IW Health Talk
Skin problems
Hello to you all
I have a problem with Charlie my 16 month old Oafhound who has 'issues' with her skin and I'm interested to see if any of you have had similar problems and can advise. (With your dogs of course!)
I've waited along time to own one of these magnificent beasts and am very much smitten by this young lady - it is true, they do get under your skin and I'm sure I wont be without one for the rest of my life. However ......... the skin problem she has is driving me nuts !
Before I spend an arm and a leg with my Vet I'm hoping that someone out there in internet land can start me off in the right direction or better still offer me the cure I'm looking for.
The rashes take the form of an angry red oval/round shaped lesions/postule which come up very quickly, break the skin, scab over and then disapears over the next two or three days with the aid of an over the counter Canestan Hydrocortisone cream. (She doesnt seem bothered by them - but then she aint bothered by much!) I have noticed a previous discussion on this website regards something very similar but back in 2007 but it doesnt draw any firm conclusions - is the previous poster still registered ? Did you find out what it was ?
She has been on antibiotics from the Vet which do not seem to cure the core problem. The lesions are 'none area specific' choosing to appear and disappear anywhere they like. I treat her every morning with cream, observing the cycle of this problem. We use Advocate to control fleas and just about everything else once a month.
We did have problems with her diet about three months ago when she had persistent diarrhoea which we cured overnight by putting her onto a gluten free diet but this problem goes back beyond that.
There is only one thing that I can think of that may relate to this problem. We have two Collies and we live in a farm cottage on a 400 acre farm. Last summer one of the Collies brought in fox mange which was successfully cured in all three dogs with lotions/potions and bucketfulls of tablets. My Vet says it's nothing to do with Charlies skin problem now - he thinks its an allergic reaction to something but what and why the numerous recurrences we just dont know.
Any help or advice from other Hound owners would be most appreciated.
I would be interested to know whether it's 'in' the breed - maybe something from the past or, as I suspect, Charlies just, well ........ special!
Many thanks
Owen
Hello - it sounds like your girl may have pyoderma - skin infection caused by bacteria. What we don't know is whether it's a primary or secondary problem. Some things you (and your vet) may consider are doing skin scrapings to rule out mange, skin cytology, and possibly a culture and sensitivity. Your vet can gently "pop" one of the pustules to get a good impression smear for cytology and for a culture and sensitivity if needed. Secondary reasons for pyoderma could include atopy (environmental/inhalant allergies) and/or food allergies. Sometimes in a young dog you may just need to wait for their immune system to kick in and the pyoderma may regress on its own. Regardless, you can talk to your veterinarian about the use of omega 3 fatty acids, appropriate antibiotics, and topical therapies such as antibacterial shampoos (benzoyl peroxide, colloidal oatmeal, chlorhexidene). Sometime antibiotics help but aren't given long enough. Some cases require more than a week or two. Hopefully this should give you a starting point.
Good luck with your girl!
Alice Timmerman, DVM
Hello Alice
Many thanks for your reply.
Your answer is all pretty much what our own vet has said in the past. I think the reason for my posting was to find out if anybody has specifically discovered what they are and, more importantly, how to treat them - we just seem to be throwing money at a problem we can't seem to fix!
I have a couple of photos. Would you be interested in seeing them? I can send them to your email address if that's okay with you? In any case, many thanks for your time and advice.
kindest regards
Owen
If skin scrapings, cytology, and culture and sensitivity do not tell you what you need to know - biopsy, biopsy, biopsy. Get part of the lesion and adjacent normal skin.
Sincerely,
Alice
I would have to agree with Alice here. Get him as fast as you can to a vet to get him tested for any skin conditions and have him treated accordingly. Skin issues are tricky and you have to strictly adhere to what the vet needs you to do to treat the problem thoroughly. Failure to do so may cause for the problem to come back and get worse and even get immuned to the treatment. so be cautious.
good luck!
Mika
Also, my friend has this dog that has the same condition as with yours, but they got over the issue and the dog is now fine. so don't lose hope!
Hi Owen,
We're going through the same thing with our male wolfhound (who is now about the same age as yours was at the time of your posting), and have now spent a couple thousand dollars with our vet trying to figure out what is causing the skin issues. We're getting frustrated, and our poor dog is constantly breaking out in new patches. We have tried antibiotics, skin scrapes and tests, different foods, topical skin treatments, special shampoos, dietary supplements, steroids, and human allergy medicine (under the direction of our vet, of course). As the steroids our vet has been prescribing have long-term health risks, we're trying to get away from using them; we're also trying to find a cure so we don't have to constantly battle the itchy patches. Our vet finally recommended an allergy test, but as she is going to charge us $800 for said test, we thought we might reach out on the internet to see if anyone might have some advice. Did you get your dog's skin cleared up? And if so, how?
Thanks for your time and any advice you might have!
Kaci
A consultation with a veterinary dermatologist and allergy testing may be the way to go here. You've already spent a large sum of money and the problem continues. You may spend a lot with a dermatologist, but you should be able to get to the root of the problem sooner and hopefully have quicker relief for your hound.
Good luck!
Dr. Alice Timmerman
Owen -
I don't have a wolfhound (yet!) but what you describe sounds very much like what happens to my dachshund's skin. We've treated the lesions with antibiotics and they go away, but new ones pop up as soon as we stop the antibiotic treatments.
But... about 2 weeks ago he suffered a back injury (darn doxies and their disc diseases!) and he is on predisone to bring down the swelling. Lo and behold - his skin has cleared right up! He even has a lovely doggie smell now instead of a DOG smell. The vet says this is a sign that his problem is likely an allergy issue. Steroids aren't a good long term solution, of course, so once his back is better we'll start looking at what else we might try to keep his skin cleared up.
Hope you are able to figure out Charlie's issues!
Teresa
