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Old December 2nd, 2009, 09:57 AM
anyasmom anyasmom is offline
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Pustules on Vulva- Use Cranberry?

I have a 3.5 yr old "tweenie" dachshund that is 15 lbs and came from a puppy mill. She has severe allergies and we do allergy shots at home in addition to food rotation diet, Benadryl, etc. She eats Evo Reduced Fat and I mix in the tiniest bit of Evo 95% real meat canned food (I rotate the proteins).

In the last 6 months she has started having pustules around her vulva. Even when the pustules aren't really visible, she scoots on the carpet trying to scratch her vulva becuase it is obviously irritated. It looks to me like she has a recessed vulva but I don't recall it being that way before and suspect it's from weight gain and loss that has caused some folds of skin around her lower belly area and that region and not from being fixed before her first heat. We've been treating with antibiotics and a topical wash on the skin but it keeps coming back. In fact, within ten days/two weeks of stopping antibiotics (still using the topical wash) it will come back. Because she has skin issues associated with her allergies, she gets a bath about twice a month during which I use a medicated shampoo from the vet that soothes her skin and helps with any allergy related itching. She has food and environmental allergies including fleas.

8 months ago she was bitten by a flea on her shoulder and that lead to a skin infection within 2 days of being bitten and she still has a huge patch of hair loss which I am giving her melatonin for (to try and stimulate hair growth). Last night I used a ph strip and tested her urine and she was at 7.5 and I have some AZO Cranberry that I have not started using yet:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...t_adv_XSG10001


At 15 pounds I am thinking maybe half a pill, twice a day? I will try to keep the ph level around 6-6.5 and also will take her to the vet twice a year for urine analysis tests.

Has anyone else had this issue of the pustules with a recessed vulva or used the Azo cranberry supplements successfully? I love and adore my vet but don't always feel they are the most current on natural supplements or remedies and I prefer to try that instead of constantly having my baby on antibiotics. Is there any concern with giving melatonin and the cranberry at the same time?

Thanks so much!!
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Old December 3rd, 2009, 12:51 AM
janice123 janice123 is offline
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I just came through a four month stint with this and an anal gland problem so I know exactly how you feel.

Antibiotics and topical for 2 weeks, then off for 2, then it came back, back on etc etc. The pustules were on her vulva, a few on her inner thighs and a few near her anus. Her vulva was swollen to about 3 times it's normal size.

The pustules come and go quickly and it's important to not let them chew at them since they can cross-contaminate. If your dog does this, it might be necessary to put a cone on her.

Sometimes there can be an underlying infection that won't be cleared up in a couple of weeks. As much as I hated yet another round of antibiotics, the vet put her on a course of them for 40 days. The goal was that the pustules had to be all gone, then an additional week after that.

I have to admit, that finally did the trick. Everything's back to normal.

I put her on probiotics as well to help counter the effects that antibiotics have on their immune systems.

Can't offer an opinion on the cranberry. If you have a holistic vet in your area, I would talk to them about alternative remedies.
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Old December 3rd, 2009, 10:44 AM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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Has the vet looked at the pustules? It can be very hard to find a treatment if you're not sure what you're dealing with...

The cranberry might help acidify the urine, but it's likely not going to help with the pustules.
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