What on earth is this skin problem?

[likeaboss]

We adopted a rescue cross-breed (short haired lab/pointer possibly) at the beginning of the year. She was originally a street dog from Spain, found at about 1 year old with puppies in tow. Puppies all rehomed successfully and she’s now with us, we think she’s about 6. Lovely dog.

About 7 weeks or so after we got her I took her to the vet for a checkup. We discovered (to my horror) a huge skin infection of some kind on her back. Her fur is very dense and she’d not been fussing over it all so I had no idea it was there. Picture attached but essentially it was clusters of open, raw holes , some oozing slightly. She was immediately put on ABs and given a medicated skin wash. It responded really well and slowly her fur grew back!

We’ve been checking her regularly ever since and sure enough, last week I found a new outbreak but at an earlier stage - except this time it’s scattered randomly all over her body. A big patch of lumps on her flank, a patch near her groin, and then literally random ones at points on her body. We’ve had to shave wherever we found them to let the air get to them. She’s now back on ABs but we’re keeping clean with salt water.

I am just utterly baffled as to what could be causing this and what this is. The vet is reluctant to send off for tests because of the costs involved (I could kick myself for not insuring her right away, I just didn’t get around to it and now it’s classed as a preexisting condition).

They seem to start off as lumps, which then burst and scab/ooze (the hair comes away) before crusting over and drying up.

Has anyone ever come across this before? Nothing has changed with her diet or routine and she settled in really well!

To clarify - the vet is baffled as well, she’d be happy to send off for tests (as would we) if it comes back a third time but we’re totally blind on what it could be, so I’m just wanting to see if anyone has ever come across this before!

Sounds like a mite or something from the inside!

Maybe a parasite that she's brought in from Spain that we don't have in this country?

It's only going to be a matter of time before we start seeing new conditions over here with all the street dogs currently being imported.

I'd get the tests done asap.

If you were my client I would be strongly advising a full skin work up hair plucks, scrapes, swabs for culture and biopsies. Most large labs have packages for skin that cap the costs probably going to cost £200-300, but I suspect you have spent close to that on antibiotics already.

Thanks everyone - I think I’m going to ask for the skin tests to be done, I’d rather nip this in the bud now! I’ve actually just found more of them and they’re new, which shouldn’t be happening now she’s on ABs. Really hope this isn’t anything nasty.

Lone - thanks for your input as well, that’s really interesting to know

Have you asked the people you got her from if it’s something they’ve encountered before with Spanish dogs , as pp said the influx of dogs from Europe is bound to bring in all kinds of nasties that were not prevelant here before .

Have the vets investigated Leishmaniasis , it has a cutaneous type that is carried by sandflies and is prevelant in the Med region . Worth investigating as it can be transferred to humans afaik .

Definitely check for Leishmaniasis. It CANNOT be transferred to either humans or other dogs though without the presence of the sandfly, so no need to panic.

There is an excellent facebook group called Living With Leish which I cannot recommend strongly enough. Post your information there and there are people (including qualified vets) who have experience and can guide you and your UK vet through the best protocols for testing and treatment.

They will most likely advise that you have a full blood panel, urinalysis, Leish titre test, and Serum Protein Electrophoresis - this last one is to test the level of Leish activity. The most common treatments are with Allopurinol (human gout medication which you can get cheaply via a prescription from your vet); Milteforan or Glucantime, both of which can be legally bought from Spain or other Med countries.

It is important that your dog does not have any steroid treatments in the meanwhile because this will suppress the immune system and make it worse. Also, many UK vets have little or no experience of the disease and will recommend expensive and unnecessary biopsies. You will not need this if your dog has Leish.

The group has a fantastic selection of articles and papers for you and your vet to read regarding treatment protocols. They also have a list of UK based Leish-friendly vets if you have any problems with your own.

The illness is very often manageable, treatable, and most of all, is not contagious. Good luck!

That’s reassuring dot , let’s hope the sandflies never arrive here !

You can diagnose Leish on biopsy ( I have had it done in past). It doesn't look like classic canine cutaneous leish sonething I saw as a quarantine vet. It looks like deep demodecosis to me.

Thanks all - coincidentally I’d just stumbled across an article on leish when I saw your posts! Dot that’s such brilliant info, thank you. I’ll update once we have a better idea of what’s going on, if anything it might be helpful if anyone else ever experiences this and is hunting for an explanation!