lot from these posts, our girl is our first lab ret. and the info is good for my education. The scabby noses photos do show that my friends dog does indeed have a condition that looks the same and as bad, if not worse which I'm now confident that the vet is not doing enough for his welfare. I believe she would do anything to make it better and has tried Vaseline but in my opinion, after seeing your phots it is to advanced. I will endeavour to pass on the info and phots and ask if she might return to the vets. I will ask if I can get a photo of her dogs nose and post.
Oberon suggested getting a photo of my friends dogs nose so I took on but it won't let me load it...not authorised and don't know how to change this...anybody else know?
My lab's nose has looked like this for a few months now. Been to vet but steroid/antibiotic cream didn't work. Also tried Manuka honey and coconut oil. Currently using Lintbells silver skin cream and balm. It's not sore, bleeding or,infected but no idea why it won't heal. Any ideas ?
Ok, this is just a shot, but I have raised kids, had dogs, etc. etc. alovera is a natural plant that when you break it open it has a clear oozey liquid that is really good for burns. It heals almost immediately. I would try that or a spray. The spray would be less potent just not so messy. I definitely would try that and keep putting it on the nose even if he doesn't like it. Good luck.
I see this is an older thread that has been revived, however I have experience of this condition in a previous lab. He was a chocolate boy and developed this at 6 months, doses of steroid cream would clear it up but it always returned when the steroids were stopped. We never found a cure for it but opted for management, using either Vaseline or a factor 50 sun cream stick during the summer months as it always seemed to be worse in the sunshine. It didn't bother Raisin (our lab) but obviously looked unsightly especially to other people. His nose would shed large flakes, look pink and then go through the cycle again. We never had an exact diagnosis from our vet so I was very interested to read this thread.
Here in Germany in the Deutsche Retriever Club we now have mandatory genetic testing for HNPK, if you want to breed. If your dog is a carrier, you can still breed from him/her, but only to a dog that has tested clear. (Poppy luckily is clear).
