Bad luck I guess...

Hello everyone 2 months ago I got a staffy named him Jimmy and everything was fine...I got him from a respectable breeder pedigree papers Chip vaccine's happy happy joy joy.
But after a month I noticed that Jimmy's tale started to curl and lost his staffy tale and it seems more like a pug now...I investigate and found out that's a genetic flaw and it happends...OK I don't whant him for shows so its OK next week started to lose hair went to the vet and after 15 days special shampoo they scraped him and he has demodex now the vet want to put him on hill zd that costs like 40€ for 3kg... So my budget is already going of the charts only on food ! Can all of this be related I mean the genetic flaw with the low imonulogic system?? Do I have to prepare to anything else on the way?? Buff I just wanted a happy healthy dog

Hey! Poor Jimmy! I have no experience with the genetic side of things, but as long as it's just a visual defect and won't effect his balance etc I wouldn't worry, the vets/breeder would be best to advise on this side of things.

Why have the vets prescribed zd? I thought that was for allergies? I know it supports the skin but he has demodex, not allergies, so a usual diet high in nutrients plus the demodex medicinal treatment should be sufficient? I'm not a vet of course, but just be wary of them trying to sell your their hills diets. It's a money making scheme, and unless he's got digestive problems, or allergies causing skin complaints, I would just stick with your own choice of hypoallergenic food that you could probably buy for half of the price!

aw bless jimmy with advice from the vet he should be fine id also research the food side of things as getting food from the vet can be pretty expensive when you can buy a food that does the same job without the extortionate price tag.

Aww poor Jimmy! But I bet his curly tails looks super cute!! I love a curly tail.

Anywho - as Rachel and Crystal have said above, research the food as vet food is ridiculously overpriced! There are pretty much always other options that are cheaper! And yeah, like Rachel said, I'm not sure why they've prescribed zd when it's not an allergy - little confusing.

Good luck xxxxx

Poor little man, that must be uncomfortable. And bless you for accepting his wonky tail. He'll still be your Jimmy, just a bit more special.

It makes me a bit cross that vets push this Hills food onto people who will do what they need to do for their dogs but who aren't nutritionists and so can't make that snap judgement about feeding. I agree with Rachel, I'd just pop him on the best food you can afford. If Jimmy has a less than perfect immune system, and that's an if, then go down the hypoallergenic route but otherwise I'd just look into the best nutrition for money that's in your budget and go with that.

Demodex (aka mange) is a mite, and I personally can't see that's an indicator of an impaired immune system. That clearly needs treating and you need to keep Jimmy away from other dogs as the mites will spread quickly.

Unless he's had tests that indicate a problem with his immune system, I wouldn't stress too much about it. If you continue to encounter problems down the line then test, but otherwise you may well be worrying about something that doesn't exist. It sounds to me (not a vet!) like you've got a coincidence of two unrelated things, one of which isn't a problem and the other is treatable.

Let us know how he gets on, please?

Yes please keep us updated

Well the vet said the zd food was so he could concentrate all his immune system on fighting the mites...probably a tale to sell me expensive food but it sounds good idea wen you love this little crocodile pug tale dog hahahha I'll appreciated some tips on good (-$) for this kind of problem me and Jimmy of course:)

hi ive a 10 month old staffy pup with a pug like tail i havent heard many people owning a staffy with a tail like my brunos i will put some pics on when i learn how.the one thing that really irratates me is when im out walking him him people say "isnt he beautiful look at his curly tail" yeah ive googled it n ive picked up that its a fault dont know how far its true but i cudnt care aless hes my big beautiful boy n i wudnt care if he was bright pink with purple dots

People pick up on what stands out, so don't worry too much about it. My Millie hasn't got a tail at all (she's got a deformed spine) and it's usually the first thing someone will see.

perfect is boring !! i think it makes yours more unique n special

Yup i don't mind at all the only thing I am worried is this stupid demodex stated already the treatment with advocate and fingers crossed
It's already 3 days but it seems to get worse... He already lost mor hair on the head !
About the food the vet said that it was so he could be only concentrate in fighting the mites and giving him this food will help skin recovery... Probably a tale to sell me that food but I cannot say no to anything that may help this little crocodile crooked tale that I love so much if anybody can help me out with some tips about good food I'll appreciated and Jimmy of course

Ok, I stand corrected. I've been googling about demodectic mange and it can - can - be due to an impaired immune system, but equally it can also occur with an immature immune system and, from what I've read, this is usually presumed to be the case when it appears in young dogs. This article is typtical of the sort of thing I've been reading:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_demodectic_mange.html

No where have I read anyone recommending a hypoallergenic diet.

So, diet depends a bit on what you want to feed. Some of us on here feed raw, most others a good quality dried food. If you want more information on raw, have a look in here or ask us (I feed raw):

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f125-staffordshire-bull-terrier-raw-food-diets

and there's loads about dried food here:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f29-staffordshire-bull-terrier-diet-nutrition

One site that's often recommended is http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/. They give an overview of all the different brands and an indicator of how good they are. You can also put in your budget and some basic info about your dog and it'll come up with suggestions.

Poor Jimmy cant give any advice than has already been given, hope he heals soon, and loving the thought of that curly tail

hi jst thought id change my profile pic to my 10 month old staffy called bruno so i can show u his curly tail its not often i hear of anyone having a staffy with a tail like my brunos

He's GORGEOUS!

every now and then I sneak my boy a tin of mackeral or sardines to help with his skin.