# Canine Lupus - UPDATE



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

Our 10yr old mongrel dog has recently been diagnosed with canine lupus (a horrible disease where his body has started to reject his nose and ears), we think it is the more severe SLE type as he started with unexplained lameness, very high fever (105!) and was very lethargic and off his food. The vet didn't know what it was at first but after a week on antibiotics he suddenly started sneezing and became very snuffly and snotty. His nose became all scabby and this spread up his nose to his eyes and then the edges of his ears started weeping and became very scabby. After taking a biopsy from an enlarged lymph node (Vet thought leukemia at first but there were no cancer cells found). The vet tried him on steroids because he wasn't eating. This improved him enough to make him eat but he was still very lame and reluctant to move. This is when the vet thought that he must have SLE. He is now on strong steroids and antibiotics for a week to see how he goes. He has improved a lot, he seems quite bright but he is still not wanting to walk far or play like he used to.

Has anyone else ever had a dog with this? Do you know of anything that might help? and what is the long term prognosis?

Our vet is on holiday for a week and we're not due back to see him until next Monday, I've been searching the internet but can only find details of the disease and not a lot of other info. I know there might be a chance of heart, lung or kidney failure and would just like any info that anyone can give us

Thanks


----------



## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

I had a cat who had the cat version of this i dont know if it is the same treatment but he was on steriods and antibiotics BUT charlie had it on his paws so he had to have his feet bandaged and cleaned daily.
Unfortunatly it spread to all 4 paws and he had to be pts.
We found that the steriods helped a lot, I know this is a difference species but I hope it all goes well for you xx


----------



## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

Don't know anything about it at all Sally - just wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about the bad news. Fingers crossed that he will respond to steroid treatment and not develop any of the organ failures you mention.


----------



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

Here are a couple of pics of Roger's nose, this is a big improvement on how it looked last week but I thought it might be useful for anyone to see what it looks like, just in case their dog is suffering from something similar.


----------



## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

Awww poor boy  sorry he's going thro this, its so sad  i really hope u can find some form of medi wich will help improve hes life.

ild like to know more about this, never heard of it be4, is it hereditary??? or does it just happen ?

out of interest wat is he crossed with??


----------



## guineapigqueen (Jan 12, 2008)

Aww poor boy. Sorry I have never heard of the disease before but my healing vides are being sent through the internet.
Emma x


----------



## Guest (Jun 10, 2008)

Looking at that hun it's the exact same thing charlie had.
Im sorry you are going through this and I really hope he gets better hun xx


----------



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

Thanks to everyone who replied,

I'm not sure what mix Roger is, he came from the RSPCA at 8months old and he looked very much like a border terrier then but bigger. His size,build and stance now remind me of an Irish terrier so there could be some of that in him too! 

I think SLE is hereditory but most of the info I've found on the internet just repeats the same things and there doesn't seem to be much known about it. According to this info it is mainly found in German Shepherd, Collie, Brittany Spaniel, Shetland Sheepdog, Siberian Husky, and German Shorthaired Pointer breeds. As Roger doesn't appear to fit any of these breeds who knows!

I found an American homeopathic website who claims to have had great results with Calendular and Hypericum cream so I've ordered some from Ainsworths Products. The problem is keeping it on him and stopping him rubbing it all off on the sofa!

I'll keep you all informed on how he progresses.


----------



## Le Loup (May 23, 2008)

Aw poor boy! It must be painful  I hope he gets better and yes keep us posted. It might be helpful to other people who have animals with this problem. I'm glad you posted about it because i've never heard of it before and now i know about it i might be able to spot the signs if it happens to any of my or my friends animals. 

Get well soon Roger

xx


----------



## cav (May 23, 2008)

that looks realy sore poor lad
hope he is feeling better soon


----------



## clueless (May 26, 2008)

Oh your poor Boy. I have nursed Human Lupus and it is a painful thing. I suppose if it is anything like Human Lupus it can be Hereditary or no apparent cause for it although in humans they have found certain drugs can cause it.

I know in humans it can affect the skin, muscloskeletal, renal failure, blood clots and the nervous system.
Is he on a low protein diet?


----------



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

No ones said anything about a low protein diet yet, but the vet wanted to see how he'd respond to the steroids for a week. I'll mention it to him when I see him next week though.


