Corgis with Lupus?
Hello all,
My 4 year old corgi Lilly has been having many issues lately and the vet thinks that is it Lupus.
We have two girls that are litter mates and one is having issues with her feet and nails. Her nails are brittle and brownish and grow faster than our other dog Penny with normal nails. Recently her foot pads started bleeding and seem to have open wounds on them.
We took her to the vet and they thought it was Lupus or a few other auto immune diseases right away. They took a biopsy of her foot pad and took nail scrapings and blood work. Everything came back inconclusive and she seems to have characteristic of a few different diseases, but they seem to think it fits Lupus the most.
Her spleen is enlarged which is a Lupus trait. Her white blood cell count is normal and all of her organs seem to be working normally. They clipped her nails all the way down to the nail bed and there was no blood supply to them which the vet thought was alarming. She is on steroids, antibiotics, a large dose of omegas 3 and 6 and 600 micrograms of biotin. We also have to start doing a foot wash, which will be challenging since our corgis hate having their feet touched.
She seems to be doing better lately on her meds, but now we just discovered a red rash on the inside of her ears and over her stomach/groin area.
Has anyone else experienced Lupus in their corgi? What happened? What can we expect or look out for? How did you treat it?
Any help would be most appreciated.
thank you.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Linda on
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I'm afraid I know nothing about lupus in dogs but in humans lupus wears many hats. It can be one thing for one person and totally different for another....and none fit the standardized definition of lupus. One of the things I know is that with all the meds spending any time in the sun has to be strictly limited. I have a friend who is going thru this now, the basic diagnosis is lupus but pinning it down to exactly how it is affecting her is extremely hard. I know she can't spend time in the sun or she gets a rash.
I wish I knew more so I could be more helpful. But I do send lots of prayers and good thoughts that they can get a handle on this and make her comfortable. Do as much research as you can about it. Yes, trust your vet but learn as much as you can...you are your dog's best advocate in getting the right treatment and the right testing done.
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Permalink Reply by Meghan Rossi on
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Hello Stephanie! Sorry to hear about the medical situations your corgi is running into! Our corgi, Bailey, exhibits the exact symptoms you mention and he was tested for lupus but tested negative. However, he does have an auto immune disease that has similar traits to lupus. His nails are no longer as brittle and his paw pads finally have more coverage and hardly, if any sores. What has worked for him is medication. He takes minocyclene and niacinimide twice a day. We see a dermatologist who has also helped diagnose and treat his issues. I hope y'all find a remedy and a treatment that works! Sending good vibes and prayers y'all's way! :)
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie Sebright on
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Thank you all for the responses. We have to bring her in again for a checkup and I will bring up these stories to see what the vet thinks.
Her rash has faded, so that is good. They said the rash was blood leaking from her vessels and to up her steroid dosage. It worked because it is fading, but now she is peeing everywhere.
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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on
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our cardigan had auto immune issues with immune mediated disease. His ears filled up with fluid and had to be drained and the circulation in his ears werent good, his ears ended up flopping. He was also on predisone which makes them have to drink a lot more and pee more, they can't control the peeing, so just let out more often. Ours dealt with his issues for the past three years and just lost his battle at the beginning of May. :( Hope your vet can figure this out. Thinking of you all.
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Also, that rash you mention may be a yeast infection! Bailey used to get them between paw pads, nails, and also once had what is called post bath folliculitis from a bath, which was a result due to his lowered immune system. I should also note he is a fluffy with an overbite...not that it has any bearing on his medical history, it's just cute and his fur type is somewhat important to note. :) I hope all this helps!
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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Seriously?
hm. I might get a second opinion about that.
From the Avatar of Internet Knowledge, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_discoid_lupus_erythematosus
From something that looks, probably, sort of credible: hhttp://www.vetstreet.com/care/lupus-erythematosus-in-dogs
One aggravating factor appears to be ultraviolet light. ??? Keep pooch out of sunlight???
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How is Lily doing?
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She has been doing much better! We have her on prednisone, niacinamide, biotin, doxycycline, and fish oils. Her feet are healed and she lets me clip her nails down now so they don't break as often. We have to wash her feet with antibiotic soap every night. She also developed degenerative corneal disease in both eyes. She won't go completely blind. She can still see but it looks like she is wearing contacts.We have to give her eyedrops every night now too. I am not sure if this happened because she already had the lupus troubles or what. We had to go to a dog optometrist to get her diagnosed.
Our vet said that she should live a long life, just not as long as Penny.
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glad to hear she is doing alright. :) You may want to ask your vet about milk thistle and sam-e....for the liver as predisone can be hard on the liver if shes not already on it.
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