Talk to me about PYODERMA - fast! - Page 1

Going back to the vet tomorrow. A 9 week old was Dx with pyoderma (female). She was treated with antibiotics only for 2 weeks. The pustules went away after one week. It has been 2 weeks since the end of treatment and they are all over her groin area once more. Was the course of treatment too short? What else can be done? Bob-O? You talked about urine splash and washing with soap and water? Any kind of soap? Pls help. My vet seems only to do things by the book and doesn't instill much confidence. Thanks!

puppy is young, immune sys. not kicked in yet,according to my vet this is normal.She says it is staph and the young pup body does not recognizie it yet as normal staph. It can be very unpleasent but if it doesn't abate there is a vaccine for the staph but it is way too soon for that. Which abx?? I think a wash of some sort in addition is a good idea. I will try to lok up a good one.

I don't remember ever talking about a type of soap to cleanse the area, but I have used a general antibacterial soap (much diluted with a lot of warm water) when this appeared on puppies that I raised. Care must be taken not to dry the young skin. It is a normal thing with puppies as they often drag their bellies through areas wet with urine and obtain small abrasions since their skin is so delicate. GSDLvr2 mentions a good point about the current lack of immunity. This puppy is just from its mother, and now has virtually no immunity to anything. I am curious, and I realize that it may be impossible to determine; but was the mother on antibiotics after the whelp? The only time I ever had this happen was with about three (3) puppies from the same litter whose dam recieved a strong dose of antibiotics since I did not witness all of the afterbirth passing. I never did that again, and did not have this problem again. I would think that one (1) two-week treatment with antibiotics is enough, as that is my experience. Past that, the bedding must be soft and dry (I use seasoned softwood chips) and stay free from urine-soaked areas. Many young puppies will have this rash once in their lives, as they have not yet learned the skill of pissing in a designated area and not lying and playing in it. I would concentrate on maintaining the area where she lives and plays as clean, dry, and soft as possible. During this next treatment, practice a gentle wash of the underbelly daily and pat it dry. Urine is a very strong irrantant for the underside of a young puppy. Good Luck, Bob-O

one more poss, we have spent the last two years trying to clear our girl of a rash over her tummy, vet said she was alleric to somthing drugs did not get rid of it. four months ago we were told to try a diet of holistic food we did this (burns) we used the food her tummy is clear for the first time, we gave her tipbits not thinking. she broke out stoped them cleard up will be keeping her on this food. all i can say is look at what your feeding. hope it helps

Kmaot, go to www.gsdhelpline.com/new3.htm you can then go to the page/article relating to your issue. good luck

kmaot try to get a special anti-pyoderma shampoo called "Pyoderm" the producer of it is a really good french company Virbac. My vet uses this shampoo already for 3 years, and it really works (tested on my own young dog which had pyoderma). Here is some information about this shampoo: http://www.vetcontact.com/presentations/p_virbac12/p_virbac12.pdf#search=%22Pyoderm%20Virbac%22 I've found a link to on-line shop which offer this shampoo in the US: http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/product.php?productid=16944

Ok - thanks for all the fast replies! You guys are the best. The forum was down last night and I was chuckling at my "fast" demand for info :) But I am on now just one hour before the vet visit. You have given some super info. Let me run with it!

I had this with a puppy I kept from my last litter. The vet treated it as a staph(spelling) infection and I kept her stomach as clean as I could with regular dog shampoo(oatmeat) and it quickly went away. Reminded me of a teen ager with zits. Stephen

I have used a shampoo called PYOBEN with good results. Manufacturer is Virbac. The active ingredient is benzoyl peroxide.

Pyoderma is a term that is frequently misused and even if it is pyoderma, there are several kinds and degrees of pyoderma. Without seeing photos or the dog, it is very difficult to be sure that it is the simply kind of infection that many pups have on their belly. Most people who thave pups with little pustules on the belly have pups who have a staph infection. This staph is a bacteria that lives normally on the dogs' skin, and humans as well and in a health or otherwise immune competent individual, the staph will not cause problems. In very young pups, the immune system may not be strong enough initially. When it does cause problems, the important thing to to seek the cause, rather than simply treat it as Bob-O has already pointed out. For example, is the pup mildly scratching its belly somehow allowing the staph to get inside the skin barrier? Is the staph only a superficial skin infection or is it deeper? Is the puppy keeping itself clean etc.?Is there urine burn to the skin? There is a lot more I could write, but since you are taking the pup to the vet hopefully the vet can help you figure this out. Anitibiotics and keeping the skin clean are an absolute minimum. There are good ways to keep the belly skin clean including simply using soap and water, but there are other over the counter products that will help as well, such as some astringents, alcohol, compounds with benzoyl peroxide etc. For some pups two weeks of antibiotics might not be enough, or the antibiotic could be incorrect. If you use more antibiotics, replace good bacteria with some yogurt added to the diet. And what do you feed? The important thing is to be sure you do not make the condition worse and to make sure you dry the pups belly well. Skin pH with GSDs is really important to know about. It is much more alkaline than other dogs and some cleaning products will change that pH. Some foods can also contribute to an incorrect skin pH. Food allergies might cause this problem, but more often than not, it is wise to look for the simple explanation first. If this is superficial, it will clear up. If it does not, then again, one must look for the cause of continued problems. The bacteria is just taking advantage of the situation.