----------



## clueless (May 26, 2008)

Sally61 said:


> No ones said anything about a low protein diet yet, but the vet wanted to see how he'd respond to the steroids for a week. I'll mention it to him when I see him next week though.


Hi I hope he responses to the steroids. In Human Lupus it can cause the body to deposit excess protein in the kidneys which can lead to renal failure, but do not worry if I remember this was during an extreme flare up of of Lupus.


----------



## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

Sally61 said:


> View attachment 5891
> 
> 
> View attachment 5893
> ...


ah bless him.i do hope he gets better VERY soon.


----------



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

Hi all,
Just to let you all know that Roger is doing ok. His nose and ears are healing well although he has developed some rather nasty looking sores on the front of his hind legs  I think this might be because he is still a bit sore and stiff and he tends to drag his back legs over the door step, Neal has very kindly built him a little step now so that he doesn't have so far to jump 

Roger had his appointment on Tuesday but unfortunately I couldn't take him because of work commitments and Neal forgot to ask the vet all the questions I wanted so they will have to wait til Monday when I can ask them myself! 

The vet is very pleased with Roger's progress and has cut the strength of his steroids which is good and each day he seems to be improving even more. I am still worried about his energy levels though and can't wait until he becomes the bouncy energic little dog he was previously.


----------



## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

hi sally thats great news that he is getting better.


----------



## Le Loup (May 23, 2008)

Aw brilliant! i'm so glad he is doing better!  Poor little boy  His energy will pick up i'm sure. Give him looooads of love and attention  i bet he'llbe getting spoiled


----------



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

Hi all,

its been 7 weeks since Roger was diagnosed, he is still on steroids which the vet is hoping to cut down soon. 

Roger has his good days which fortunately are more often than his bad, but when he's bad he can't get off his bed because his legs seem to hurt so much, luckily this doesn't make him lose his apetite. He still hasn't got much energy and seems to feel the cold a lot more and when he's feeling off he shivers until we put a coat on him.

The Vet's main concern now is his loss of muscle, he doesn't appear to have any on his body at all now... even his temples have sunken, the top of his head is all boney and his bottom is tiny! He's going to take some more blood tests at the end of the month and see if he can find the reason for this.

I was worried if we were doing the right thing in not having him pts so I asked the vet what he would do if Roger was his and he said he wouldn't give up him yet which sounds hopeful 

I'll keep you all posted


----------



## canuckjill (Jun 25, 2008)

Hi Sally, I'm glad the vet hasn't given up hope that sounds promising. Hope all goes well...Jill


----------



## breagh (Jul 6, 2008)

Aaw poor wee lad...glad to see the vet is hopeful though and he does seem to be improving.

Sendin hugs to you both. x


----------



## NATASHAJ06 (Jun 5, 2008)

hi glad he is a little better,
i just wanted some advice of what the first signs were our collie is 13 and he has a long nose which is starting to go scaly, his nose runs alot and instead of lowering his body to the floor when he lays down he just sort of chucks himself. He will not lie in a bed as he seems to like the cold floor but he is getting sores on his elbows. He looks to have scaly bits under his jaw like on his chin could this be the start of it?
We took him to the vets a couple of months ago and spent £500 pounds on him for tests and no result as to what was up. First they thought he had a brain tumour, then they thought he might have had nasal tumours as his snout is so long but no answer. Any advice would be helpful
thanks


----------



## Guest (Aug 13, 2008)

Sally61 said:


> Our 10yr old mongrel dog has recently been diagnosed with canine lupus (a horrible disease where his body has started to reject his nose and ears), we think it is the more severe SLE type as he started with unexplained lameness, very high fever (105!) and was very lethargic and off his food. The vet didn't know what it was at first but after a week on antibiotics he suddenly started sneezing and became very snuffly and snotty. His nose became all scabby and this spread up his nose to his eyes and then the edges of his ears started weeping and became very scabby. After taking a biopsy from an enlarged lymph node (Vet thought leukemia at first but there were no cancer cells found). The vet tried him on steroids because he wasn't eating. This improved him enough to make him eat but he was still very lame and reluctant to move. This is when the vet thought that he must have SLE. He is now on strong steroids and antibiotics for a week to see how he goes. He has improved a lot, he seems quite bright but he is still not wanting to walk far or play like he used to.
> 
> Has anyone else ever had a dog with this? Do you know of anything that might help? and what is the long term prognosis?
> 
> ...


