The Dog with the Dissolving Face

The title is no exaggeration.

A week ago Boo, my gorgeous 2 yr old black male Labradane, was involved in a brief scuffle with another dog in which he sustained a small superficial bite wound on the mouth, a little bleeding but it soon healed perfectly. In the evening of the same day I noticed some large lumps starting to form under the skin of his muzzle. The next day was a Sunday so I couldn't get him to the vets, but the lumps seemed to be subsiding. However by the evening they were returning & also appearing around the eyes. On Monday morning lumps were more prominant / dense & becoming inflamed. I tried to contact the vets & several Animal Charities, but as it was a Bank Holiday there was no reply.

By the time I go him to a vets on Tuesday the lumps were almost totally covering his muzzle, running into each other & splitting to reveal spots of raw skin. The vet said she hadn't seen anything like it before, but instead of investigating any further she perscribed without bothering to actually diagnose. I was given no advice about protecting the wounds. There were one or two other areas of his body which seemed to be showing initial signs of lumps which I had discovered while in the waiting room, but she wasn't interested in looking at them. My 5 minutes for £25 was up, and we were bundled out of the door.

The broad spectrum oral antibiotic & antiseptic wash we were given had no effect & by the next appointment on Friday the condition had got rapidly worse. There had been slow but constant oozing of blood & puss for the last two days. Large patches of raw skin were visible on his muzzle ~ he looked like he'd been blasted in the face with with shrapnel. Chunks of fur & skin were peeling away in crusty flaps round the edges & would break off very easily.

This situation had initially been further aggravated by him rubbing his face with a forepaw (despite the painkillers we were given it was obviously still bothering him) so I got him a large e-collar first thing Thursday morning, wishing it had occured to me earlier & wondering why the vet hadn't suggested it.

I took the vet (same practice, different vet) to task on this & the lack of any real attempt to make a diagnosis on the previous visit, asked why they didn't take a blood sample as we would now have the results if they had) I was fobbed off with the usual medical hogwash. She took a slide sample (at last!) but said this might be a pointless exersize because she thought it might perhaps maybe be an autoimmune condition that had got a secondary infection (as denoted by the puss) due to the open wounds. If it was autoimmune it would need a biopsy to ID it, which would take a week to get results. But they didn't want to do one today.

So we got more of the same antibiotics & a steroid cream & more painkillers. Over the weekend things have continued to get worse. His muzzle now looks like a piece of raw meat. Further lumps have come up on the external surface of his lovely flopsy velvety ears & are starting to ooze & crust. There are smaller clusters of smaller lumps in isolated patches (on the legs and around the genitals).

He has discovered he can circumnavigate the e-collar restriction on scratching by rubbing his muzzle on things from the front... such as the sofa (which now looks like a murder has been committed on it!) or the ground when we are out for a walk. Result; his face gets rally mashed up & bloody, and in the latter case bits of stick, seeds, etc get stuck in the crevices were the skin is cracking & crusting, or on the raw flesh. Picking them off without causing further injury in case he suddenly jerks his head is... nerve wracking & tricksy. He sometimes obediantly keeps still, sometimes wriggles like an eel... and it's easier said than done to keep this dog perfectly still against his will (he’s about the size & build of a large German Shepherd).

This also occurs when putting the steroid cream on... which he immediately attempts to lick off even if distracted with food or walks. The vet helpfully said "don't let him do that"... but how are you supposed to stop a dog licking his chops for like an hour or whatever while the cream soaks in. Do these vets actually live on Planet Earth?

I seem to have found a solution for the face rubbing however. I DIY extended the length of his e-collar with some card & tape (I'll see if I can buy some transparent perspex tommorrow) so that it extends 6" in front of his face. He can still drink if his water bowl is kept full, altho I have to feed him by hand & guide or carry him up & down the stairs (have you ever tried carrying a 70lb dog with a wounded face that must be treated with great care up a steep narrow staircase where one of the stairs is missing?).

He's being very brave & stoic about the whole thing, and suprisingly still has a healthy appetite, stools & energy levels when out. Altho he is getting rather listless & mournful in the house. I think it's a combo of the e-collar & the fact that he can't get to scratch himself into a bloody pulp rather than serious pain (altho it looks excruitiating to me) as he's not wimpering or whining... but he could just be being a hero.

