Chronic Pododermatitis...anyone any experience?

[bxrmomlksc]

So march 2010 we moved to Virginia from Maryland and bought a house, within a few months Loki developed some horrible red lumpy ulcerated lesions between his toes, started with 1 paw and progressed to all 4.

Tried to treat with Cephalexin 500mg twice daily and he would vomit, so we switched to Clavamox 500mg twice daily and we cultured the lesions...there were like 3-4 different bacteria in there having a party in his feet. It was gross! Staph was the main one. Well we did around 2 months of clavamox, maybe a little longer and eventually it went away to the point i felt comfortable taking him off the meds, there was a little redness remaining but we stopped the drugs.

Everything was fine for the most part for a few months, i think this was fall time, then this year around the same time, april or beginning of may, he started developing the lesions again, this time i caught it early and started clavamox and also hydroxyzone 50mg twice daily - antihistamine.

Loki had a histiocytoma removed about 2 weeks ago (yay for histiocytomas) and we decided to punch biopsy the lesion while he was under. The results came back granulomatous pododermatitis, not fungul or acid fast baceteria - so its some kind of bacteria and it also noted matierial in the hair follicles.

We sent this info to a derm specialist and are waiting to here if she has any ideas for additinoal treatment but i'm starting to get frustrated as i don't want my dog to live on antibiotics. I wipe his feet with chlorhex pads and don't let him dig - maybe there's germs in the soil i dunno! When the paws get sore he licks also, which turns into a vicious cycle as it makes it worse! If it matters he eats wellness simple solutions fish and potato and he takes synovi flexx supplements for joints with 50mg hydroxyzine twice a day.

I would love to hear input from anyone who has been through this, I just want the best for my babies and any advice you wonderful people can throw at me would be great! :O)

 

[Tuff Love]

Sorry to hear about Loki, I bet those blotches on his feet aren't all that comfortable.
When I did a quick search on staphs, I read that symptoms often appear when the immune system is weak, so finding the underlying source and controlling that issue (in theory) should control the staph infections. My boy suffered from mast cell tumors and other lumps and bumps, and his d-mange appeared when he had his first mast cell, around 9 months old. It's the same sort of relationship- the body is busy fighting off the bad tumor cells, so the rest of the immune system is weakened and the d-mange is able to surface.
If Loki has a history of lumps and bumps, maybe there's a relationship there with the staphs?

 

[Gatorblu]

I agree with Danielle, staph is often a secondary infection. I would have Loki's thyroid checked as well. Often a low thyroid can effect a dog's ability to fight off infections. In the mean time look around your yard at plants that are there that you didn't have before. Especailly the ground covers like ivy. He may be allergic to that and the staph is coming in behind the allergies. Or low lying areas that stay damp can be a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty things. We have one corner that is low and stays damp if we have a drawn out wet spell. We finally put a little fill dirt in covered it with weed fabric and mulch and put potted plants there to keep the dogs out. Good luck finding the cause, I know it can be tricky. Sending lots of healthy ((vibes)) to Loki!

 

[cooper22]

Cedar had the same situation going on. When we cultured his feet they found major amounts of staph in addition to 3 other bacteria - all of which were relatively rare and mostly intestinal bacteria. I freaked out!! It turns out after many, many months of testing that Cedar has very bad environmental and food allergies. We decided to pursue the allergy desensitization shots and a limited ingredient diet after allergy testing. It has made a big difference in his feet without antibiotics! They aren't perfect, but 75% better and hopefully they will continue to improve. Good luck with your dog!!