I may be able to point you in the direction of someone who can if you are interested, I cannot put details on the forum as 'it is by referal invitation only pm me if you are interested. Think they cover lupus
regards
sue


----------



## Ian_Sue (Aug 13, 2008)

Hi Sally,
I know what you are going through. Our 2 & 1/2 year old Silky/ toy poodle mix was lame in one leg 3 weeks ago. It changed to another leg & then another. He also had sores in both of his ears in the same spots & a bit of crusty patches on his jaws.
We took him in for x rays & his legs looked fine, no inflammation showing.
The vet prescribed metacam, an anti-inflammatory as she thought it might be the onset of arthritis.
Gave it to him for one week...no improvement...getting more lethargic, fevered, blood in stool. Took him in again & had blood work done. Tested for Lyme Disease, although none in this area at present. (We are in the city as well)
Put him in intensive care & she started IV & waited for Lyme results. They came back negative. He had a giardia worm in stool which accounted for blood, supposidly.
His white blood cells were up, his fever stayed up even though he had 2 rounds of antibiotics & a cortisone injection.
I, meanwhile am frantically searching the net for info & keep coming up with SLE for his symptoms.
On the 6th day we brought him home feeling a bit better with the diagnosis of immune mediated polyarthritis...by now he is put on prednisone.
She told me it may be SLE but as yet she is treating him for the arthritis.
From everything I have read, it all points to SLE....he has all of the symptoms,
He is not getting a lot better. His nose has not been affected yet but we noticed yesterday, that it is running clear fluid a bit.
The prednisone is awful...making him bloat, his heart is racing...I'm a mess.
This disease is so rare that it seems no vet is very knowledgable in it (as in humans as well, unfortunately.)
He won't eat his dog food so I've been cooking for him. He will eat people food.
Any help would be appreciated from anyone knowing more about this or having had dogs with this.
I can't seem to find out how long we may have Winston for, or what to expect as far as quality of life. We don't want to see him suffer, but we are not giving up on him either.


----------



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

Hi all, so sorry that I haven't been able to post for a while, unfortunately we had to have Roger put to sleep at the beginning of August, he had been ill for 8 weeks and was not improving at all. His nose and ears had healed but he was still very lame and if we accidently missed his steroids in the evening he couldn't get off his bed until lunchtime. He went for his weekly check up and I mentioned to the vet that his breathing appeared to have become very laboured, and his heart was racing.

After a lengthy check up the vet agreed with me that it was time to call it a day, his quality of life was awful and I couldn't bear to see him suffering any longer, it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make but I know it was for the best.

We scattered his ashes in the river on his favourite walk.

On the good news front... his life long pal Heidi, a 13yr old border collie cross was looking extremely miserable so we found her a new companion. He is 5 months old patterdale/jack russell cross rescued for our local lost dogs home. Todd has been with us now for 3 weeks and I can honestly say it was the best move to make, he's been a breath of fresh air, given Heidi a new lease of life and although he will never replace Roger (the best dog I have ever had) he has filled a hole and settled in with the whole family, including the 2 cats!

To any one else who has a dog they think might be suffering from lupus, please feel free to email me [email protected] and I will try to help. If only with help trying to diagnose the possibility that it might be lupus.

By the way, I'm sure the hyperium and callendular cream helped his nose and ears heal so thats worth trying.

Thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes and hopes for Roger, we all appreciate your concern.


----------



## clueless (May 26, 2008)

Oh I am sad to hear that Sally. I know you had done your best for Roger. Run Free Roger


----------



## canuckjill (Jun 25, 2008)

Oh Sally i'm so sorry , but you did what was best for him and you put Roger first for that I am sure he thanks you and watches over you and your family. It is amazing how a young pup can help our elderly pups get through tough times is'nt it. Good luck with the new addition. Thinking of you...Jill


----------



## RebeccaArmstrong (May 23, 2008)

so sorry to hear about Roger - he was a lucky boy to have you and he'll never be forgotten .. your new little boy sounds beautiful xx


----------



## Ian_Sue (Aug 13, 2008)

Oh Sally, I am so sorry to hear about Roger.
Little Winston has had a rough few days as well. He's ok one day & then terrible the next. His heart races a lot & he is exhausted all of the time. He drinks excessively & has to pee 2 to 3 times every night. We get up with him as he paces to go out. 
It has been such a trying few weeks. I keep thinking a miracle might happen & he will recover but I think it's wishful thinking. 
My email is [email protected] if anyone wants to talk or share info.


