Hi all, this is my 1st time on here, just a new member. ]I have a Rottweiler who was diagnosed with FERUNCULOSIS 14mth ago, He is 4yr old, the vet did 3 biopseys on the hock, the ankle and front of the leg. this was done as tyler,s flared up, then presented its self as a blistery type, which would fill and wuld burst, which spread and got bigger, then errupt like a hyperdermic syringe been squirted. it then went in to a deep hole and i had to use a syringe a saline fluid from vets to flush it, this carried on spreading round the hock, and ty was given antibiotic, Trimacare and high dose of steroids after the biopsy, the wounds were not healing very well, the 1 in particular on front of leg stay,d open for nr, 3 mthsand had to be bandaged to stop ty licking, . HE has since had constant out break from moderate to severe in the form of blistery lumps affectig his chin, all 4 pads, between his toes, skin around his eyes, which i have found that golden eye from the chemist helps,.
Then last week i noticed that his ankel were he origionaly had probs, had broke out in awful blisters and leaving holes, i was given more antibiotics and steroids, then within 2 days the other biopsey site at front of leg had broke out, and by the nx day itlooked like some 1 had scooped a large piece a skin out, now futher up his les is breaking out and the blisters are back between his toes, i use sudacrem to ease his feet and it dose help,
I am taking Tyler back to vet,s on thus as he has been lame of and on in left front leg, but this week its been constant and seems to be coming from shoulder or elbow, yet on the toes and the pad there r no blistery nasty,s as i call them . I am very worrried about him, he is my 4th rottweiler, and a loveable rouge, but such a softie. Any information or suggestions no matter what would be so appreciated, I just love him so much and he has got me thru so much unhappy times, . What a horrible and so unpredictable disease this is. thank you for readin, tracy.x
 

Someone I know in  Leonbergers found Echinacea given orally and Aloe vera topically and orally helped control this problem.  A Friend on this advice found that they controlled the problem in their GSD until his death (for 8 years) after it came back following cryosurgery.

Thank you for your reply, Barbara, god i will try any thing, I seem to get it under controll and then before you know it he has a bad out break again,. I also have him on Wainwrights hypo allergenic, which he dose good on.
the tee-tree oil i used to use to help whenn the blisters became infected stop,d working, i was also given Malaseb shampoo to wash his feet in, which made no difference.
thank you once again, of to vets in morn, will keep you posted.x

The lady with the Leonbergers had three with this condition and is the sister of a good Friend.

The Friends with the GD who they have just lost lived his allotted span with it under control though still apparent.  He had thousands of pounds worth of surgery and it came back.

Hi there, ave b,n to vets with tyler today,  vet said he had a very bad outbreak, have to keep leg bandaged and dry (which i always do)
mentioned some other antibiotic (not atopica) said if i had a been insured she wud a put him on, didnt give me a name, said they wud a cost me approx £500 4 couple a months, but no gaurentee that they would work!!
she has perscribed another cream, fuciderm, which he had bout a yr ago, have to collect it tomorow as it didnt cum in with order today.
tylers leg where he is limping was examined and the vet said she think it is coming from the shoulder as it is a bit swollen , i had to agree as i had checked elbow and shoulder for crepidis, and the elbow was ok but the shoulder was rather stiff and also had some fibrous tissue present, ( im a sports/remedial therapist) (at present on sick due to angina and tests)
said Tyler may need a x-ray or mri,  but if he did need an Opperation would be very risky  and out of quiestion due to his skin dont heal very well, as his biopsey took several months to heal, so i was very upset.
i read that a lot of people have tried different herbal remadies, so i have been and bought ENCHINACEA AND GARLIC CAPS.
HIS LEG IS STILL BLEEDING IN SEVERAL PLACES AND OOZING AND SWELLING, YET HE IS SO GOOD ALLTHOUGH IN PAIN HE ROLLS ON HIS BACK AND LETS ME DRESS IT, AND THE PAWS AND HIS CHIN, His eyes touch wood, arnt to bad at min. best wishes TRACY.X

Hi Barbara, do you know what dose of Enchinacea(1 or 2 tabs?)  your friend with leonbergers gave to her dog.
thanks Tracy.x

No I don't now I woudl imagien teh dosaage based on weight.

