I haven’t posted in awhile and should be better about that. It’s easy to get comfortable in life and where you are I guess.
Otis is doing really well with his Pemphigus, we really have no active lesions and are just on maintenance at the time. Still doing 1/2 Triamcinolone every other day and alternating days are 1 1/2 Azathioprine. We have noticed some issues lately with stiffness and he teeth are getting worse. I imagine some of this is side affects of medicine and some is just the fact that my boy is getting old. He will be 10 in September and for a Boxer that is getting up there.
So Otis is good, we are trying to stay out of the summer heat as much as possible – he really hates the heat.
I’ve received a lot of emails lately which is both a blessing and a heartbreak. Blessing because I hope I can provide some information and insight. Heartbreak because it means another dog has this horrible disease and these dogs find ways into my heart even though I’ve never met them. I desperately wish they will all find a way through it.
The universe works in mysterious ways and I was I writing this I found out one of the dogs in my heart passed this morning. My new found friend Sidney lost his fight with Pemphigus. He fought long and hard along side a family who tried everything for him. They were amazing parents for him, every dog should be so lucky.
I hope Sidney meets my Ella at the Rainbow Bridge. I’m sure they will be fast friends. Amy, I hope you find comfort in knowing you did everything you could and although the pain right now is so great – he knows you did everything too.
canine pemphigus foliaceus 
I had the best dog ever, Dempsey (for jack Dempsey the boxer:) she was a mix, they told us unpapered boxer but as she got to 100lbs it became clear that wasn’t so 🙂 She ended up having the lesions, I would but clothes on her to protect her skin. We she made it to 10 years, that was over 5 years ago and she is still sorely missed. Good luck with your dog. They are some of the best things in ours lives, unconditional love!
Oh your poor Otis! I’m so glad he is doing better. I found your blog because we just adopted a dog that has pemphigus. I’m wondering what I’ve gotten myself into! Tammy was on her own outside for 5 months last winter. They finally caught her and she was in a rescue in Illinois. We live in Colorado. I fell in love with her (she is a sheltie and our 14-1/2 year old sheltie had died the year before). Comparatively she seems to have a mild case, but it is still heartbreaking. We live in Colorado and the trip out hear set it off. Breaks my heart!!!!! There sure isn’t much information out there! My vet here wasn’t at all worried — until she saw her! She really is a mess. They couldn’t save her fur when they caught her, so she was shaved in February. Parts are coming back faster than others and then when the sores came after the move they shaved the affected area again and took off the scabs, so she has like three layers going. I have a cone on her so she doesn’t lick the sore spots. It seems to be getting somewhat better, but what have I gotten myself into???? But if I hadn’t taken her she would have just stayed at the rescue for who knows how long. At least here she is getting individual attention and love. But it is really nice to have found someone that has Been There, Done That — and is SURVIVING!!!!
You know my vet said there seems to be higher indications of Pemphigus in Colorado. Perhaps due to the elevation/sun.
Is Tammy on medication? It can be challenging but the key is finding the right medicines for her. Don’t give up!
She sounds like she found the perfect family. 🙂
Tammy is originally from Illinois. We have to be careful of the sun with her. She is on Prednisone. She had been on 1/2 pill/day before the move but right now I have her on a whole pill in the morning and evening. If you don’t mind, I have a couple of questions… One of your pictures of Otis has almost “turkey” looking skin, bright red on this hip/groin area. Tammy looks pretty much identical right now there. How long did that take to heal? At what point do I decrease her meds, i.e. when is the disease truly in the healing stage? When the sores get scabs, do they eventually fall off? (She has some old ones that are still there…) Does hair grow back in those areas? Does that area need to be shaved when the Pemphigus acts up? Her inner ear looked even worse than Otis’ and the vet scraped off the icky black scabs and I’ve been treating it with Neosporin. It’s looking much better and not bleeding any more. They scraped her back too. Is using the Neosporin the best thing to do for her? I guess I’m just looking for what to expect. And what sets it off? I certainly understand the move being stressful, but would giving her a bath be stressful if she doesn’t like it? Going camping? Meeting new people? Going on a trip? I just don’t know what to expect…. Glad Otis is doing better!
I would say it was probably 3 months before that was all healed, but he had issues with staph infection and being antibiotic resistant. It took several meds before we found on that would work. I would prop his legs apart with a pillow between his legs and used gold bond powder on the area.
Your vet is really the only one that can make a decision on reducing meds but we didn’t decrease until he was as far into “remission” as was possible with him and that took some time. The step down should be gradual and monitored closely to prevent a full blown flare up. Otis is still on maintenance drugs daily.
The scabs will peel off but they should do that on their own, sometimes it will still actively erupt under the scabs and the lesion will still be active.
I think all dogs are different in how their hair grows back. If you look closely at Otis’s picture you can see there are several areas where the hair did not grow back so he’s got some bald patches. I think it is the result of scar tissue.
