I haven’t posted much lately but I’ve been seeing a lot of traffic from people looking for advice. Which saddens me but I’m happy there is somewhere people have to go look for others in the same situation.
Otis is doing well but we’ve been fighting neck arthritis the last few months. This poor guy never seems to catch a break, but we are finding good meds and have an amazing vet which keeps me positive.
I looked through the old pictures on the blog and wow… they still bring me to tears and break my heart. For anyone in the middle of their fight or at the beginning, keep going, I never thought we’d get where we are.
I hope to update more often and post some pics of Otis now, I’ve got a kiddo graduating this year so it’s been a madhouse for us.
My thoughts are with everyone who has a pup fighting right now, I hope you get helpful info here and always feel free to reach out!!
canine pemphigus foliaceus 
Our dog, Fiona, was diagnosed with pemphigus four months ago but symptoms started over a year ago. She has lost boatloads of hair and won’t gain weight in spite of the TONS of calories and great food she’s getting. We’ve chosen to go the holistic/homeopathic route and am wondering if anyone has a success story to share, as this is a very draining, negative experience and I’m looking for a little hope!
im sorry but the holistic approach WILL NOT work if your dog actually has pemphigus. He or she wi also suffer tremendously as time goes on for choosing to do so. I have seen it first hand and the long you wait, the worse it is going to get because even the actual medical methods take a LONG time to work. Sammy finally has this awful disease under control but it has now taken YEARS to get this far and before the steroids/medicines were used he was absolutely miserable. I am not judging, but it kills me to see what you wrote as it will not help . This is an autoimmune disease, there is no other way around it. Please get your dog to a professional ASAP
I think if you know one dog with penphigus, you know one dog with pemphigus. Our 12 year old greyhound got penphigus about 14 months ago. She did not tolerate the meds well and lots of lots of weight, and a greyhound doesn’t have a lot to lose. The predisone and azo were horrible for her. She had no energy and no appettite. When we went to just oral anitbiotoics and a cream antibitotic she did much better. She has been relatively symoptoim free for about 7 months..
I would agree with you but ivee been actively involved with the dermatologist for a log time now and have seen 33 cases in the past 3 years and every single one that stops treatment ends horribly and it breaks my heart. Every single one. A lot of times people think its pemphigus and turns out to be something else . But the confirmed cases the dogs end up covered in puss and blisters and hairless until theyre eventually put down because they waited too long.
I am literally in tears right now because I finally know what’s wrong with my baby girl! She’s been to the vet so many times and we just didn’t know what it was. I am so sorry you went thru all this with your baby but I am very grateful to you for blogging about your journey. Before i even finished reading this I had already made a call to her vet with this information. She’s not in today but I am hoping we can get her on the right meds. Thank you! thank you! thank you!
-Charlene and little miss Penny
Let us know the status of her tests. I hope you get some answers soon. Best of luck.
I’m sad to say we had to let Penny cross over the bridge. She deteriorated so quickly before we could even confirm what I was sure was pemphigus. The internist we saw thought it could be one of 3 things including pemphigus but, at this point she could no longer stand and was on pain. Our hearts our broken. We desperately miss our little baby girl 😢
I contacted you about a year ago about my dog, Sammy, who was diagnosed with pemphigus. I thought he was NEVER going to get better. For anyone else going through this, DON’T give up hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Sammy was at the point where he pretty much had zero hair left and puss-filled bumps over 50 percent of his body. It took about 9 months and i’d say 20 trips to the vet trying different dosages/medications, but he’s finally back to i’d say 90 percent pre-pemphigus.
It’s still not easy and will never be “over,” but he is a much happy dog
now. He currently has to take 8 pills a day (6 different meds) and the steroids still have their side effects ( voracious appetite/thirst which causes excessive urine/waste which causes bladder infections etc.) it’s not easy (or cheap!)
Thank you so much for your blog for giving us hope and steering us in the right direction. I pray for otis all the time.
Sometimes it’s hard to say these posts make me happy because I know the hell you’ve had to go through but it makes me happy to know that I gave you some hope and maybe a bit more information to help.
I AM happy however that Sammy is doing so well. I appreciate the prayers for Otie, he’s getting older and we’ve got some hurdles from that but luckily the Pemphigus is still controlled.
And thank you for your kind words. They touch my heart. 🙂
What meds did you end up using?
