# Anyone w puppy pyoderma experience?



## mahhi22 (Jul 14, 2009)

It seems like Rumi’s been treated for puppy pyoderma since I got her @ 8wk. She is now 5 months. At first it was just a few little red bumps. The vet said it might have been due to being in a dirty crate when she was shipped. Not that the breeder shipped her in a dirty crate but from laying in puppy pee & poop during the long flight. 

Initially she was treated w gentamycin spray. The bumps went away for a while then came back. Next a 10-day course of oral antibiotics was done. Again the bumps initially went away then came back. So another 10-day course was done with really no improvement. 

This last time when we went back to the vet she bumps near her vulva & some were HUGE. She also had smaller ones around her anus. The HUGE bumps were pea-sized & firm. The vet aspirated some fluid out of a huge bump near her vulva & the bumps around her anus. She did cytology on the fluid & a skin scraping for mites. Cytology showed white blood cells in the fluid, indicative of a bacterial infection. Yeast was also found on her skin & no mites. 

The treatment now is a 30-day course of oral antibiotics, 20-days of something for yeast & chlorhexadine wipes for her vulva. She’s been on this for a few days now & I don’t see a big improvement. Some of the articles I’ve read online suggest that PP can be very difficult to treat. 

Has anyone else battled PP? How long did it take to go away? I’m getting kinda discouraged that this’ll never get beat.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Yes. Argos had some puppy pyoderma that we battled for several months. I think it was a result of over vacination, stress, and an immature immune system. 

It was very bad, with many of the large pimples on his belly and it also itched so bad that he would scratch and create bleeding wounds all along his back. We also went through several shorter rounds of antibiotics. What eventually worked for us was the megadose of antibiotics. We were given a month of Cephalexin. A Chlorhexidrine shampoo that we used once a week. And an antihistmine to stop the itching when it was bad because the scratching opened the skin to keep reintroducing the bacteria. We also changed the dog's food. We went with a limited ingredient low allergy food- Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish. We added sardines in water and Vitamin C to help boost his immune system to help fight the infection. We were instructed that if there were ANY bumps or symptoms at all when the antibiotics were running out to come back for some additional days. The infection had to be completely cleared out before they would back off the meds. 

BY the end of the month he was good and he is now 4 years old and we have never had any kind of reoccurence since. We have continued to keep him on a no grain fish based kibble- although I don't think he was actually allergic to anything because he eats all kinds of things now without any 
problem.

ETA- my other dogs have had small cases of staph. Staph is common in young puppies and will generally clear up with immune support and no meds.


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## mahhi22 (Jul 14, 2009)

JKlatsky, 
Good idea about adding sardines & Vit C. I already give Rumi a fish oil supplement. But I’ll add a bit of sardine too. Thanks!!


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## Emmek9 (Jan 22, 2012)

This thread is old but it is the one that comes up everytime I google pp. Does anyone have any advice on dealing with this problem? I hate to put my guy on meds but we had to as he is so itchy! He was injuring himself. What to do??


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## Jeven's Tyde (Feb 1, 2012)

Tyde has become EXTREMELY itchy... Haven't changed anything either... so it's weird to me. He's starting to bite his itches to the point of making little sores. 

Should I take him in immediately to find out what it is? He's 19 weeks now (4.5 months?) And he started this extremely itchy thing about a week ago.


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## taytay (May 13, 2014)

Resurrecting this thread so I don't have to start a new one. My 10 week old pup was diagnosed with Pyoderma on Monday. She started Antibiotics Monday but the itching hasn't subsided. My wife notice she is getting little scabs on the inside of her front legs (think the armpit area). She cries when she itches there and I assume it is because it hurts. The vet said we could put neosporin on the wounds but my question is, is there any over the counter anti-itching cream or anything that would help her until the meds kick this thing in the butt? Isn't she too young to have benedryl? She's a runt and weighs about 13 lbs right now.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

My pup had it, I'm surprised your vet didn't start you on a dose of prednisone. Prednisone sucks, but it does help get it under control

My dog, after her meds, went onto Reactine. She's 70 lbs and can take 2 x 10mg pills a day. My vet said Reactine is better for long term use, Benadryl is better for short term, acute flare ups like hives.


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## taytay (May 13, 2014)

blackshep said:


> My pup had it, I'm surprised your vet didn't start you on a dose of prednisone. Prednisone sucks, but it does help get it under control
> 
> My dog, after her meds, went onto Reactine. She's 70 lbs and can take 2 x 10mg pills a day. My vet said Reactine is better for long term use, Benadryl is better for short term, acute flare ups like hives.


Looking online it looks like Prednisone is used for treating Pyoderma Gangrenosum which is described as "Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare disease distinguished by rapid progression of painful, necrolytic, cutaneous ulcers with irregular, violaceous undermined borders"

My pup has just Pyoderma which is described as "Pyoderma refers to a bacterial infection of the skin that is very common in dogs. Lesions and pustules (inflamed pus-filled swelling) on the skin, and in some cases partial hair loss, often characterize the infection."

My vet prescribed 50mg per day of Cefpodoxime Proxetil.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

The steroids were to get her reactions to allergens under control which resulted in the pyoderma/staph infection. Once her body got ahead of it with the prednisone, we transitioned her to Reactine and she's been ok since


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