Skin Condition- Folliculitis/ Sebaceous adenitis

scrbear11

My 6 month old Weim has broken out in bumps on his neck and under his chin. They look like small tumors, and are firm to the touch, roll under your fingers. Eventually they develop a "head" and burst open. Usually they leak blood, sometimes puss. He isn't itchy, if anything a little painful. I work for a vet, and explained to her today what was going on with him- she said it was folliculitis and put him on cephalexin. He's supposed to be on this till it goes away and then two weeks after.

History on Zehen- From the time we got him he's had skin and ear issues. He was plagued with horrible yeast infections in his ears as a puppy. I have more ear meds on my counter...

He had a reoccuring rash on his nose. My vet said he was probably allergic to plastic (we had a plastic water bowl). Changing that to metal took care of that problem.

We then thought he had a tumor in his groin area. We had is aspirated and sent off for a cytology- turned out to just be an allergic reaction to something. Simplicef was prescribed for that problem.

He then developed bumps on his butt. I thought it was something, but my vet thought he sat in fire ants (we live in coastal NC). He's leash walked, so I didn't think it was fire ants. And now after this rash, I wonder if it wasn't the same thing as now... the folliculitis because those too developed a head and then abcessed out.

He eats 2 1/2 cups of Taste of the wild- the venison and bison formula- twice a day. He is leash walked three times a day (I'm a huge excercise fanatic).

So I think I scared myself reading up on skin disorders... Maybe he has Sebaceous adenitis since this is now the second time he's gotten these lumps. Anyone have any ideas?

anne · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:09 pm Post subject:

It sounds to me like you have mutliple problems going on, some of it might be related to his young age and immature immune system. I would see a holistic vet if I were you.

I had issues with recurrent yeast infections with Riley when he was very young, which I believe was precipitated by over vaccination. It became a cyclical problem, infection, lots of drugs, immune system overload, got better wiht meds but came back again with a vengeance. I finally got control of his diet and got him healthy from the inside out. It took a while, and he also got older of course with his immune system maturing. Foods that he was unable to tolerate before (like kibble, he had poorly formed poops) became no problem after getting him healthy.

One of the reasons I learned so much about vaccinations is that I was badgered into giving him 2 parvo shots within 3 days when he was 8 weeks old by a vet who made me feel like a bad owner if I didn't do it. I learned the hard way to do my own research and make choices for my dogs.

In any case, I don't know what those bumps might be altho I have seen them in a lot of Weims. But in my experience, just throwing antibiotics and more and more drugs at a problem doesn't really cure the problem, it just takes care of the symptoms.

highlandscot43 · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:43 pm Post subject:

I have a Weim name Owen, he is 17mos old. In May he developed bumps and flaky skin which started on his back and spread out to his haunches. but no where else on his body. I thought it to be related to his K-9 Advantix flea medication, although I had not seen any fleas even before I started the medication. The vet thought it might be allergies. But he also said that Owen has a bad skin infection, and that needed to be gotten under control.So recommended I put him on Hill's Prescription Ultra Allergen Free Kibble Dog Food ( to rule out food allergies) and a prescription of Cephalexin. I give him 2 caps 500 mg ea, 2x daily. He has been on this for 10 days. He is much improved, the bumps have gone. I am to continue the Cephalexin until gone, which is going to take awhile, there are 120 caps. I will be seeing the Vet again to find out when and if I can slowly reintroduce his other dog food which is Blue Buffalo.
I would suggest that you see your Vet about the dogs condition. Some conditions can be cleared up by a regiment of food changes and antibiotics
Good Luck, and let me know how the dog is doing.
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scrbear11 · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 8:16 pm Post subject:

I agree that antibiotics aren't always the way to go, but he looks horrible. He's started loosing hair on the front of his neck. Gave him a bath today in allergroom- and he looks a little better. I have 28 days of cephalexin. He started today. We'll see if I notice a difference in a week or so.

Ilovemygus · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:59 pm Post subject:

be careful with cephalexin because it has been known to cause more problems in weims. I had to give this to Gus and it made him even more sick. My cousin is a vet tech in Florida and she says that they specifically do not give weims cephalexin.

scrbear11 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:11 pm Post subject:

WOAHHHH!!!! Good to know! I'm going to do some research...

scrbear11 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:18 pm Post subject:

I can't find anything about Weims and Cephalexin. Can anyone find anything? He's been on it since Thursday and so far he's doing OK.

