pet’s breed: German Shepherd
pet’s age: 2
pet’s sex: Male

QUESTION:

I got my dog 1 year ago from the local pound. When I got him I noticed that he
had dry and discoloured patches on the side of each nostril, I did wonder what

it was but he seemd fine and it almost disappeared when summer came so i stopped
thinking about it.

It’s now January and he has had a dry, now crusty patch which covers almost
half of his nose, it’s been there for about 6 weeks and is now getting

cracked and with small red splits appearing.

I am very worried. I took him to the local vet who
gave him Anti-Biotics and an
Anti-Fungal cream for his nose and said he should come back in 2 weeks.

I am really worried that it is the ‘dnagerous’ form of lupus and am
worried about sitting back for 2 weeks when more action could be taken? All and

any advice appreciated. Thank you

Answer:

Hi Tony,

What you describe is likely to be a Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE). Despite the long and scary name, it may never cause great harm to your companion and I should not panic.

This is a skin condition involving the nose and sometime the area between the nose and the eyes.

As it appears to be seasonal (winter) and restrained to a few fissures, you can probably get it under reasonable control by applying some vaseline.

A definitive diagnosis can be reached by taking biopsies of the lesions. This needs to be done under general anaesthetic.

There is a good picture of DLE on this blog:
http://my-pet-medicine.com/2007/01/24/canine-discoid-lupus-image/

I hope this re-assures you.

Best wishes,

Julien