Have you got Aloe Vera Gel, that will help a lot.

Tracy, not able to help, but wanted to say thumbs up for caring for your lad so well.  Seems so unfair doesn't it?  Sending positive vibes.  Jean

no but will get aloe vera in morn, god what a mess hiss leg and ankle is in, poor love, and he tollerates me changing his bandage,s and cleaning it. keep u posted uun. goodnite.x

Aww thank Jean, that really means a lot to me, i would go to the end of the earth to do what i can for him.
All the dogs i have had (Rotts) have all had a serious condition and i think the oldest 1 was our Nico aged 8yr 11mth, I was told i should go in to vetenary nursing, oh my god, i'd ave a break down, could bear to see animals suffer or ill treated. and id be to involved if a dog or any animal had to be p.t.s.
Tyler has gone to bed now, then we start again in morn, im so glad im on the sick at moment.
goodnite Jean. Thanks again.x

My last GSD had anal furunculosis.  It is a very nasty disease, and has a tendency to continually come back. We finally used cyclosporin orally (I believe it goes under the brand name Neoral) I understand that Atopica contains cyclosporine, but don't know in what quantity, it may be the same as Neoral, just marketed under a different name for the veterinary profession. It is however cripplingly expensive, unless you are insured. It is a serious drug (anti organ rejection in humans), but most dogs do well on it (but not all).  I know this because we were on a drug trial for furunculosis at the QM Animal Hospital in Potters Bar, so would meet all the other poor owners there, and we would all see how the treatment was progressing.

My dog had surgery and various topical creams, including fuciderm which didn't help. When we started the treatment it was costing nearly £300 per month. As we got the condition under control, we gradually reduced the dosage. After about 18 months we stopped it altogether and thankfully it never came back. 

The only thing I would say is that I was told not to flush with saline, as this would heal the sides of the hole, and consequently would not allow the hole to close if we got it under control, as it has to heal from the inside out.

I've been there, so I know how you feel, but if you can perhaps give atopica a try, it might work as well for you as it did for us. I wish you all the luck in the world.
Kat

We had a Leo with AF, not sure is it is the same cause/disease?
She did really well on homeopathic medicines for little while but in the end cyclosporin was the only thing that cleared the area properly and it only came back few times in 5 or so years and topping the dosage would make it go away again.
We were not offered it first and only started it after we did research ourselves and told the vet this is what we want to try(as last hope or she would have been put to sleep).
Cost us a bomb but she did very well on it and the cost does come down after the first few months when the condition is under control as the dosage will be lowered too.

I hope we knew about it when the illness first started so we could have started it straight away and avoid the huge scarring she had and the heart ache of trying to make her better and the up and down hills we all went through.
If you can afford it, I would advise you to go down that route before your dog ends up with scarring etc that will make the area more difficult to look after.

Sending loads of healing thought to your boy and strenght to you!
I know how heart breaking and tiring it is to look after a woofie with an illness like this!

Hi tracey, sorry your boy is suffering.

I don't have experience with this but as I see you have been using herbal treatments I thought you might be interested in Active Manuka Honey.

http://www.manukahoney.co.uk/article1.html

When I was a small child I poured a pot of scalding tea all over my arm, my mother dressed the wound every day with honey and I don't even have a scar.  I realise your boys wounds are quite severe and this may not work for him but it is quite a cheap option to try. HTH

thanks for your reply Chinablue.
I truley wish i could afford the Atopica, but finances at the moment prevent that. Thanks for what u wrote also about the saline flush, that never occured to me..
The cream i was given this time is called Surolan, have to apply ech time i change the bandages, which is about 4 x daily.
at some point this yr i do hope i can get Tyler on the Atopica as im due a pay out from a R.T.A.
Will keep u posted, thanks again, best wishes Tracy.x

