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Dog's nose rubbed bald
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Posted by greengirlreba (My Page) on Fri, Feb 22, 08 at 8:05
| I have a 5yr coonhound/g.shepard that has been rubbing/grinding her nose to the point it's partly bald. The vet thought it was skin mites but she had no improvement, now she's on a steroid cream(she has uncontrolable incontinence with oral steroids) and a antibiotic but the vet doesn't actually know if it will help- the next step would be a dermatologist. Anyone have experience with this sort of problem? She doesn't itch anywhere else. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| I think you may need another vet. Did he try steroids, antiinflammitories? We need Meghane to weigh in here. Did he do a skin scraping? |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| I have no experience with this, but I think you're going about it right. My dog also has uncontrollable incontinence on oral steroids, so I understand that you don't want to use those. If the topical steroids and antibiotics don't work, I think a dermatologist is the perfect next step. I don't think you need a new vet - if your current one is recommending a dermatologist if all else fails, that's a great vet in my book. Elly did ask a good question though..did this vet do a skin scraping? (Although I tend to think it may be better to just go to a dermatologist at this point anyway, and let him/her do all the skin testing). Good luck. |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| Can you describe the lesion a little more? Is it red and inflamed, ulcerative, or is there just fur loss? Better yet, pictures! You've actually seen her rubbing her nose? How is she otherwise- sneezing, nasal discharge, lethargic, not eating, anything unusual? It would be pretty rare for a healthy adult dog to get skin mites. Would also be rare to have an itchy nose and nothing else if allergies. Some concerns I'd have are something IN the nose causing discomfort such as an inhaled foreign body or fungal infection. These are usually accompanied with nasal discharge or even nosebleeds, but not always. Another concern could be pemphigus or lupus, depending on how the lesion looks. GSDs are overrepresented, as are female middle aged dogs, for these 2 diseases. So she is a higher risk dog, just based on the odds. A tape prep skin cytology should show whether or not there is a bacterial or topical fungal infection. Right on the nose would be an odd place for ringworm, but it's always better to rule out the easy stuff before going nuts with advanced diagnostics. Same with a skin scrape to check for mites, just in case, but that will most likely also be negative. The cytology could more specifically direct therapy, or it may not show anything. If everything is negative- skin scrape, cytology, DTM culture for ringworm- then you may need a dermatologist to recommend further workup. I'd keep your vet- he's willing to refer when stumped. Some would just keep throwing misc. treatments and waste a bunch of money without even trying to diagnose anything properly. Good luck getting to the bottom of the problem. I personally love dermatology and have taken the clinical rotation twice here. Some vet schools don't teach dermatology nearly as well as we do (NC State rules!) so their graduates are not as well trained in this area. As long as they know their limitations, that's fine IMHO- more derm cases for me! |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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They did a skin scraping when looking for mites(I think there had been other cases in the area) but I don't know if it was for anything else.Her nose looks fine except for the baldness on the top, not on the sides, no runny nose, sneezing or anything.
All her behaviors are the same but we're going on shorter and less walks because of the weather(I live in MN) She uses her front legs stretched out and rubs her nose against her feet(or furniture)really hard, kind of a scrubbing action, the cream has helped a little with that. She's also on DES but she's been on that over a year.
Thanks for the comments so far. |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| As I read this post, it is identical to what is going on with my GSD girl's nose. She's been on a limited diet for 4+ months and was initially on steroids and anti-inflammatories. Did they ever find a "cause" for her nose issue? |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| shannon, these are some of the things that could be associated with nasal depigmentation problems of the nose, show your vet this list, they may not know all the reasons as well as already ruled a few out. Pemphigus foliaceous
Pemphigus erythematosus
Discoid lupus
Systemic lupus
Mycosis fungoides
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome Dermatomyositis Erythema multiforme Contact dermatitis (allergic and irritant) Nasal solar dermatitis |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| Thank you cindyxeus. I will look up those issues and ask the vet about them. However, there is no loss of pigmentation and my vet did do a major bloodwork up in the beginning, as he was concerned about lupus. (No red flags came up.) She recently turned 3 and the nose "issue" has been going on since about last October. She will rub it HARD against the carpet. For awhile, the entire nose was cracked and painful looking, also breaks in the skin upwards from her nostrils. It was better for awhile (after the steroids, etc.), but it is now becoming cracked and peeling towards the outside edges of her nose. I am making her another vet appointment this week. My vet is not against sending her out to a dermatologist, he was just trying to "rule things out" with a diet change...which obviously isn't doing the trick. |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| Hey Shannon, I meant to say nose/muzzle sores and or depigmentation |
RE: Dog's nose rubbed bald
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| Lupus does not always result in depigmentation, just separation of layers of skin causing pustules, crusts, ulcers, and erosions. Some animals get depigmentation because the layers containing melanin are separated, but it depends on the layers lost. Lupus is not diagnosed by blood tests alone- you arrive at the diagnosis on the basis of clinical signs, histopathology (biopsy), and blood work (ANA mostly). I would do a skin scrape, touch-prep cytology and/or acetate tape prep, DTM culture, and biopsy. Most derm problems need to be diagnosed so direct treatment can be given, if possible. I am not a fan of oral steroids unless they are needed to treat severe or generalized inflammation or immune-mediated disease. I end up using them a lot for severe ear problems- seems to be the only thing that makes the animals comfortable. |
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