Sammy (65 lbs) is currently on 20mg of Prednisone, Aziathiaprine, Denamarin and Doxycycline a day.
I NEED ADVICE !!
PLEASE HELP !
My 10 y. o. boxer female is suffering of hypothyroidism and most probably pemphigus.
Your blog helped me to find the illness source, cause the pics look almost the same.
Rosa ( my doggie) now is taking 6 pills of Encortolon + meds for thyroid. She takes steroid since month. I know it’s still not long enough for meds to start work, but what is worst, she’s getting thin !
My main question – is it safe to feed pemphigus ill boxer with food that contains much proteins ( cottage cheese, eggs, etc). ?
Pemphigus is auto agression illness and proteins are often causing allergies. I’m afraid proteins will worse the state of her skin and fur 😦
She eats average portions + salmon oil ( to help with skin ) but she makes poops as if the food didnt stay 😦
The ears are covered with dried crusts , but in the fold spot of the ear , there is lack of epidermis kinda, and there forms a layer of thick nasty pus.
I clean it with a hankie.
Earlier when the ear healed a bit there formed the pus filled bumps, so now it looks as if the bump tried to form, but without the layer of epidermis it simply doesnt form , and the puss is on the surface.
I can make pictures of the current state, but the most important is how to fatten her up in a healthy way ?
Please help, you’re my only chance !
If you have FB account – please answer on my FB.
Thank you very much, much hugs and good words for Otis ❤
Have you discussed with your vet? If you don’t suspect food as the cause of her pemphigus, then I think bumping up her calories would be worth trying. You will experience muscle wasting from steroids that will thin her out as well. We would take Otis for short walks to try and keep him active, you might try that as well. Hopefully you get some results soon.
Our 11 year old greyhound has pemphigus. My husband would pour endless money into trying to her. I am more realistic. What is the likelihood of an 11 year old greyhound being alive in one year without the disease or medication? With the disease and meds, I am thinking she is very likely to get infections she can’t handle that will need meds her body won’t be able to handle. It sounds heartless, I know, but I am questioning spending what I expect to be thousands more on a dog that is likely to die in the next year one way or another. 11-13 is a typical lifespan for a greyhound, with 13 being really old.
I have to admit, I’m the same way as your husband. I would probably mortgage my house if I had to for my dog. 🙂 I think it comes down to quality of life for your dog? Does she seem happy? Comfortable? Is there joy there? If you are keeping her alive just for the sake of life, then I think that says it all. But if there is a chance, and there is joy then why not try. I thought I’d never get my pup back, but I did. Keep me posted.
Thank you ! Maybe really it’s the steroid. She’s having short walks, and we also think that maybe she was worried about the cat who had Vaccine-associated sarcoma’s surgery. And you know how boxers worry about everything 🙂
The ears are getting dried with gentian violet, and we visit vet every week. We also wet her food, cause probably she has problems now with crushing hard food.
I give her baby food too ( nestle sinlac).
I stumbled upon this blog while googling “How long will it take for pemphigus to clear up in dogs?” I am in tears right now! My pup, Bella, was recently diagnosed with pemphigus, and it has been a rough month or so. I read though your posts, and it really struck me when you said you just wanted your buddy back. I’ve said that SO many times. Thankfully, my vet was familiar with pemphigus because she had another dog go through this about a year and a half ago, and we got a skin biopsy within a week and a half of me first noticing the first scabby sore by her eye. She is only 2 years old (well, on 10/7), so this was a huge blow to me. Her and I are attached at the hip, and when she was in the worst stage, she didn’t want to be around me and would hide in the laundry room.
Thank you for sharing Otis’ journey with pemphigus, as it gives me so much hope that things will get better. I can only hope that Otis is Bella’s guardian angel right now as she is fighting this awful disease.
It will get better. It’s great you had a vet that knew what you were dealing with, that should cut your clearing time way down. She’ll come back and you will be so grateful for it. Keep me updated on her progress!!
In regards to pimphagus foliacius, my baby girl Betsy Boop just got her doggy wings bound for heaven. She was diagnosed at age 2 in 2009. They said even with steroids and antibiotics the life expectancy is 3 years. Keep up the meds and extra love..my fur baby survived until age 9 1/2 before it took her life. You will know when they’re ready to leave. Just prepare your heart..losing our special babies is hard enough without battling a ferocious autoimmune disease. Prayers go out to all of your furry kids. Love and blessings