Thanks Noora, for your reply and your kind words, its very comforting to know that i can be in touch with other people like yourself who have experienced this awfull disease.
I have wrote down what you have suggested to ask the Vet about it , at the moment  Tyler is on Trimacare, Preds, and just started herbal on thurs nite of garlic and Echinacea which states only to stay on between 2 to 4 weeks!
I ALSO BOUGHT SOME ALOE VERA CREAM , so will start and use that when ive used up this lotion of vet, which isnt going to last long as its a small bottle.
Tyler is a bit more spritey today, could be the preds, but have fingers crossed hun.
tylers furunculosis is on his right hock, ankle and front of leg, which is an open wound and angry looking, all 4 paws are affectedin pads and between toes with what i can only discribe as angry looking blistery ulcer type things, he also has bad out breaks on his chin and then can appear on the skin around the eye,
At times i have seemed to get it under controll then before you know it -bang- its breaking out.
At the moment his leg is the worst it has ever been, oh and i did point out to vet that he has had a couple of little blisters around the anal area in the past, but at present that dosnt seem to be to bad at all.
have you heard of this disease in Rottweilers before hun, as all the rottie people i knnow havnt come accross it.
Thanks again for your healing thought to Tyler and Myself, that is very kind. Tracy.x

Hi Mel, thank you for you help in sending me the web site, I will try anything to help Tyler. funny you should mention the honey, that has just brought back what a friend told me about  her mother, she has open ulcers and the district nurse sugested that and on 1 leg it had started to heal.
thanks again. Tracy.x

> I ALSO BOUGHT SOME ALOE VERA CREAM

I have been told that the Gel is better than the cream (more aloe less other stuff).  My Friends GSD and the other Friends Leonbergers were managed purely on the Aloe Vera Gel and the echinacea permanently.  It kept them comfortable and controlled the flare ups.

Good morn Barbara, thank you for your reply, I will go and get the gel.  When i got in town i couldnt remember if it was cream or the gel,.
Tyler is quite perky this morn which is a good sign, has enjoyed his walk this morn , i have just re dressed his leg and the swelling on the ankle has gone down (yeeha and fingers crossed), the open wound at the front is showing signs of drying up, this would normally take a long long while,he still has the blistery things on all paws, but dont look as angry.  The difference this time is that he is on Ecinacea, garlic and the aloe vera cream.
so would like to send you huge thanks for recomending these in first place, .
the cheeky monkey has just gone back to bed, and i mean upstairs, ha ha ha, whats he like eh!!.
Oh meant to ask, how do you attatch a pic to your name , not quite sure how to do it.
Have a lovely day, Tracy.x

We too used aloe gel and it did help.
If you can afford it I would recommend you to take him to homeopathic vet and get him some on medicines known to support the immune system.
I can not remember what our girl was on (two different things) but they really helped, better than anything our vet had given her.
She for example didn't get any seasons after she got ill and after being put to these homepathic stuff she started them again(sign her body felt better) and the holes in her bum closed up and calmed down loads.
In her case unfortunately the illness really flared up after a while and got so bad we were thinking we will have to let her go but I then came across Atopica and we never looked back!
I have heard of many Leos who have coped just fine on homeop.medicines and aloe so it might be all you boy will need, fingers crossed!

That makes a lot of sense as echinacea is known to help boost the immune system

There is a fantasic dressing called Kaltostat which I use on my daughters gastrostomy site. It's made from seaweed and is the only thing that has ever helped completely heal up the site during the many infections she has.

I don't know about it's suitibility for use in dogs but if you are covering the wound it might be worth asking about

I copied this from the leaflet in the box.

Description
Kaltostat consists of an absorbent fibrous fleece composed of the sodium and calcium salts of alginic acid in the ratio of 80:20. The dressing is presented as a flat non-woven pad for application to surface wounds. In the presence of exudate or other body fluids containing sodium ions, the fibres absorb liquid and swell and calcium ions present in the fibre are partially replaced by sodium, causing the dressing to take on a gel-like appearance. This overlays the wound and provides a micro-environment that is believed to facilitate wound healing.

