Guest greytloves Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Ever since we have had foster pup he has had a dry scaley nose. Only on the top part, but it is hard and flakes off. At first I thought it could be nutrition, as he was thin with worms, but he eats EVO and Ziwipeak + gets Grizzly Salmon Oil and has been treated twice for intestinal worms. I had been putting Cain and Ables paw healer on it, which lasts all but a minute and Neosporin. He licks it off just as soon as you rub it in. Nothing anywhere else on him and he is as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as any puppy you could ever have a nightmare of. Any ideas? I'll go get my camera and post a picture in a few. (right after I finish my little Duncan Hines 150 calorie cake...Yum) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) Offhand, sounds like discoid lupus. Does it look like this? (My Ruby, who lived to 14.5 with DL, and was always a healthy, happy Rooer) Edited October 31, 2009 by greyhndz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RooRoo Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Ever since we have had foster pup he has had a dry scaley nose. Only on the top part, but it is hard and flakes off. At first I thought it could be nutrition, as he was thin with worms, but he eats EVO and Ziwipeak + gets Grizzly Salmon Oil and has been treated twice for intestinal worms. I had been putting Cain and Ables paw healer on it, which lasts all but a minute and Neosporin. He licks it off just as soon as you rub it in. Nothing anywhere else on him and he is as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as any puppy you could ever have a nightmare of. Any ideas? I'll go get my camera and post a picture in a few. (right after I finish my little Duncan Hines 150 calorie cake...Yum) While I don't have any personal experience with this condition, my friends' grey was diagnosed with LUPUS several years ago - one of his symptoms is a flaky/peeling nose for which they apply balm to keep it moist. Just one avenue to explore/rule out. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) Here it is. What are other signs/symptoms of discoid lupus? The boy seems as healthy as a horse. eta. I see the hyperlink you added, thanks I'll go check that out. Any other thoughts? Edited October 31, 2009 by greytloves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) Cute little nose! Hard to see, but your vet could confirm the diagnosis. Ruby had a biopsy which confirmed DL, but it really had no effect on his lifespan or his health in general. Later in life, his pads began to take on a similar appearance, but again, this caused no problems for him. ETA: there usually are no signs or symptoms beyond the skin changes. While Ruby went onto prednisone shortly after his diagnosis (his nose was pretty beaten up at the time), it was never again necessary. Edited October 31, 2009 by greyhndz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) If it is something that he may have forever, I would like to find out before I place him. Do you know what tests they run? His nose is nice and black, but he is only about a year old, wonder how long it takes for the discoloration that they talk about? Since it has not spread anywhere else I figured it was not bacterial or fungal, but am no expert. It sure has not gotten any better but also not any worse and does not seem to bother him. But pieces of it will actually flake off. eta. posting at the same time you were posting your edit! Edited October 31, 2009 by greytloves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) If it is something that he may have forever, I would like to find out before I place him. Do you know what tests they run? His nose is nice and black, but he is only about a year old, wonder how long it takes for the discoloration that they talk about? Since it has not spread anywhere else I figured it was not bacterial or fungal, but am no expert. It sure has not gotten any better but also not any worse and does not seem to bother him. But pieces of it will actually flake off. Many times, the vet can make a diagnosis based upon appearance, but to confirm the diagnosis, especially when you'll be placing him and want to let the adopters know what to expect, the vet can do a biopsy of the skin on the nose. It's a simple procedure, and this will give you a definitive answer. I found with Roo-Roo (sorry, Maria! Ruby had the nickname first! ) the scales were primarily grey in color, and when they would slough off, there'd be pink skin beneath. This was variable, and though most folks will tell you otherwise, Ruby's nose actually improved during the summer, and became more scaly and inflamed during the winter. There's no lab test that will be of benefit in diagnosing DL, as most of the labs (unless a dog has systemic lupus) will be perfectly normal. Here's another picture of the Roo nose: Edited October 31, 2009 by greyhndz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 cute little Roo nose. Did you ever put anything on it for moisture or was that just a waste of time? Seems like it should hurt somewhat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 cute little Roo nose. Did you ever put anything on it for moisture or was that just a waste of time? Seems like it should hurt somewhat! I tried bag balm but he slurped it off. Vitamin E oil can help. They also frequently use niacidamine, doxycycline (both taken orally), sunblock. It looks like it should be painful but Ruby never acted as if it were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I would suspect Lupus too. On the other hand, my cat Finny had a flaking nose when we first adopted him and the only thing that worked was antibiotics. We never did figure out what caused it, but it didn't heal until he took liquid meds for a few weeks, then it healed and never came back. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Yup, looks like Discoid Lupus. If it's not cracked and bleeding now, it might start doing that. When Soul's started bleeding that was when he loss the pigmentation. DL is an autoimmune disorder that acts similiar to allergies. The bodies skin cells start attacking themselves. It mainly affects the nose but can all affect the eyes, nails and pads as well. While there is no cure but several things can be effective: sunscreen, supplements, tetracycline, a grain free diet, etc. With Soul it seems that the cold weather makes his symptoms worse. Bag Balm helps a litte when it's really bad and painful for him. Personally I'd be hesitant to do a punch biopsy for a definitive diagnosis. They are extremely painful and can take a long time to heal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SusanP Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I had one hound with discoid lupus. The vet diagnosed it by giving her tetracycline with niacinamide, and it cleared up promptly, so we continued with the meds and it didn't come back. I have another hound who has always had the hard loose edge develop off the side of her nose along with cracking of the nostrils, mostly in winter. The vet I was seeing at that time said she would insist on a punch biopsy if I wanted to see if it was discoid lupus, and I didn't want to do that. It didn't look quite like my other girl's discoid lupus and did not seem to be progressive in the end. It also seems worse in winter. So we get by with vaseline, which she also licks off. If it were to progress, I'd ask our new vet about it, but Zippy is 11 now and has had this since we got her at age 6, and it doesn't seem to be a big problem. Long story short, there is an alternative to punch biopsy if your vet is willing to do a trial of the meds, and also it may not be discoid lupus anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Thanks for all the replies, guys. Looks like I'll make an appointment with my vet and see if he will first treat with antibotics and then the tetra if it does not go away. We will try to avoid the biopsy. He is already grain free, what sunscreen do you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I forgot to ask---does his nose where it's not flaky look smooth? A classic sign of DL it that the nose loses it's cobbleston appearance. If it is DL it's really just a matter of figuring out by trial and error what is going to work for that particular dog. The tetracycline and nicianimide (sp?) treatment really didn't do much to help Soul. . . . We use baby sunscreen spf 50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 The nostril area is a little discolored and split looking in places. The top of his nose looks fairly normal and I would say probably 40% of the entire nose looks fine. Just the top and the nostril area. We tried warm compresses for the first few weeks thinking it was just crud, it wasn't. He is also young, maybe it progresses? At any rate, sounds like a trip to the vet is in order! Does Soul keep the sunscreen on or does he just lick it right off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Actually what I meant is is his nose "smooth" all over . . .You know how dogs noses have that cobblestone look? Compare his nose to another dogs nose. If it does NOT have the cobblestone look then he probably has DL . . . . . Soul licks off the sunscreen depending on his mood . . . . sometimes he'll let it be, other times he licks it right off. But with Soul what really causes his flare ups is the colder temps. We had good stretch there during the summer but now that the colder temps are back he's starting get nosebleeds again . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Well then, its a good thing this boy lives in Texas! Doubt the weather here will get anywhere near like where you are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Actually, I just might have an opportunity to move back to Texas and Soul's condition would def be one of the deciding factors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 What we do for our dogs! Come on back down! What part. You know us Texas Greytalkers would love to have you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Probably the Carrollton/Addison section of the greater DFW area. I lived in Texas a six years ago, those were some of the best days of my life . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 (edited) Wonderful! You will be in GALTS and GU's neck of the woods! You know that you will come back with instant new greyhound friends! BTW, he goes to the vet this Friday. I'll post back what he says. Thanks! Here are a few pictures from last night. I tried to get the underside to show the color change in a few spots. Dang pup would not sit still! Snap - delay - move! - AUGH! - Snap - delay - move! - AUGH! and repeat multiple times..... Edited November 3, 2009 by greytloves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Wonderful! You will be in GALTS and GU's neck of the woods! You know that you will come back with instant new greyhound friends! I hope so because I'd really like to continue the volunteer work that I do, Soul is such a good ambassadog That pic looks very similiar to the way Soul's nose looked in the beginning before he was dxd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MyBoys Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 One of my boys had a mild case of Discoid Lupus, one of the things I did was to apply pure vitimin E oil to the area along with vitimin E suppliments to his food, it seemed to really help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SusanP Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 Since I responded to this post, I discovered that my Zippy's nose has worsened noticeably. I talked to our *new* vet, who suggested trying a 1% hydrocortisone ointment on it 2x a day and vitamin e from gelcaps as well before bringing her in for systemic meds. So that's a possibility for you, too. I hadn't heard of hydrocortisone for discoid lupus, though--is this a common approach to it, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbullwinkel Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 My Ig Flex has discoid lupus. First sign was loss of pigment..then it became painful, cracked and bled with the smooth appearance Amber spoke about. Original vet gave hydorcortisone cream..with no improvement. New, and current vet, treated with doxcy. oral vitamin E,topical vitamin E, sunscreen (avoid sun when possible). She considered adding i niacaminide (spelling!!!) if needed. His nose is now doing very well..he just takes oral vitamin E and topical as well. I am not looking forward to winter...dry heat and wood stove make it worse. I do run humidifiers in the house which helps him! Once the right treatment is initiated...it isn't bad. Good luck. keep us posted. Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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