Sassy – New thread

[Alyssa]

2 week checkup!

that lump I was talking about is almost completely gone. So I’m thinking it was just a cyst of some kind!

PCV 48.8%, a little higher than normal because we went earlier than usual today and she hadn’t really drank anything this morning. Everything else normal.
Dropping aza to 1/2 tab one day, 1/4 tab next day.

So heres a problem shes had since about 3 months into starting treatment, has anyone else had it? She seems to have hyperkeratosis/”hairy paw”, where it looks like her paw pads are over-growing and feathering. She had it on her nose for a while but that went away. I’ve pretty much left it alone, but now it seems to be causing minor limping after long periods of play/walk, so I’m going to start trimming it down. I read that it can get to a point where it’s painful. Dr showed me how to do it and I have a pair of extra sharp round-tip scissors on the way. I’ll attach a photo!

[Alyssa]

Okay, the photo I attached shows one of her front paw pads. Her back ones are a lot worse, and it’s on all of them. I’m just wondering if there is a connection with this and the treatment of AIHA, or perhaps low thyroid? if anyone else has experienced it.

[Vally]

Alyssa, photo’s not up yet but is it hair that’s growing or bumps? When I google hyperkeratosis, it looks like little bumps everywhere. It’s just that Bingo has the hairiest paws. I’ve never had a dog with such hairy paws before and it makes him slip a lot if it’s not trimmed constantly. So I’m always at it.

Vally & Hairy
xxx

[Alyssa]

Valley, as far as I can tell it’s actually the material of her pawpad that is overgrowing so the pawpad starts to spread apart, if that makes since. I don’t think it is actually hair. It’s very touch just like her pads.

[Patrice]

Alyssa,
Sorry to hear about this. Paw and nail things can be quite complex in canines. I found a wonderful site a long time ago that luckily is still on the internet.
http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/grooming/nailconditions.htm

Just my casual suggestion is that this may be some form of fungal / bacterial infection. I dealt with paw infections like this with Chance for a long time because he had TERRIBLE allergies. I tried dozens of products but I never had success until I used Malaseb shampoo on him. For the rest of his life, this kept his skin and paws free of any infections. It is expensive, but really works. You don’t need to use a lot of this to have success. I would make up a solution of this in a bucket and soak his paws for 5-10 mins and repeating that about every 10 days was sufficient to protect him.
http://www.bayerdvm.com/show.aspx/malaseb-shampoo

Try this for a few days and see if you have success. If you do, you will know that it is bacterial/fungal related.

Another cause that is can be seen for paw and nail issues in canines is something called Pemphigus/Symmetrical Lupoid Onchodystrophy (SLO) , an autoimmune condition. The lowchensaustralia site claims this is most common in Greyhounds, but I know that it is seen in Giant Schnauzers and probably in many breeds.
my best
patrice

[Alyssa]

Hi, Patrice. Thank you again for the information. I can certainly try that shampoo if you think it may help her.

The vet did have a look today, and didn’t mention fungus. He pulled her foot up and even cut some of it off, to show me how to do it. It is definitely not growing *from* her paws, rather it is her paw pad growing excessively. Would fungus do this? And as I mentioned, she had the same thing going on with her nose a few months ago, but that healed up and is gone. She also has bits of weird growth on her elbows, that I noticed months ago – definitely part of her own skin and not a growth on it, though. If it were a fungus, would it remain the same for months like it has? Would she care if I messed with her paws (she doesn’t). I trimmed them all tonight and applied 100% aleo vera, still on the search for a good dog foot balm, but she didn’t care at all and I noticed no smell, no discoloration, no moisture, and the feathery bits were definitely all an extension of her normal pads. She has also never licked them or acted like the bothered her, other than the past week me noticing the growths have gotten rougher and she had started limping a little bit after long walks.

[Alyssa]

I am going to order that shampoo, just in case.

Would I soak her in the tub with it just on her feet? Or if it is a fungus/yeast, could it be all over her and she needs a whole bath with it? How often should I do it at first, every 10 days or is that more of a maintenance time?

[Patrice]

Alyssa,
Ah, I see, it is a growth of extra skin, so to speak. This may be related to the use of cyclosporine, but it also does occur in breeds not on this drug. How long a period of time and what dose are we talking about?

The Atopica product insert notes that during the 90 study done on Atopica: “The maximum recommended dose, when administered for 90 days causes callus-like lesions on the footpads.” When they say maximum recommended dose they are talking about 5mg/kg/day.

They also note with this same dosage that “hyperkeratotic areas on the integument ” were seen. These fall under a category of veterinary conditions called Hyperplastic and Seborrheic Syndromes: “Many anomalies affect keratinization.” (Keratinization refers loosely to the growth of skin areas, hyper means excessive. ) See this page for images:
http://www.vetbook.org/wiki/dog/index.php/Hyperkeratosis

In both instances, the researchers noted that these side effects went away with a decrease of dosage and discontinuing Atopica.

But some dogs and some breeds have an inherited condition of hyperkeratinization without being exposed to drugs, this includes Poodles and Akitas.

I found this treatment information at one vet site:
“Treatment is symptomatic, with soaking, keratolytic and emollient treatments, with treatment of bacterial pyoderma.”

And I also read this in the Merk Manual: “Mildly affected dogs are treated with antiseborrheic shampoos and treatment of pyoderma as needed. Severely affected dogs have benefited from propylene glycol or hot oil treatments. Some dogs respond to oral supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, and some respond to synthetic retinoids. Cases of spontaneous remission have been recorded. Recently, modified cyclosporine A (5 mg/kg/day, PO) has been very effective in the treatment of many dogs.”
So contrarily, they use cyclosporine to treat it. How odd.

I would be reluctant to use propylene glycol even though it is used in veterinary treatment. Oral retinoids are the same thing we humans use to get a finer nicer skin, in other words it sloughs off skin tissue and gets rid of wrinkles or in teens it treats acne.

So I remember being on a forum “somewhere” on the internet reading about how owners were treating this and I do remember this talk about using hot oil treatments. Talk to your vet first! But you can certainly start the shampoo on your own and fish oil is good for most every dog, only those that are actively in hemolysis should not be taking fish oil. Your vet probably has a favorite salve for paws.

I would highly recommend a higher dose of omega-3 fatty acids. Depending on weight you could probably give 3-4 fish oil capsules a day to see if there is any benefit.

And yes, I would add a veterinary formulated anti-seborrheic shampoo. I found this one that seems to be well rated by owners on Amazon. They say it smells good and is cheaper than the vets.
BPO 3 Shampoo 3% Benzoyl Peroxide (16 oz) is an antimicrobial, keratolytic, follicular flushing medicated shampoo for dogs and cats. It may be used in the topical treatment of pyoderma, folliculitis and seborrheic skin disorders. Contains 3% benzoyl peroxide.

Medicated Shampoo
Keratolytic
Degreasing
Follicular Flushing
Antibacterial
by VET Solutions

So you have some, what I consider benign, treatments you can start. This will make you feel a little more in control of the situation and she will love the extra attention!
my best
patrice