Indications
Kaltostat is indicated as a primary dressing for the management of heavily exuding wounds including chronic wounds such as leg ulcers (venous arterial and diabetic), pressure sores, fungating carcinomas, and acute wounds such as donor sites, abrasions, lacerations and post surgical wounds.
Although there are no known contra-indications to the use of Kaltostat the dressing will be of little value if applied to wounds that are very dry, or covered with hard black necrotic tissue.

Hiya, thank you for that, that is very kind of you, I was just saying earlier that ty,s leg was looking better, then low and behold,  the cysts that are on his foot (same foot as out break) have turned in to a hole and on front paw also, poor little mite, and still he dosnt object to me cleaning and appling cream, and now his chin is starting to break out tonite- this  disease is so frustrating,
Thank you again for your help hun, I so much appreciate your and every boby elses help and concern, what a fantastic site this is, I dont feel like im batteling alone any more. Tracy.x

thanks Noora, there is a place in london called I think either ainsleys or ainsworth,  It has just come to mind as I did use them back when my other big boy who lost his life to prostate cancer, there were 2 diff type of tablets, it did help him for about 1 month, but the cancer has spred to far,. will have to look to see if i can find them in Google.
Thanks again hun for that. best wishes.x

Here is a list of homeopathic vets in UK...
http://www.bahvs.com/
Maybe there is one near you?

Good morn Noora, thanks for that, was back to work y,day so just had chance to catch up with mail.
have a great day, Tracy.x

jUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW, tYLER HAS TO GO AND GET HIS LEFT FRONT LEG X-RAY,D NEXT WEEK (THURS), HE HAS NOW BEEN LIMPING WHICH I FEEL HAS GOT A BIT WORSE, FOR ABOUT 2 OR 3 WK,S NOW.
HIS RITE HIND LEG WITH THE BLISTERS AND OPEN SORES DUE TO HIS FURUNCULOSIS HAS FLARED UP BAD AGAIN, THE POOR LAD.

Hi all, just a quick note to let you know that Tyler go,s in for x-rays tomorrow, also i have been using a new gel which i came across quite by accident, its called Witch Doctor,  it has 81.5%liquid extract of witch hazelin it, after reading the label I thought why not try it, I had been using the Aloe Vera gel but with no improvement, and fingers and toes crossed, it seems to be healing, the bleeding has stopped and a very small part has started to heal, I picked it up at Sainsburys, , funny thing was , I picked it up and put it back 3 times before i decided to give it a try. and it was under £3.00,
So will keep you all updated on that. thanks again to every one and all your care and advice, and will let you know Tylers x-ray results  when i get them. Tracy xx

Witch Hazel is very good styptic, stops bleeding really well, so not surprised it has this effect.  You can buy neat Witch Hazel in bottles from the chemist very cheaply.  I use it all the time for cuts and grazes,face  cleansing etc.

not good news yesterday, was suppose to pick Ty up at 12.o.clock (lunch), was given an appointment to go in at 5pm, i knew something wasnt rite, i was took in to consuling room,
1st I was told, Ty had struggled under anesthetic, couldnt get enough oxygen, apparently the bag wasnt big enough,
2nd I was then shown the x-rays that were taken of the fore arm-and the vet said she was woried about a growth in the distal radius(forearm), i could see it clear as day, i felt like i was gona pass out, I said is that Osteosarcoma, she said that is what she suspects and is botherd about, she olso said that when she tryed to x-ray the shoulder that  the x-ray machine started to play up and wasnt able to get clear pic,s and then tyler started getin stressed under anesthetic, so has to go back for more x-rays of shoulder and chest, they said they have orderd a bigger breathing bag what delivers the oxygen to his lungs,
I am Devestated to say the least, I am so worried of him having another anesthetic, the vet said that there wont be any charge for anesthetic, so he is due to go back week after nx, they gona ring me nx week, he never moved till this morn, i try,d getting some fluid via syringe in to him, my concern was the not urinating, but has now had several wee,s.
He also has to have his Prostate checked when he go,s back in as he has had touble at times with weeing, but another vet said it be the steroids and this vet said it wouldnt stop him weeing.
he is only 4, and i am so heart broken, oh they have gave him Rimadyl for the pain, said it will help, also given more anti,s for his Furunculosis, he keeps letting out cry,s and whimpers wich is not like him so it must still be the affects of the anesthetic, wich they said could knock him out for a couple a days.
Am just so numb. x