Ilovemygus · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:31 pm Post subject:

it gave Gus the diarrhea REALLY bad so I conculted my vet and had him stop taking it. I mean every med has it's side effects but this seems to cause more side effects than normal. Just be cautious.

highlandscot43 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:58 pm Post subject: Skin Conitions - Follicutis

Hi,
Owen's bumps were exactly the same as your dogs, and developed into bloody,pus filled and form a scab.
My Weim whose name is Owen took a full 9 days on the antibiotic, before seeing the bumps completely gone.
With you dog, if he seem to be tolerating the Cephalexin, with no upset tummy or anything, that is good. Be sure to notify your vet if any changes occur,or his skin doesn't improve. They may have to change the antibiotic. Even with humans, not all antibiotics work the same on everyone. What caused the problem sometimes we will never know for sure. The wonderful thing is that if somethings doesn't work, your vet will prescribe something else and he will get over this.Life seem to be too full of variable to be able to get it right every time. Keep you vet advised by phone as to your dogs progress.
I will keep you in my thoughts.

He will be ok.

Page - Gresham, Oregon

highlandscot43 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:58 pm Post subject: Skin Conitions - Follicutis

Hi,
Owen's bumps were exactly the same as your dogs, and developed into bloody,pus filled and form a scab.
My Weim whose name is Owen took a full 9 days on the antibiotic, before seeing the bumps completely gone.
With you dog, if he seem to be tolerating the Cephalexin, with no upset tummy or anything, that is good. Be sure to notify your vet if any changes occur,or his skin doesn't improve. They may have to change the antibiotic. Even with humans, not all antibiotics work the same on everyone. What caused the problem sometimes we will never know for sure. The wonderful thing is that if somethings doesn't work, your vet will prescribe something else and he will get over this.Life seem to be too full of variable to be able to get it right every time. Keep you vet advised by phone as to your dogs progress.
I will keep you in my thoughts.

He will be ok.

Page - Gresham, Oregon

highlandscot43 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject: Skin Conitions - Follicutis

Hi,
Owen's bumps were exactly the same as your dogs, and developed into bloody,pus filled and form a scab.
My Weim whose name is Owen took a full 9 days on the antibiotic, before seeing the bumps completely gone.
With you dog, if he seem to be tolerating the Cephalexin, with no upset tummy or anything, that is good. Be sure to notify your vet if any changes occur,or his skin doesn't improve. They may have to change the antibiotic. Even with humans, not all antibiotics work the same on everyone. What caused the problem sometimes we will never know for sure. The wonderful thing is that if somethings doesn't work, your vet will prescribe something else and he will get over this.Life seem to be too full of variable to be able to get it right every time. Keep you vet advised by phone as to your dogs progress.
I will keep you in my thoughts.

He will be ok.

Page - Gresham, Oregon

wildlifecr13 · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:18 am Post subject:

riley had what seemed like the same thing about 2 weeks ago.
it only lasted about 3 days and has not come back... the bumps for 3 days, then about a week for some of them to heal. she didnt lose any fur, etc.
she generally seems itchy some days, so i assume she has a few skin allergy issues... just a matter of working out what bugs her and what we can do to control things here and there i hope. we shall see.

AnnaMM · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:22 am Post subject:

Ems' got the bumps. They started a few on her back 7/24/08, I had taken her swimming in Chesapeake Bay for the 1st time, a lot of flies, we are outside alot I see a few more bumps, thinking bug bites. Leave for vacation to north woods of Maine 7/27/08 not noticing the bumps to much. Wake up Monday some more bumps no scratching. Thursday call my vet tell them my dog has chicken poxes on her back. Start her on benydrell for 5 days 3-4 times a day(08/01/08). She stopped getting bumps they went down and now has dry flaky skin. Wednesday night (8/06/08) snack time ice cream for me, peanut flavor frozen tasty paws for Em. Thursday morning she has more bumps in old places and new. I think for us it is peanuts. I got very small peanut flavored treats for training a few weeks back and then driving all that way on vacation we had a few peanut stuffed pretzels and used the peanut flavored treats on vacation. I have racked my brain on this, her coat was in great condition when I rescued her 7 weeks ago.

kamfam · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:04 pm Post subject:

We've chalked Darby's bumps up to seasonal allergies. We were given a medication from her p/o, but I don't really think the med is necessary. I notice when she's outside for a long time, she develops the bumps, but they don't seem to bother her at all.

highlandscot43 · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:05 pm Post subject: Flaky Skin

The flaky skin is the left over reminiscence of the bump. It means that it is drying up.
Skin conditions are something you and your vet have to work on, it seem to be a process of elimination, but if it is an skin infection, antibiotics are necessary to get it under control. If more bumps are appearing, it is not under control.
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