As you may have educed... I take a pretty dim view of the medical profession. They're fine if it's something routine, but if it's anything unusual they don't want to know. You would think they might take an interest in an unusual case... but nah. When ever I personally have had any unusual complaint I've had to end up doing the overpaid 'experts' jobs for them: researching the symptoms, diagnosing myself & finding out about treatments... then fighting to get those treatments (like getting blood out of a stone).

The first time it happened I was left with permanent scarring due to medical negligence. I got no compensation, not even an apology. But as a result I know a fair bit about basic (human) dermatology. From that I suspect that the condition Boo's face is in he will have serious permanent scarring, pressumably without fur re-growth (human scar tissue doesn't usually have hair follicles). That's pressuming he survives.

Of course I will still love him the same however scarred he is, but it's so sad as he was widely considered to be a particularly handsome hound. Complete strangers routinely shout across the street to us "what a lovely dog" and "aww that dawg is soooo cute" and such.

I know that one can't reasonably expect a doctor or vet to cure EVERYTHING, particularly first time. But we have a third visit tommorrow & I wonder if they might actually consider doing a diagnosis before perscribing any more grossly overpriced medicines. I feel like they are milking me for money I haven't got ~ if I did have I wouldn't begrudge it for Boo: he is literally the best friend I have ~ but we are desperately poor. I don’t think that these Mainstream Middle-Class ppl actually have any conception of what it is like living on £30 - £60 per week, zero in the bank, creditors banging on the door. We have to look up just to see the breadline far above us. Because we are so skint I couldn't affored to pay Boo's insurance last Month... the bite happened 5 days after it ran out. Apparently we can't get help from the Animal Charities such as PDSA because I don't claim benefits. I'm trying to support us without handouts from a State I despise (me & Boo are full on Alt lifestyle Bohemians ~ we hate The System!). But my business (I'm self-employed) has pretty much collapsed in ruins.

Also, more importantly ~ while these 'professionals' mess about ~ my dog is suffering & getting more & more scar wounds. Also, I researched canine autoimmune skin diseases, found some pretty detailed stuff written for vet reference. And his symptomology doesn't really seem to match any of them exactly to me. The main point here being that (as far as I can tell) autoimmune conditions are gradual onset: whereas this was rapid onset & is rapidly progressing, altho there are other things too.

Point is: if they do a biopsy ~ and then we wait a week to find it's not an autoimmune issue ~ will he have any face left?

Any advice or thoughts appreciated...
Thanx for reading

Find another vet and get a 2nd opinion would be my advice! Did they say WHY they didn't want to do a biopsy? Have they suggested anything it could be other than autoimmune problems? If his symptoms are getting worse I'd get him to another vet ASAP. You're obviously not happy with how your current vet is treating him and it can't do any harm to seek a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

Other than that I don't really have any advice. I hope you find out what's causing this and I hope it's treatable. I've never heard of anything like it!

Not sure what it is and obviously without seeing it wouldn't like to try and guess but if he were mine I'd be going to a different vet for a second opinion.

Hope whatever the cause you get it sorted xx

Well, it`s just been a week, which isn`t long enough for any ABs to take effect. I assume you`re washing with hibiscrub and you`ve put the dog`s front paws in socks to stop him further injuring his face?
These sorts of allergic or toxic reactions are difficult to diagnose I think. TBH your vet sounds pretty competent. A sample to test and topical treatment plus ABs covers most bases.
I had a dog who would come up in lumps which then were prone to secondary infections from a simple cat flea bite, and the bacterial infection was a swine to treat.
Work with your vet, and try to find a solution?

Not sure what it is that is causing this problem but I can sympathise with your with regards to his sore face. My dog has allergies to dust mites and at the moment he has been wearing a buster collar for three weeks to stop him scratching his eye and muzzle. Like your dog it’s raw, no fur and starting to get scabby. Also he tries rubbing himself against things when wearing the collar. He also tries and rubs his face along the grass when out walking. When he does this, he then passes out.

It really is frustrating to see your dog suffer like this.

Does your dog’s face look anything like this:-

http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=153432&page=3

I really do hope you get him sorted. Your dog may need to see a skin specialist. My dog is back at the vets on Saturday and I will be asking to be referred to skin specialist.

Lets us know how he gets on at the vets.

Maybe a bacterial infection caused by the the bite.
In view of the 'history' I would have thought the vet would have taken a swab to see if the cause was bacterial so that if it was a specific antibiotic could be given .

With these conditions it is often a case of ruling out what it is not rather than what it is then seeing what you are left with .

Poor Boo, it must be very uncomfortable, I hope he is better soon.