Lupus in dogs

I totally agree in not putting her on the antibiotics until you know,,,not unless absolutely necessary!  I just know that they did help Ollie but in a way we feel they made him worse my knocking his immune system even more...
I hope the results turn out good news!

Hello all and CAKANA,
 
I had my beloved dog diagnosed with Lupus. He was 14 years of age and had a very high liver count that the predisone eventually made stop working. He was a rottie/australian shephard mix. He had never been sick before and he was first diagnosed with allergies. His sores started on his muzzle and then gave him a severe ear infection. THe predisone did help. As well our vet gave us this cream for his feet and we gave him Oatmeal baths daily. Because of the late dignosis he got so bad he was hospitalized as he couldn't eat or drink. Honestly within 3 days he came back better than ever. Our vet was amazing and he himself said he had never seen such a case. I would perhaps get a second opinion if nothing comes of it, it can be controled. I wish you all the best and your dog as well.

Thanks for sharing your story Jaime and welcome to the forum.  I found out some good news (sort of) last week after the biopsy results came back.  Sassy doesn't have lupus or any of the other more serious diseases - huge sigh of relief.  She does continue to have a deep bacterial infection though.  I'm now treating her with topical Baytril for 10 days and I honestly think it looks a little better.  My fingers are crossed that we can get this cleared up.  I appreciate your kind words though and again, welcome to the board.

Thank you! Well that is good news in a way and am extremely glad she's beginning to look better. Keep us all posted on her progress.

Cathy, How's Sassy doing? Is her skin still looking better?

Hey Janice - thanks for asking.  The last decision (last week) was to stop everything for awhile.  The topical Baytril really hadn't helped at all but the infection hadn't gotten worse either .  The vet agreed with my request to hold off on anything for a little while and watch it.  So, other than dabbing it with the Malacetic solution (I think either you or Dyan recommended that) a couple times a day, I'm leaving it alone.  I'm not really comfortable with the looks of it.  It's still damp and looks just on the verge of becoming worse, but hasn't yet.  The skin isn't very red but more a dark gray, so I'm not sure if that's good or bad.  I like that she's at least holding her own though without the use of antibiotics.
I'm on week 11 of the elimination diet and since she started itching like crazy about 2 weeks ago and hadn't changed much, if at all, thru the course of the diet, I'm throwing in the towel on it.  She was doing at least this well on the Natural Balance Duck & Potato, so I'm going back to that.  Cooking hasn't been a huge hassle or anything, but I'd prefer she not have to rely on my math for a balanced diet [].   It confirms my suspicion that her allergies, or at least the majority of them, are seasonal.  The itching appeared just like clockwork when the weather changed a little and everything started blooming.  We finally have some sun shining here in the "Golden State" - yeah!!

Cathy, I'm glad she is not doing worse without antibiotics.  I think that is a plus to be honest. I know I said it before, that Ollie got better with antibiotics but as soon as he was off of them he got it back, and the time in between got shorter and shorter. That was when Mike decided no more antibiotics. I remember back then when we were telling my brother and wife about Ollies woes and my sister-in-law said "yes, we see that all the time in the nursing home!"  That was where she worked at the time.   And of course I secretely worried that one day if Ollie really needed antibiotics for a really bad infection, that it wouldn't even work for him anymore.   I don't blame you for giving up on the diet either. Seems that 11 weeks would prove something!!  Hopefully, she will show a little improvement on her own, wouldn't that be nice???   YES!  But I thinkwe are all having a few allergy problems now that its spring.     Hang in there Cathy!   Just keep giving that little gal lots of lovin,,,,she will get thru this!

  It would have been nice if the elimination diet would have helped, but at least you know it's not food allergies. A lot of people on this forum really like the Natural Balance foods. Being on a complete diet again with all the vitamins may help her immune system since she's coping with seasonal allergies. Are you giving her an antihistamine? Kim has been giving Alley Benedryl faithfully, not skipping doses, and it seems to be helping. If you go to this site:
      [linkhttp://www.aaaai.org/]http://www.aaaai.org/[/link] ,
you can find the pollen count for your area. Jessie's derm vet told me about this site. You can create an account for free and get detailed information about what types of trees, grasses, and weeds are producing the pollen at the time of the count. It may give you an idea of what types of pollen Sassy's allergic to. 
 " Hang in there Cathy!   Just keep giving that little gal lots of lovin,,,,she will get thru this! " I couldn't agree with Dyan more.[]

 
 
 
 

Yep, I've given Sassy Benadryl daily for a very loooonnngggg time now (over a year) and I do believe it helps at least a little bit.  I just gave her her evening meal and gave her 100 mg instead of the usual 75mg.  She's been itching a lot today.  I too signed up for the pollen alert (different site) and I get emails if it's in the medium - high range.  Today was med., but tomorrow is supposed to be higher.  I think oak has remained consistent and then a couple of other trees.  None of them are ones we have right nearby, but there are oaks all over this area in general.  I've actually been sniffling more than usual myself and I don't generally have a problem with allergies. 

I think you're right about getting her immune system back up with diet.  Poor girl has been inundated with drugs and only supported with a minimal diet.  I feel like she's shedding more than usual, but maybe it's just the season's changing.