I don’t think shaving is necessary. In the beginning before the pemphigus diagnosis we were bathing daily and I personally thinks it made the situation worse.
I wouldn’t scrape any area, especially not the ears. They are so senstive and it has to be painful. We were told not to use neosporin type ointments on Otis but talk with your vet. Is your vet a dermatologist?
All dogs are different as far as the trigger and it’s possible we could never know what trigged his pemphigus. Some it’s environmental, some it’s stress. Otis is a very shy dog so we keep his travel outside the house to a minimum, only walk in the evening and keep everything low key. I’m very careful about products in the house and we are really strict with is diet. Essentially we try to keep everything consistent now that we are in a remission type state. I never want to experience what we went through again. Hope this helps. You can also contact me via email @ di_411@hotmail.com
Thanks! It’s nice to have someone who”s “been there”! My vet is not a dermatologist, but I’m thinking I may be looking for one!!!! She is doing better so I’m hoping we’re on the upswing! Glad Otis is doing well too! (I love his name!)
I am so happy I stumbled upon this!! You and your dog have definitely been through a horrible case of this. I haven’t been able to find many cases as severe as my Ollie. Otis is definitely proof that it can get better!! Ollie was diagnosed in February and we are now just starting to see the light out of this hell!!!
We too had sheets laid everywhere and vacuumed daily, now things seem to be improving for us!
That’s happy news!! What kind of dog is Ollie? Where are you located?
Ollie is a 7 year old bulldog. We are in Ontario Canada.
I had someone who has a dog that is now in remission help me through this with Ollie, if it wasn’t for him and a great vet I don’t know if I could of stuck through it!!
Ollie just started getting back to a more normal routine, he has been able to make it around the block and can get up the stairs with some help. The steroids really weakend him a lot.
Is Otis doing normal walks? and is now more active?
That’s all I am missing with Ollie here, I used to take him jogging with me!! 🙂
This page will save some dogs lives!!
Ollie is a 7 year old bulldog. We are on ontario Canada.
I had someone who has a dog that is now in remission help me through this with Ollie. If it wasn’t for him and a great vet I’m not sure Ollie would be here today. He is now starting a more normal routine, he has been able to make it around the block and get up the stairs with some help.
Ollie ended up with cushings disease due to the steroids and lost most of his muscle.
Is Otis doing normal walks? And is now more active?
That is all I’m missing with Ollie here, he used to go jogging with me !! :).
This page will save a dogs life, and give the owner the strength they will need!
Our 11 year old Sheltie erupted in lesions in early November 2013. It got worse for a good 6 weeks. Lesions covered his snout , ears, paws ,chin , and several spots on his body. Our vet( who works for the St Louis Zoo ) had never seen such a case. He and his wife are both vets. She pulled out a text book and showed us a picture that looked just like Colby . She said ” you never want to look like the example !” It was rough going …at 2 weeks in we thought we would probably lose him. But the drugs he was put on have made a huge improvement . He was and still is on ,(but lower doses) prednisone, antibiotics , Atopica , Azathiropine and a food supplement with omegas 3 and 6 . He lost all fur on his ears , nose , paws . His paw pads swelled up and were covered in scabs . He wasn’t able to go more than 4 hours without going potty …we felt like we had an infant in the house. We think the stress of us being away for a week and his pet sitter letting him stay outside in the sun all day brought on his condition . BUT,,,,,he is doing so good now. His fur is back in most places and there are only a few new lesions and they seem to go away fast. We also use Protopic ointment on him . Good Luck to all who are dealing with this.
Happy to hear he is on the right track and healing. It’s not easy but they are worth the effort.
Ollie is also on the azathioprine and cyclosporine. What exactly does the protopic do to help? Might ask our derm vet about it!
Protopic is a topical immunomodulator…used instead of a topical steroid. It seems to keep the new lesions in check. It is very expensive. $200 per tube in the US I buy it from Northwest Pharmacy in Canada.@$79 . My vet faxes the Rx to them.
How do you get it shipped to you? If you don’t mind me asking.
They have a website. It is mailed .
I have it shipped thru the mail.
Do you find it’s worth it for the price?
We might try it for Ollie but he will only need it for his foot pads. Have you used it for that at all?
We just can’t seem to get his foot pads under control. It’s really frustrating!
Yes I do think it is helpful . I have been putting it on Colby’s nose , ears where new little sores have popped up and sometimes his paw pads at night. . His paws are getting better but there are still cement hard scales that are slow to come off. When you use it ,use the smallest amount you can . It has been a long 4 months but Colby is doing so much better. Good luck with Ollie . It is so sad to see them with this condition. our friends were shocked when they saw Colby at his worst .
Yes! Everyone that saw Ollie at his worst is shocked to see how far he’s come!