Hi Tracy
So sorry to hear this news, you must be so worried. His response to anaesthetic must be frightening for you, it is also probably the reason he has been knocked back so by the anaesthetic, many dogs do cry and whimper coming out of it, much like people have some odd reactions to anaesthesia. I am assuming that they use rapinovet (or at least that's what it used to be called) which is an anaesthetic which they can bring them round from very very quickly if needs be.

If you are concerned about their x-raying (whether the machine will be working OK), you could perhaps ask to be referred to a specialist for x-ray and diagnosis? Anaesthetic effects are cumulative, so you couldn't really afford to have another abortive attempt at an x-ray.

I can only wish you both luck for what the x-rays reveal, and hope that it isn't what you fear. I really really feel for you, as if the furunculosis wasn't enough to deal with. Let us know what happens.

Will be thinking of you

Hi Tracy
So sorry to hear this news, you must be so worried. His response to anaesthetic must be frightening for you, it is also probably the reason he has been knocked back so by the anaesthetic, many dogs do cry and whimper coming out of it, much like people have some odd reactions to anaesthesia. I am assuming that they use rapinovet (or at least that's what it used to be called) which is an anaesthetic which they can bring them round from very very quickly if needs be.

If you are concerned about their x-raying (whether the machine will be working OK), you could perhaps ask to be referred to a specialist for x-ray and diagnosis? Anaesthetic effects are cumulative, so you couldn't really afford to have another abortive attempt at an x-ray.

I can only wish you both luck for what the x-rays reveal, and hope that it isn't what you fear. I really really feel for you, as if the furunculosis wasn't enough to deal with. Let us know what happens.

Will be thinking of you

Thanks China blue, the anesthetic used was called Vetofol, aparrently its a new and very safe anesthetic! so What went wrong?, he had the biopseys done just over 14mth ago and had no problems with the G.A,
They said he was still under when they were trying to get the x-ray machine working and rang the guy who was out the week before to servis it, they got 4 clear photos, then for some reason it stopped working.
thank god that my good friend who is the theatre nurse (who was on her dinner and another nursewas doing tys g.a) came back of her lunch and she said thats Tyler, my friends dog, why is he still under anesthetic, he isnt coping, she said she took over  and then there was a problem as the breathing bag wasnt big enough..............
i just dont no what to think as i say he had no probs 14mth ago.
so now he has to have chest x-rays for the lungs and shouler x-rays also- surely to god she shoul send them 1st 4 of for a 2nd oppinion if she not 100%.
she said i will only be charged for x-rays nx time, im going to see when the other vet is back, as she is an othopedic specilist...........
Tyler is a lot better today, although the limping is getting a bit worse in that forearm, its not to bad for a few mins but then it gets worse,
His furunculosis out break was starting to heal but has again broke out and has spread once again, so much going on for him at such a young age and he is so damn good.
will keep you posted hun, I have now read up on Osteosarcoma, so I just pray to god its not this.
TAKE CARE, THANKS AGAIN, TRACY.X

I'm so sorry to read about Tylers problems. The vets will want to do chest x rays because if it is osteosarcoma it often spreads to the dogs lungs, it's possible this could account for his poor reaction to the anaesthetic this time but I hope that's not the case :-(

Several of my dogs family have had bone cancers, their owners have done as I would and kept them painfree for as long as possible then let them go. The normal treatment now is amputation then chemotherapy but it's not something I would consider for mine and especially if he already has other problems :-(

Lets hope their xray machine wasn't working properly. For the mean time I would make sure he's comfortable on pain killers/anti inflammatories and see what the next xrays show.

I'll be thinking of you both, and sending positive thoughts.