# Flo may have DLE Lupus



## Courtney_20_00 (Sep 18, 2011)

Well I have been noticing that Flo has has a crust to her nose here lately and her breath is terrible, so I had her looked at work and they said that she is showing the signs of DLE Lupus. Which there are 2 types of lupus DLE and SLE and DLE is the better of the 2 bc it only affect the face and nose, not the whole body and organs. And the onset of this is over exposure to direct sunlight or ultra violet light. We go to the creek almost everyday during the summer and the lake and she goes with us. She will get alot of sores on her nose and ulcers in her mouth, I feel bad for her bc it will be painful when it all happens to the full factor. It's not common at all in poodles, its also called "Collie Nose." The only way to properly diagnose it is to have a biopsy, which if it get real bad I will have that done but the nose is a hard place to biopsy. I've been waiting till after her first heat cycle to spay her bc she has a recessed vulva and being in heat will help with it to pop out and stay out. And this is possibly hereditary, I contacted her breeder and her mom was actually spayed on monday. I have caught this early so I'm hoping to keep the syptoms down bc it can cause a bad kind of cancer. Other than that she is doing good and loving life!!!


----------



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I am so sorry to hear about Flo. I never knew dogs got Lupus. If you keep her out of the sun can you prevent symptoms? It sounds like she has a quality breeder if she has reacted so quickly by spaying the mother even though it sounds like their is some question if this is genetic. Do you work for a vet?


----------



## Courtney_20_00 (Sep 18, 2011)

Yes I am a vet tech. She can be in the sun with sunscreen on her nose. She would not be happy at all if she couldn't be outside with us in the sun. She would be so miserable. It usually doesn't show up when they are this young either, she will be 10 month the end of this month. They are having the male fixed next week. Which is really sad bc I picked Flo bc I loved her dad so much he is an awesome phantom. Treatment can be simple with topical cortisones and Vitamin E supplements and or can get extensive and costly.


----------



## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

I'm sorry to hear about Flo--I too had no idea dogs could get lupus. I'm relieved to hear she can be treated though, and it sounds like she can live a relatively normal life.


----------



## Apres Argent (Aug 9, 2010)

There are only 2 listed on PHR. Please consider listing your Poodle.

Poodle Health Registry Breed/Disease Listing!

PHR Start Here!


----------



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

My first dog, a miniature dachshund named Meika, was diagonosed with Lupus at about 5 years of age. She had the bad kind, but with a wonderful veterinarian and appropriate (lifetime) medication she did GREAT for 5 more years. I'm sure she'd still be with me if she hadn't also been diagnosed with bladder cancer at the age of 10. Too much for her little body to take, so I escorted her to the rainbow bridge on May 14, 2009. 

The Lupus scared the heck out of me at first. Once we had her meds dialed in, she acted completely normally. It was just a fact of her life that she had to have medication every day.

Good luck with Flo!!

Barb


----------



## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

I'm glad you work for a vet and they seem to be right on it....hugs to you both as you get Flo the help she needs. And so glad she has you to help her!


----------



## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_Wow...that sounds awful! Because I have an autoimmune problem, I get sores in my mouth often and they usually come in multiples. It is very painful and distracting. It affects eating and speaking. Poor baby! It's wonderful that you are in the field of veterinary work and know how to treat it effectively. I have to say that this is the first time I have ever heard of this in dogs. _


----------



## Courtney_20_00 (Sep 18, 2011)

Thank you everyone for your concern, I'm certainly glad that I caugh it early, I think with proper treatment Flo will be fine. I'm still going to continue her therapy dog training. She has a couple sores in her mouth right now and isn't wanting to eat so I'm soaking her food making it soft for her. I've only seen this one other time in my 10 yrs of being a vet tech and it was on a collie and he was about 7 when diagnosed so flo is very young to have this. If it gets worse then I'm going to biopsy her nose. Have her on vitamin E supplements right now and a topical steroid cream. We will see how this all goes.


----------



## bigredpoodle (Sep 13, 2009)

Wow I have never heard of Lupus in dogs. This sounds like a full blood panel is in order as well ...Are you in an area where there is Lyme ? Or Leptospirosis? both of these will cause the sores as well . It would be nice if it turned out to be something simple  Oh my heart goes out to you .... I agree thank goodness you work for a Vet and have such knowledge ...Good luck keep us posted ....


----------



## Courtney_20_00 (Sep 18, 2011)

Yes we have Lepto and lymes here. Going to have bloodwork done next week when she is at work with me.


----------



## bigredpoodle (Sep 13, 2009)

I hope all goes well ...


----------



## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

I had never heard of Lupus in dogs until Plumcrazy and I became friends and she shared her story of her little Meika. I hope your furkid gets on well once you figure out what regimen of meds will work best to keep things under control.


----------