Do you use the pro topic on the scales when they are big or after they come off?
I have used it both ways . It also eases inflammation . Colby’s paw pads were /are very irritated in between each other and I rub it in to help that too. .I think the oral medications are what really have done the most good . And the Protopic is an added good measure .
Another thing we have done for Colby’s paws is to soak his feet in Aveeno oatmeal bath . It is very soothing . I rub his feet while he is in the water .It softens up some of the scales and they come off. We have a large kitchen sink. I fill it with about 4 inches of water and a half packet of the Aveeno. We soak him for 10-15 min.
Thank you I will try that!
Ollie’s feet are definitely sore today!
Did Ollie ever regress when lowering the dosages of his medicines ? Colby has taken a small step back…itching again and a few lesions. He also has developed hyperpigmentation. We will be seeing our Vet soon. I read where it can be a sign of cushings or thyroid problems.
Ollie has relapsed a couple times, he did developed cushings and calcinosis cutis from steroids and had to come right off them for a few months. He is now getting a low dose of medrol and we have restarted cyclosporine because he became intolerant to mycophenolate.
Mycophenolate was a great drug to replace steroids, it definitely saved us at the time but it looks now like we are stepping into another unknown.
Do you take pictures of Colby?
Yes lots of pictures….how do we post to the blog? or you and I could share by email …
Not sure how to post on here
My email is
Melissa.heathers@me.com.
I have a question for Mellisa and Sherry. My dog has Cushings and Pemphigus. He has an extremely bad case with a deal tissue infection. He has been being treated for the Pemphigus for about 3 weeks and its started to seem to get better but when they put him on the height steroids he seemed to get worse. Antibiotics don’t seem to be working well. Any suggestions on combination of meds that worked for your dog. The latest problem was my dog became anemic and was not eating well. He got fluids, lowered his steroids, and switch the antibiotic since doctor thought it could be making him sick. They also gave us something to cote his stomach in case he had an ulcer or stomach bleed. He is now eating but does not drink much water anymore. He gets up and goes outside but only when we get him up. I feel like he still has fight in him. We have been dealing with a skin issue since last September and never new what it was. I’m so sad this has been awful. Jan they gave him an antibiotic shot that seemed to get him to stop itching and skin was looking better. Then they said he had Cushing and gave him e divine for that. He was doing better before the medicine then about 6 weeks after this stuff started to spread all over his back and head. Doctor gave us antibiotic that did nothing then we went a dermatologist and here we are 3 weeks later. Any help would be appreciated. He is getting so uncomfortable now he is grinding his teeth. I’m just not ready to give yet, but very close:(
Dear Jubal , I am so sorry to hear what you are dealing with . I have no experience with Cushings but I will tell you all that our Vet had Colby on . He had some minor skin issues that would never resolve and then it went out of control . A skin biopsy confirmed Pemphigus/Lupus . Colby got worse before he got better. He lost all fur on his ears and snout after the scabs fell off….his paws were scabbed over and he had lesions on his torso. The prednisone was the only thing that helped with the terrible itching…but it has issues of its own.
At His worst Colby was taking…..20 mg of Prednisone a day ,I antibiotic , 10mg of Atopica in a pill form , 25 mg of Azathiropine, Omega supplements in his food ,and Protopic ointment. It was bad and we thought we were losing him but after about 8 weeks he turned the corner. He is still on the Atopica and Azathiropine 6 months after the onset of the pemphigus. It has been a hard road and very expensive but we couldn’t give up . Good Luck to you . Sherry
Jubal,
Ollie had some pretty horrific ups and downs. At one point he had to come off of steroids all together, and that seems to be a needed medication to treat this.
When he was was off the steroids I found a drug called mycophenolate (cellcept). That contained steroid like properties.
He was able to stay on this long enough to clear up the calcinosis cutis and cushings that he was enduring.
This drug made him anorexic, after a short time, I had it custom compounded to be able to keep him at a lower dose. Then one day he just wouldn’t eat, this was making him sick again so I stopped it.
Since then he has been taking medrol 8mg every other day. Cyclosporine 80mg a day and azathioprine 50mg a day.
It took a solid year to be where we are today. And he is nearly the exact same, just push his walks as hard!
Hope this helps.
Tell me more about this disease, my little rescue dachshund was just diagnosed with this it took 4 weeks for and 5 visits to different vets to diagnose, she has lost most all of her hair she was put on triamcinalone and atopica its been 14 days and she is acting almost like herself but she looks so so bad you touch her and her hair peels off her body please tell me what I can expect thank you , Linda & coco
This disease is rough, but treatable. Getting the right combo of meds and patience is the most important aspect of management. You’ll never cure this but you can manage it and it sounds like you are on the right track. Otis went through the same with fur, lost almost all of it but it grew back.
What other questions do you have?