blurry picture, but not sure what this is...
Submitted by jihigg on November 4, 2010 - 3:20pm
SIGH!!! I am so frustrated right now so I am turning to this forum. Rex had been diagnosed with a bacteria/fungal infection in september. the vet prescribed ketoconazole, cefpodoxime pills and dermachlor-k shampoo.
He started the pills sept 30, finished three weeks of the cefpodoxime and started another round of the same. He finished one round of the ketoconazole after about 2 weeks and yesterday after visiting the vet for a check up she gave me another round of the ketoconazole. So right now he is on both. The would across his neck started as a hot spot, got dried out and never really went away although it is 90% better now. Soon after he got the infection on his neck he got some spots on his back and his upper shoulder that looked like hives to me but they never went away, never got worse and are black scabs on him. the vet didnt pay too much attention to them when i pointed them out in september, just lets see what the meds do.
OK, well yesterday i asked her to look at them again, because they are not going away, and are raised black bumps. she says now they are warts. I've searched the web and looked at dog warts and rex's bumps do not look like these pictures at all. There are no close clusters of bumpy things. I've been to three vets in the past year with him (not for this, just that we moved and was trying to get established and the first two disappointed me) and now I am having doubts about this new vet. These four bumps (two on top of his back, one on his side and one on his shoulder)do not seem to bother rex, but if i rub them he seems to like it as if they do itch, but he does not try to scratch them on his own. My husband, in his brilliance, decided to try to pick the scabs to make them heal (can you spell STUPID???!!)
REx continues to be on prednisone long term, 5 mg a day. We are hoping to wean him off the pred. now that we switched foods and he seems to be better on it. The wound on his neck and the bumps is the reason why we changed his food. Like i said, no new bumps or hives, the old wound is 90%. his skin and hair are much improved but i just dont think these are warts. The attached picture is the best i could get. i guess my camera doesnt do close ups very well.
any thoughts are appreciated. THANKS!!!!
Jllian and PorkChop and our beloved BullyAngel Rex <3
We've been dealing with (what looks like)
the same thing. To the vet get meds. Get better. Get worse back to the vet. It's been a vicious cycle for us since spring. The only thing that I can and am going to do is take him to a specialist to find out what allergies he has. My vet has told me this is an allergy. Onslow is 4 years old and he has problems typically from March - May/June. This year it still hasn't gone away. The abx clear it up but then it comes right back. I know how frustrating it is, especially when my regular vet keeps handing me the same meds over and over again. Antihistamine/Steroids over and over. I'm getting fed up. Just thought I'd tell you a little about ours but yes long story short I am getting him allergy tested. Good luck!
we had rex allergy tested
we did a blood test when he was 2 and when he was 5 (he is now 8). he is allergic to this planet. I've been told by different folks, pet owners, vets, vet techs, that the blood test for food is not that accurate and that unless you are going to do the allergy shots, the blood test is not worth it. We did allergy shots, but rex could not tolerate the shots and ended up in the emergency room at the vet one night at midnight with breathing distress. as far as environmental allergies, we do the best with keeping him inside in a clean house, very small area rugs, mostly wood floors, use only vinegar to clean the floors, etc etc etc. There just is so much you can do with that anyway.
This current vet also thought that a blood test would not be much use and said to do trial and error with different foods. which we are doing. i will give this food 4 more weeks and then we may try raw food or cooked meat with added supplements. right now he is on TOW salmon and potato.
rex likes the new food, he is fine, everything going in and out the right way :-) he plays, chews and whines, i just dont like these things on him. glad they dont seem to bother him any. but i just get a bad feeling from this vet telling me their warts. i dont care if they are harmless warts, but i am afraid they might be the big C and she is not realizing it. I also dont like him on all these drugs. The ketochonazole side effects sound scarey to me.
This was our first summer in Tennessee and his worst allergy season he has ever had...
there is one vet listed on this site in knoxville, tn but they are 1 1/2 hours away.SIGH. I hate to drive that far, but i think i have to at this point.
Thanks and good luck with your bully, he is adorable :-)
Jllian and PorkChop and our beloved BullyAngel Rex <3
Ya know...(a mild rant :)
I have nothing against veterinarians (mine is quite good, actually) but as is the case with human health care it often shocks me by how willing the industry is to make the appearance of throwing different types of medications at an illness rather than researching an underlying and/or life-experience cause of the disease. Often, these meds are hard on the dog's system, and it just makes you feel like they are much more willing to take THAT sort of risk (how many of our dogs have gone to the ER at 4am because of some sort of a reaction? how many of us have sat up watching the dog until the sun came up to make sure they made it through the night when they were taking strong medication?).
I am coming up on vaccination time for Matilda and I have the very strong suspicion that she isn't as tolerant of the shots as other dogs. For that reason, I'm getting ready for a "fight" with them where I intend to try to control what shot she has and how and when she gets it so I can watch her. Three years ago this Christmas Matilda went to the emergency room four times in a row (to the tune of almost $1000 in treatments) just five days after receiving all of her vaccines at once. If they had just LISTENED to me the first time (give her a shot, watch her, be aware that she might react and have a plan to address it) this would not have happened.
Anyway, with the amount of cash the average bulldog owner hands over in ownership expenses and taking into account that most of us owners would spare no expense with regard to their health, you would think that they would not treat us like this is the first time we've all come to the rodeo.
Sorry, I rant. I just hate when something is going on with someone and they can't figure it out and you want them to get help.
Anyhow! Matilda had bumps similar to these things in the past, more commonly when she was eating dry food. At first I thought they were flea bites or small tick bites (as you should have seen what happened to her skin when a tick successfully bit her...once...it was drastic). They would scab and bump (black) and then eventually heal and fall off after some time. She got them on her outer hip flanks and her shoulders, sometimes the back of the neck. She has not had once incidence of this since I removed chicken (that's just her, I'm sure with another dog it could be anything) and started feeding her raw and adding the recommended immune support (vit C) and salmon oil.
I do note that with the raw diet that is richer in meat, lower in carb, higher fat, etc, that she may have some reflux. But I have to tell you, a little pepcid in her evening meal is a hell of a lot better than round after round of drug.
I know sometimes tone can get misinterpreted. I'm not attacking anyone or anything, I guess I'm just frustrated with life today :) :)
Good luck-
I would suggest that you have
your vet do a titer (?) to see if she needs any vaccines.