Hi, its my first time on this site so please be kind to me, Ihave a 2yr old gsd and after to a vets i was told she as a/f ,can someone please tel me whats the best food to give her and what about exercise. My vet has given me a course of tablets for her they are Batril,Lopermide,and Prednisolone, is there anything more i can do. HOPE YOU CAN HELP.

Anul Fungalitis/Anul Furunculosis or pf's, I had a GSD 3 year old with this disease. Nobody seems to know the proper cause of this disease though there are many suggestions hereditary/ diet/ stress. Diet was mentioned and he was on a very strict diet of Royal Canine dry Sensitivity (with absolutely nothing else) for the rest of his life. It was first diagnosed because he was licking his bum so I thought he had blocked glands but the vet found a pf on inspection. After prednisone didn't work to close the fistula the drug Atopica was started to treat him and this along with a diet that kept his stools nice and firm (important apparently) eventually healed. It was also important to keep the area clean so I cleaned twice daily with warm salty water as advised by my vet. He had the fistula for approx 6 months (including a very long hot summer were he would often just sleep outside all night long, I think for comfort.

This all happened about just over 4 years ago now so there may be new treatments out there as an alternative for you. I'll be honest with you my dog died just over 3 years after this disease. Lymphoma was diagnosed and after doing some research after he died I found that Atopica in high doses can cause Lymphoma (although there are lots of possible causes of Lymphoma apparently) I just think at the time I needed some answer to why Spencer had Lymphoma so I convinced myself that the Atopica was the reason. So do plenty of research about what your vet may suggest as a treatment. At the time though everything else was tried so without the Atopica there was a chance Spencer wouldn't of lived. At least the Atopica gave us another 31/2 years together.

A friend of mine whose dog had cryosurgery at 3 years old and then had re-occurrence within 6 months of the op managed it with application of Aloe Vera Gel on the site, and internally supplemented with Echinacea (sp) on advice from a friend with several leonbergers that sadly had this condition.

I've just found a thread on this that I'd printed out, sorry, don't know who posted it but they attended a GSD research seminar & they recommended the AB Doxycycline. The dog was also on Atopica & was showing good results on both.

Cryosurgery was also tried on Spencer but had little effect. Atopica showed very good results, and once the fistula closed up it luckly never returned, just left a little surface scarring. However I believe looking into the long term side affects would be beneficial, or look for alternative treatments if available now.

I wish you both the best of luck and hope your dog gets better soon. It can be a frustrating disease to treat, but with patience you and your dog will get used to a routine, it is important to visit your vet regularly for checks on the fistulas condition.

My boy has interdigital furunculosis and so far has been managed quite well with Atopica. Although in very very small doses as it makes him poorly. his dose should be 225mg per day but he can only manage 100mg and even that has managed the condition.

Spencer was on 400mg a day (4 Tabs) which probably cured the fistula in the first place, however this may of been detrimental to his immune system later in his life.

Was your dog on Atopica for the rest of his life?

No, only till after the vet thought that the fistula had healed sufficiently to come off it, can't quite remember the time frame approx 4 months I think. He only lived a further 3 and a bit years though :(

Hi EVERYONE,Many thanks for your replies on A/F it gives me some hope anyway, I will ask my vet for there advice and tell them ive been on this forum and how helpful it was. I just hope she can come up with good news for my dog and me. Many thanks again.

1 of my gsd's had AF. He had cryosurgery,samples were sent off,but were no good for histology. I was told by my own vet that he would have to be on Atopica for the rest of his life. I asked for referal to vrcc in essex where he was operated on and at the same time he had both anal glands removed as they were both infected. Prior to the op he had to be on Atopica for two weeks,as this enables a more satisfactory outcome. After the op he stayed on Atopica until stitches were removed.  Before the stitches were removed,I would clean his rear using a syringe with warm salt water, sprayed on gently following a poo.  He was not put on special diet.  At the time I was using Arden Grange + raw. I stopped the raw at that time of my own choosing. It is now 4.1/2yrs since this took place and (am touching wood) no recurrence. I did change food to Nutro but cant get this now,so changed back to AG lamb/rice. Poo was always ok on this,most of the other foods I tried would produce sludge. He now has grain free complete for 1 meal and good quality raw for the second. Beautiful poo,if poo can ever be described as that!    I hope all goes well for your bitch. Keep us posted. You may already be aware that you can ask your vet for a prescription to buy your meds and prescription diets elsewhere. Atopica is very expensive drug. I was able to buy mine from vet-medic for almost half the price from my vet. I say this just in case your vet suggests using it.  If it is prescribed ,when you exercise ,just watch where and what your dog sniffs as it does depress the immune system. The same drug is used for human transplant patients to prevent rejection.        

GREAT NEWS TODAY,After seeing my vet she told me the A/F has cleared up or is now dorment but may return later on in live, She had 2 courses of tablets (3 different tablets on each course) and the only problem now is her diet. The vet told me about some very expencesive dry food (cannot rember name but wiil tell you when it arrives) which i must try for 1month, If all is well the vet does not want to see again. Ijust hope all goes well.

That is great news, best news I've heard all day, and it's not my news. You can relax a little now.

what a relief, am very pleased for you and your dog. Let us know the diet she has recommended.

Hi EVERYONE, The dog food my vet recomended was Royal Canin  Hypoallergenic mediem energy (sorry about spelling) and NO titbits at all. Hope it works for her, Thanks everyone.

Pleased to hear your girl is doing well. Have you checked some of the vet med sites? a lot of them sell special diet foods a lot cheaper than the vets charge and if the order is above a cerain amount you get free delivery as well

Thort it might be. Nice profit for the vet. I feed comletely grain free in the morning and raw in the evening.  For the first time ever changed my male GSD without doing it gradually - best poo ever and he is 9yrs. (1 who had AF).  Hope all goes well,let us know.

I'm so pleased your dog is on the mend, I lost my 2 year old GSD to this cruel disease last year, after trying everything to help him medically, it was one of the worse experiences of my life and I was truley heartbroken, I miss him so much and wished so much that the vets knew what caused a/f as it left me feeling "useless", even though I nursed him around the clock and money was never an issue to pay the vets bills/atopica etc. The vet recomended varius foods for him and the one he ended up being able to eat for the last couple of his weeks was believe it or not Chappie!

>the one he ended up being able to eat for the last couple of his weeks was believe it or not Chappie!

I don't know why people are so surprised that Chappie suits so many dogs so well! It's a good, straightforward non-fancy food that's stood the test of time.

> I don't know why people are so surprised that Chappie suits so many dogs so well! It's a good, straightforward non-fancy food that's stood the test of time.

That's all I feed my Duke on and he is thriving on it.

How is your dog?  Is she eating her food ok?  Hope all is well.

I was so sad to read your post Delybear. He was so young which makes it even more painful.

That post was mine.

rather than say it all again, please go to my previous post for the massive success when using doxycycline on my male gsd who is now almost 9 and has been fine for over a year after taking this drug.