Lupoid onychodystrophy - Page 1

I have a 7 year old female diagnosed with Lupoid onychodystrophy which results in separation and sloughing of claws from claw beds and eventually affects all claws. My Vet has never seen this before, however has researched treatment which we have implemented. I have been told it is rare, so was just wondering if anyone else has had a dog with this condition and if they have any advice on things that have worked to provide relief, or to avoid flare ups. I have read that some say allergies to food can contribute to flare ups as well. She is on a pain killer, antibiotic, omega oils, vitamin e and Pentoxifylline.

Cheryl

I haven't dealt with it personally, but a good friend had a Giant Schnauzer with the condition. I know he was not on all that medication...

Would you like me to tell you her protocol? He had it for years and died of a natural causes recently. I am having trouble posting here lately. You may email me.

Sounds like discoid lupus. Not uncommon and is fairly treatable.

No it isn't really all that uncommon, I've had one GSD with a bad case and a couple of others where they had minor 'events' of it from time to time; plus seen examples of others, and dogs outside the breed, spread over a 40-year period since the first instance I can recall.

The dog which really suffered was an elderly male of mixed WGSL/UK 'working'(ie Obedience) lines breeding. We never established cause; it is possible it was food-allergy related, but more likely one of the auto-immune problems group.

Once this started, he shelled all his nails regularly, and it left the quicks totally exposed and very sore, interfering with walking. (Other dogs have just had a couple of toes affected at a time). It is too long ago to remember treatments, although I know our vet tried steroids for a while.
We used to give regular saline footbaths to keep the toes clean and try to strengthen the quicks - that seemed to help his mobility, but his feet stayed tender for the remainder of his life (about a further 3 years)
when he had to be pts because he developed cancer.

FWIW, here's the maintenance regimen that kept my old boy's discoid lupus in remission for the majority of the 6 years I got to spend with him:

Vit E, 1600 mg, twice daily

Niacinamide, 500 mg, twice daily

MicroLactin powder, 1 gram, twice daily.

[The above were in addition to the Omega fish oils, Vit C and chondroitin/glucosamine/MSM that all my dogs receive twice a day, and to the meloxicam he got for lumbosacral arthritis he eventually developed and the milk thistle extract he got to assist his liver in processing the NSAID. All of items mentioned were mixed into the dog's meals.]

This kept Max's nose and muzzle unlesioned, once we got him healed up from the existing episode he was having when I adopted him. He'd been on a prednisone & doxycycline treatment every 60 days prior to that, as the condition would resurge a few weeks after the meds were stopped.  The Omega fish oils, Vitamin E and Niacinimide are standard use by derm vets in treating lupoid conditions in dogs, and we decided to try adding the MicroLactin after reviewing reports of it having some immune-modulating properties in addition to the anti-inflammatory properties. About a year into it, I ran out of the MicroLactin granules I'd been using when the company switched the a pellet formulation and added zinc to the formula; it took me a little while to find a source of plain MicroLactin powder, so Max wasn't getting that supplement for about 2 weeks. After a few days off of it, his nose and muzzle began to break with lesions again, so it was back onto the pred and doxy. Got him back onto the MicroLactin, and we didn't have any episodes after that one.  [At present, there's only one retailer who sells plain MicroLactin powder as a loose powder, and that's Swanson Vitamins. It is also available in capsule form from them and several other retailers, but I didn't want to empty a bunch of capsules out twice a day.]

Anecdotal, yes? But worth the chance, IMO--there's no known adverse effects from that product, and it ran me around $7.00/month. [Duralactin for Dogs can certainly be used instead of the MicroLactin powder, but given the increased amount of the product used for these purposes as compared to the dose used for arthritis support, it gets pretty pricey.] 

I lost Max to liver cancer early last month, just a few days shy of his 13th birthday, so I have an open package of both the Microlactin and Niacinamide plus some unopened ones, which I'd be happy to give you if you'd like to try adding them to what you're giving your girl at the moment. PM or email me if you're interested.

 

Hexe, so sorry to hear about Max. Nice life you gave him.

Thanks, Jenni. He was pretty good until the last day, when he refused all forms of food and said it was time. He was a really sweet boy, and I miss him awfully.  One last picture of him and Rykkah, as we all sat out on the lawn in the sunshine as we waited for the vet.

 

Jenni, thank you for having your friend reach out to me. She provided a lot of good information. It was great to have a chance to talk to someone else that has had a dog with this condition.

Hexe, so sorry for the loss of Max. I will look into the supplements you have had success with.

The nails continue to pop off but the medicine seems to be working and providing relief.

Cheryl