tamborine Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 (edited) Bama has had a small circular pink spot on his nose for months now. Just this past week or so, the black part of the nose seems to be peeling away, bleeding, then healing up to pink areas. I was cleaning it & putting EMT gel on it, because at first I thought it was traumatic. It doesn't seem to bother him - he's not scratching at it or anything. I just inspected his nose VERY closely, and there are even little pink areas inside the nostrils. The nose isn't crusty or scabby, but looks like it's less "cobblestoned" than it should be. And where the "leather" meets the fur is kind of puckered or dried-out looking (it's been that way for a while - about as long as the original pink spot). I'm going to get him in to the vet this week, but in the meantime.... Could it possibly be a plastic bowl allergy? They use plastic bowls, but I'm going to run out & get some stainless steel ones. Could it possibly be the Iam's food that he's been eating? I recently changed them over to green-bag Iams for Stephanies bowel problems....it DID help her greatly, but..... I've read that grain-free diets are used for discoid lupus. What are some grain-free dog foods? Raw isn't really an option for me (I'm too poor!). Are they the type with a protein source & sweet potato? Are there other kinds? (I know I could google this, but I'd like some personal GT opinions!). Aside from all my other questions, does his nose sound like discoid lupus? I'm charging my camera to try to get a picture of it, but I'm the world's worst photographer, and trying to get a close-up of a nose is really going to challenge my pitiful abilities! Here are the best pictures of his nose I could get (he kept moving his head). As you look at the pictures, the pink spot on the lefthand side is the original spot, which has now gotten larger, and it's not round anymore. It seems to be kind of sunken in now, whereas it used to be just a smooth area of discoloration. And the fresh lesion alongside it is new today. The one to the righthand side was new yesterday: suddenly the thin black skin peeled off, and left a shallow bleeding wound. Does this look like discoid lupus, or something else? Edited April 12, 2009 by tamborine Quote Maryann, Bama (TW Beltram), Stephanie (Tom's Stepinhi) & Henderson the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliforniaGreys Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Hopefully Soul's mom sees this, she's dealing with this with Soul and I'm sure can be of help Quote Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12 For the sick, the lost, and the homeless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Is this what it looks like? My Ruby lived with DL for > 14 yrs. It only affected his nose for most of his life, but he did develop it on his pads late in life. It never bothered him. It's very rare that DL would progress to systemic lupus, so I wouldn't stress about that. The diagnosis can be confirmed with biopsy although many dermatologists can make the diagnosis just by examining him. I found it helpful to use bag balm or calendula to keep his noise well-moisturized, and sunscreen to prevent sunburn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamborine Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Is this what it looks like? Kind of - but his are discrete little areas, not so widespread (yet). Do you think I should bring him to a veterinary dematologist? Is discoid lupus something a plain ol' general vet would recognize right off the bat without a biopsy? I think I may be getting ahead of myself a little here... Quote Maryann, Bama (TW Beltram), Stephanie (Tom's Stepinhi) & Henderson the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan41 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I have only seen 1 case of discoid lupus - the nose looks like you would imagine if all the pigment peeled off! It's very red and looks like it would be very raw, but doesn't seem to bother the dog at all! As far as grain free food, I use Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, a fish based, grain free food, not because of any health concern, but rather an attempt to stay away from "fillers". There are as many grain free foods as there are protein sources in all price ranges and you could go insane trying to make sense of all the foods and ingredient combinations out there! The Whole Dog Journal is a good source for what's out there or find a specialty pet food store in your area, visit and ask questions about what sells best, if there are any other greyhound customers and what they are purchasing and the reliability of the distributor. Good luck and I hope you get a dx for Bama! Quote Linda, Mom to Fuzz, Barkley, and the felines Miss Kitty, Simon and Joseph.Waiting at The Bridge: Alex, Josh, Harley, Nikki, Beemer, Anna, Frank, Rachel, my heart & soul, Suze and the best boy ever, Dalton.<p> ....for all those hounds that are sick, hurt, lost or waiting for their forever homes. SENIORS ROCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Is this what it looks like? Kind of - but his are discrete little areas, not so widespread (yet). Do you think I should bring him to a veterinary dematologist? Is discoid lupus something a plain ol' general vet would recognize right off the bat without a biopsy? I think I may be getting ahead of myself a little here... I think it's definitely worth having your own vet evaluate it first. My vet was pretty certain it was DL. We did confirm it with a bx (which my vet did herself). If you can save yourself an expensive trip to a dermatologist, that's all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamborine Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Pictures of Bama's nose added to post #1. Quote Maryann, Bama (TW Beltram), Stephanie (Tom's Stepinhi) & Henderson the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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