Has Anyone Experienced This Type of Skin Issue ?

ccooper

Kendall, my miniature bull terrier has experienced many different skin issues.  We now have her on a grain free diet, one NuVet Plus/day, Grizzly salmon oil, benadryl, bi-weekly medicated baths, and water/apple vinegar foot soaks, Plus, we have given her Clavomex for her foot ailments, which always seems to clear that up.  This has worked well, but now she has contracted some sort of bacterial skin infection- picture attached. She's had this for about 3 weeks.  Today, I took her to the vet and he has placed her on 2 weeks of cephalexin, 500 mg, 2x daily.  He said the white cells on the smear that he did  looked odd, and he couldn't rule out a lymphoma.  We're going to try the cephalexin before we go to a biopsy- it will be devastating if that is the problem.

I have attached a picture of Kendall's current skin aliment- has anyone else ever seen something like this on their bull terrier?  Thanks in advance for anyone's input.

Djammy

Hello ccooper

I guess to many EBT owners this sight is familiar. However on the picture it looks "just bumpy". And bumps can be caused by so many different causes. From allergies, over insect bites to even some kind of fungal infection.

We had a Bull Terrier that went through basically every possible skin issue. And I've seen bumps every time.

When did you make the food switch? Did the bumps occur after that?
Btw. with the antibiotics it is often recommended to give probiotics (yoghurt with living cultures or a powder for canines) at the same time in order to avoid unwanted follow-ups caused by the antibiotic itself.
Dogs' gut flora is very sensitive and while killing bad bacteria, antibiotics are also stressful for the intestinal tract. But don't abort the therapy now. Once started it’s best to continue as advised by the doctor.

As for the diagnosis, I was wondering about it due to the bumps, but found on the internet that there is a type of lymphoma that can also develop bumps as symptoms (among other symptoms) - cutaneous lymphoma.

I could not find any information about the conclusions to draw, if the bumps will disappear on antibiotics. That would be my next question to the doctor.
Also I’d ask him for more details about the statement “white blood cells looked odd”.
What exactly does that mean?
There are also autoimmune skin diseases that can cause pustules and abnormal white blood cells.

Anyway, with such a serious suspicion, I’d probably do the biopsy and/or if in doubt I’d probably even look for a second opinion. Especially in case the problem is not resolved after that round of antibiotics.

philsergeant

The Cephalexin will help...Cefpodoxime would have been better. If there is any fat or grease in her diet, cut it out. keep her diet very focused. She needs washing twice a week with something like Dermazole, or Etiderm Shampoo if you can get it. Rub the bumpy area with EXTRA virgin coconut oil (the white, hard stuff)... the evening before you plan to bath her.  Takes time but you'll get there.

BulliesofNC

I would also suggest having him see a specialist that can conduct a proper allergy test. Many local Vets will enjoy conducting all kinds of inconclusive tests that will rack up a huge bill and never be able to provide you with an answer to his skin problem. Sometimes it's just a better idea to get him to a specialist that can pin point the problem and come up with a resolution to the problem.

ccooper

Thanks for the input.  We are using the Dermazole 2 X/week and hope the antibiotics and grain free diet will resolve this.  I'll also try the yogurt. If this doesn't work, I've already identified a dermatologist to see her. One other thing I forgot to mention is the bumps are only on the left side of her body, making me think she might have got into something laying down.  That seemed odd that it would only be on one side of her body. 

Djammy

Sorry, I forgot: There are a few antibiotics - I don't know which ones in detail - that could supposedly interact with dairy products and therefore be limited in effectiveness.

If you give yogurt, it's a good idea to leave some time between the yogurt and antibiotic administration. Just to be sure. A period of 2 hours is considered safe.

philsergeant

Does she lay in the sun? If she does I bet you she only lies on one side

ccooper

She does lay in the sun a lot.  I'll check to see if she tends to lay with her left side up.  Thanks

philsergeant

May be an idea to limit her suntanning time too.... (They do love it but my experience is that it's not too good for them)

ccooper

Thanks- I never thought of that.

Quinnofhearts

The only thing that I could find online that looked similar that people gave the same answer to was hives. Found it on a couple sites related to Boxers, and Boxers are similar to Bull Terriers in coat and skin issues. Most people recommended Benedryl. I've never dealt with an allergic reaction in a dog that bad though so I am of no personal help.