The never-ending CYST - Page 2

I have a female with the same issue.  However, now that she is 9, they are continuously popping up.  I have had surgery done on her twice and removed about 4 of them total.  Hers don't generally get to the point of popping though.  My vet and I discussed this at length and decided the best thing for her was frequent bathing, and unfortunately... shaving... yes... we did it..

The reason for this is that they are caused by infected hair follicles.  The frequent bathing and shaving seemed to work, however, now that she has hair again (didn't want to shave her during the winter), she has gotten more cysts.  They only occur on her back and they generally dont get bigger around than a quarter, but hard and full.... right now I just leave them alone.  It seems to be the lesser of two evils.

Only.. for you... you have an additional problem right now (and as said previously... peroxide is no good), and that is infection.  Once the wound opens... it is a breeding ground for bacteria.  You really need to get your baby on some antibiotics for that to properly heal... and I don't think your vet will remove it when it is raw and open.  So, seeing the other vet you aren't familiar with wouldn't do any harm.. .he/she would probably just put you on antibiotics first anyway.

Did she have a microchip?

I had a cat with a similar issue.
She had a foreign object onder her skin, it kept getting infected (a shock of hair and skin form a previous fight).
Finally the vet opened the whole area and found it, it was never a problem after that.

amysavesjacks, I've noticed that often with the senior dogs who get these cysts on their back, a very quick brushing with a slicker comb or pin brush on a daily basis seems to make a huge difference in the number and frequency of eruptions. Not too detailed, just a couple of passes directly down the topline and on either side of it, but it's enough to remove the dander and dead hair that tends to linger in that specific area of the oldsters.   

The fact that it's pussie with the blood as others have said, it sounds infected. But instead of giving oral antibiotics for the entire system, i would apply them directly to the site. Kinda like ear infections, why treat the entire dog when you can just treat the ear. I like using tinctures of herbs when I am working with open sores. Cats claw works well. This almost sounds like it could be a hematoma if now all your getting is blood. I would make sure that the dog isnt rolling around after you clean because it hurts and may be itchy. You may need to cover it to make sure it stays clean. It may be that the opening is bigger than what you can see and pus is filling up then reopening. You can look by creating a pucker of sorts to see if the opening is deep. If thats the case your vet may need to apply a drain.

Barb

Hexe... that was also one of the advisements I was given.  We brush our dog at least 2x per week already... so that's why we moved forward a little more aggressively to remove hair/massage skin close down with bathings.  Hopefully we won't have to do it this summer.

amysavesjacks, I swear these old dogs become dander, sebum and dead-hair factories with each new year...meanwhile, our species loses the hair, too, but it doesn't grow back!

Have you heard of Novasans solution?
http://www.1800petmeds.com/Nolvasan+Skin+++Wound+Cleanser-prod2140.html
When i worked for the vet he would clean wounds with this product and they would dri up very quickly. For cat abcesses he would mix novasan with peroxide to "Blowout" the infected material. Then rinse with just a bit of saline to finish cleaning the wound. I keep a small bottle of this stuff arounf in case of cuts, scratches and such. I even use it on myself. And petstores use it to keep the fish nets sterile. It will not kill fish.
They also make a salve but i like the liquid much better.
Chlorhexidine is the active ingredient.
I swear by this stuff for critters. And i've seen a lot of nasty cyst.
Fry

Hey Fry that is an excellent idea! When I first started breeding birds ( in a former lifetime) my mentor put a few drops of novason in the formula to help prevent slow crop and crop stasis from bacterial build up.

Something you can consider, or anyone that has what groomers call "Schnauzer Bumps" on their GSD's.. WHen bathing, in the final wash, liberally sprinkle course grain whole/natural Sugar onto the fur after applying the shampoo. Scrub them together well making sure to get down to the skin, this will make a thick merangue like lather, the sugar doesnt dissolve quickly unless using hot water. You can let it sit a few minutes if you can convince your GSD to go along with it lol It is an excellent exfolliant and will leave the skin and hair clean and silky. Make sure you rinse well. It will also help keep the gsd's skin from drying out which is always an issue with the little blackheads.

As a former dog groomer i use to use Chlorhexidine shampoo for dog with Schnauzer bumps, the trick is to first wash the dog in a degreasing shampoo or even "Dawn" dish washing soap. This strips out the acculimated oils and grims that german breeds seem to aquire. Then use the Chlorhexidine shampoos and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. We used an egg timer to make sure they soaked for the whole 10 minutes. I keep gently rubbing the dog and working the shampoo mostly to keep them from getting really bored while waithing.
Then after a good rinse i used either a moistureizing shampoo or a very light cream rinse to keep the coat and skin from being too dried out.
If you have a power drier this helps remove dead skin and loose coat. Plus it dries the dog down to the skin. I wasn't big on fan drying because it does not remove dead skin or hair. Using the Novasans during the wash means you don't have to worry about it running off ontot he carpet and you can rinse the cyst clean after using it. I've seen the biggest cyst on chow/shepherd mixes. They get golfball sized cyst on them usually on the back. It's that dense double chow/shepherd coat in this florida heat!