----------



## Sally61 (Jun 10, 2008)

Thanks for all your kind thoughts and best wishes.

I just feel so sorry for anyone who has to go through what we did with poor Roger. *hugs to all of you*

On a lighter note... here is a pic of wee Todd, he's at the vets at the moment having a little op *cough-no-balls-cough* + a chip but I'm sure he'll soon be his bouncy self again


----------



## ChinMom (Jul 6, 2011)

I know these are old posts, but I found these while searching for info on Lupus in dogs. Was just hoping some of you might still be around and have some info.
I took my 6yr old Japanese Chin, Quasimoto, into the vet today and he has a fungal infection in both ears and on his foot.
The vet mentioned that it could be due to an underlying autoimmune disease such as Lupus. I'm trying to find out symptoms and such so I will know what to watch for. He's on oral and topical antibiotics for the infection and we go back into the vet on Saturday to see where we're at. 
Any info you all could share would be great! Thanks!


----------



## 912142 (Mar 28, 2011)

Hi - this is what I found for you.


Lupus is an autoimmune disorder, meaning that the bodys own immune system attacks the body cells and tissues. It does not recognise them as self and behaves as if they are antigens or foreign pathogens. In fact the name lupus is actually the Latin word for wolf. The label is apt as lupus is a cunning disease where the body is tricked into sabotaging itself.


In both of the lupus conditions, the disease can be aggravated by exposure to UV radiation. In fact CLE becomes prevalent more commonly in the summer and in hot regions of the world. Using sunscreens on dogs during summer and avoiding excessive exposure to the sun should considerably reduce the effects of lupus.

Treatment for SLE involves chemotherapy with strong doses of steroids. It is generally possible to control the disease in dogs with proper medication for several years. Similarly CLE is also treated with steroids, but with mild doses and also with vitamin E and fatty acid supplements. As is the case with humans, lupus has a genetic background; multiple genes are likely to be involved as well as environmental triggers.

Sunscreens (not containing zinc oxide, which is toxic to dogs) is important.


----------



## Sanders1990 (Sep 4, 2011)

Sally61 said:


> Our 10yr old mongrel dog has recently been diagnosed with canine lupus (a horrible disease where his body has started to reject his nose and ears), we think it is the more severe SLE type as he started with unexplained lameness, very high fever (105!) and was very lethargic and off his food. The vet didn't know what it was at first but after a week on antibiotics he suddenly started sneezing and became very snuffly and snotty. His nose became all scabby and this spread up his nose to his eyes and then the edges of his ears started weeping and became very scabby. After taking a biopsy from an enlarged lymph node (Vet thought leukemia at first but there were no cancer cells found). The vet tried him on steroids because he wasn't eating. This improved him enough to make him eat but he was still very lame and reluctant to move. This is when the vet thought that he must have SLE. He is now on strong steroids and antibiotics for a week to see how he goes. He has improved a lot, he seems quite bright but he is still not wanting to walk far or play like he used to.
> 
> Has anyone else ever had a dog with this? Do you know of anything that might help? and what is the long term prognosis?
> 
> ...


I was a vet tech for 5 years, my boxer was perfectly healthy until about 3 years ago, she developted what we thought was allergies, so we did every thing we possible could for them, all the antibiotics, steriods, allergy injections, even drugs that wernt on the market that we could test on my dog because she just kept getting worse and i was so desprite, we had 2 surgeries done to remove a big growth on her ear. then all of a sudden her stomache broke out with all these lesions, and i didnt knbow what else to do, so i took her to a veterinary that i had worked for a few years ago, i talked to the dr, told him every thing ive done and tried. i asked him if there were any study cases going on at a college i could put her in, he asked me to bring her in, we decided she would have surgery the next morning to send off some of her lesions and the growth on her ear to a diagnostic lab, when i picked her up later that after noon he told me he thinks she might have an auto immune disorder that the cells in side attack the healthy tissue, me being a tech for 5 years ive never seen a lupus case, it took 3 years and 5 veterinarians later for some one to give me hope back, that she would get better, lupus is not currile, but it is managable, and my dr. said that his book says that most dogs quality of life will improve, not all of them. im not sure that that is what my dog has because we are still waiting on the results to get back, but he says he is pretty sure that it is lupus.


----------

