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buchanan2015
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buchanan2015 is offline  
Location: United States
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1
Female 
 
04-11-2017, 05:31 PM

Underlying Causes of GSD Skin Issues

I have a 5.5-year-old German Shepherd who has been very healthy other than a few recent issues. In August, my veterinarian diagnosed her with a skin infection so she gave her cephalexin and prednisone. The rash went away but she kept losing hair horribly. Her coat was very brittle and thin and she was nearly bald in areas. I had moved back to college so I took her to a different vet who said she just had allergies and she gave her Apoquel which kept her from itching but did nothing for the hair loss. Around the end of September, she began to grow her hair back and begin looking better but then mid-October developed small lesions all over her neck and shoulders. They were pustules all over and then when they busted I could see they looked like small holes everywhere. After they would bust the were crusty scabs. I took her back to my vet at college and she gave her more Apoquel and cephalexin but had no idea what would cause pustules like that. She did not believe her “allergies” would be the cause but the antibiotics dried them all up. The next week we went back home to our regular vet to have her checked out and by that point all the lesions were dried and looked like dandruff. My vet ran a complete blood cell count and everything came back clear. It’s now about 3 weeks later and she has developed a quarter sized abscess/cyst on her rear flank. I drained it and it had pus and some black thick stuff come out. I have a two-week dose of cephalexin of her that I had to stop from a while ago that I started her on so I’m sure it will heal up but I am wondering if there could be some underlying cause to all this. I have tried doing research and I can’t find anything that seems to fit but I am unsure. She did lose weight when she had hair loss but has gained it all back plus a little extra (she’s right at 75lb so she’s not overweight). Two years ago she did have a thyroid panel done that came back good but it showed she has potential for issues when she gets older. If anyone has any insight I would be happy for suggestions.
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shaggydog
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Location: Philippines
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 9
Male 
 
19-11-2017, 06:27 AM
Hi. There are many factors for chronic problems. Hope the list below can help

1) Fungus. For dogs that are always wet, their fur become very homey for fungus infections. Think dandruff but all over. Usually the dog will appear crusty with occassional hair fall. You can easily remedy this by preventing the dog from being always wet or ensuring they dry quickly post wetness. And also use an anti fungal shampoo such as ones with Miconazole.

2) Diet. Dogs fed high carb meals tend to be more inflammed. Insulin being present all the time is very supportive of inflammation—true to both dogs and people. Inflammation can promote various diseases from skin yeast infections, to more serious things like cancer and diabetes.

3) Mange. This can be demodectic or sarcoptic. The former is naturally in a dogs fur and should be managed by a dogs own defences unless compromised (which is the bigger question). Sarcoptic is externally passed and can be addressed by dips and other common treatments.
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