Page 19 - Summer 17

Chronic Pododermatitis in a Dalmatian by Sara Fox-Chapman, USA
Gala is a female white and liver Dalmatian, whelped Sept ’06, presented in September ’15. She has a two year history of pododermatitis, first noticed in the spring of 2013. She whelped two litters, then was spayed, after which the pododermatitis started. She developed itchy pustules between the toes (beginning with the left hind), her feet swelled up, she lost hair on her feet, and became reluctant to walk. Gala shows in Rally and Obedience performance events, as well as in Conformation Veterans classes. She was unable to show or even train, as her feet bled when she walked.
Gala was treated remotely by a well qualified homeopathic vet with only slight improvement. The owner has also treated the dog with long courses of antibiotics prescribed by the local vet. The feet would get better, then regress once Gala was off the antibiotics for several weeks. Gala has been receiving antibiotics most of the summer.
Gala eats a balanced raw diet; she is a stone former, so the owner takes this into account in diet formulation. There have been no housing or other changes.
Gala is a well fleshed Dalmatian. Most of her coat is in excellent condition. She is quite calm and cooperative (especially notable for a Dal), allowing examination of the swollen painful feet with no difficulty. Her teeth are badly worn. The owner reports that Gala will chew on anything; this started after her first Rabies vaccination, and recurred after each subsequent vaccination. Gala has a blister between two toes on her left hind foot; this foot is obviously swollen. The skin is pink between the toes of the other feet, and the toes look slightly swollen. Her left popliteal lymph node is enlarged at 2 cm in diameter. Lab work was unremarkable.
Gala is a sweet, gentle Dal. She gets along with people, children, and other dogs. She has a fear of going down one dark hallway in the house, especially at night. She is afraid of baby gates, apparently because she is afraid of the sharp sound when they fall. She also leaves the room when people sneeze. She wants to be with people, and is in the room where people are, though she doesn’t have to cuddle. She likes petting, but is not needy or pushy, unlike the two other Dals in the house, her 5 year old son and daughter. The other female is pushy,
and if she becomes too annoying, Gala will grab her muzzle. She doesn’t hurt the younger dog, and she only does this if the younger dog has been a real pest. The owner describes Gala as confident and acting like an adult, though she can be stubborn and mischievous, exploring in the obedience ring when the owner can’t do anything about it.
I chose the rubrics:
MIND, Mildness
MIND, Dictatorial
MIND, Obstinate
MIND, Fear – noise, from
MIND – Company – desire for EXTREMITIES – Eruptions – Toes – Between
GENERALS – History; personal – abscesses
GENERALS – Vaccination; ailments after
Sulphur, Silicea, Calcarea, Phosphorus, Lycopodium, Arsenicum, Sepia, Carcinosin all ranked highly in the repertorisation. I dispensed Silicea in LM potency, starting with daily dosing, and adjusting the dose according to Gala’s signs.
Silicea helped Gala’s fearfulness of the dark hall, and jumping when people sneezed, and her toes were stable. We started some supplements and soaks to soothe the feet. The feet improved on the left, but now the right front was inflamed (Jan ‘16)
In Feb ‘16 all four feet were inflamed, so I asked on the Forum for suggestions. Myristica locally was suggested, so we started that, 6C once or twice daily as needed.
Things went well until May ‘16, when Gala had a flareup. I added a Chinese herbal combination, Long Dan Er Miao San.
Improvement was slow but steady after that, and when I saw her in Jan ’17 there were no active lesions. There was scar tissue on the feet, especially the hind feet. The lymph nodes were normal.
In Feb ’17, the feet started bleeding again and developed new pustules. The owner is losing patience, and is considering antibiotics, which I would like to avoid.
Geoff Johnson suggested using a Lanthanide salt in May ‘16 via the Forum. I was having success with Myristica, so I didn’t follow up at the time. I had been thinking about the Lanthanides, as their importance in auto- immune disease was presented at a Congress while I was treating Gala. I had no experience with the Lanthanides, however. I had the idea of using a silicata, as Silicea had been helpful, and
I knew that a confident dog should get a remedy from one of the columns toward the middle of the group.
So, what do you do when you have a vague idea of using a Lanthanide and need some guidance? Why, you email Geoff, of course! Geoff was wonderfully helpful, validating my feelings that Lanthanides were a good option, and that the silicata salt was appropriate. He sent me a photo of the Lanthanide chart and gently nudged me toward column 10, Gadolinium, with its ‘At the top’ themes of Harmony and Balance. Gala, her mum, and I are incredibly grateful!
When the Gadolinium silicata 200C arrived, I dispensed it in liquid, with instructions to give Gala a dropperful after contacting me. We continued the supplements and gave the first dose of Gad-sil on 21 March.
By 28 March, there were only a few red spots between the toes, and no oozing areas. Gala was licking much less.
On 4 April, the owner saw a few blood spots on the blanket, so we repeated the Gad-sil. By 11 April, the owner reports that the pads seem tougher, and there are just a few pink areas between the toes. On 24 April, the owner reports that there has been no change in the feet, progress has stalled, so we repeated the remedy.
On 9 May, hair is regrowing. There is one small fading pink spot. On 18 May, there was a small pink spot above the left hind foot pad, so we repeated the remedy.
I saw Gala on 29 May, a week after she won her Veterans class at the Dalmatian National Specialty, and placed in Obedience. Her feet look excellent – there is hair regrowing and no obvious pink spots. She has continued to do well, and these are usually her bad months. We are tapering back the Chinese herb now, and Gala is not bothering her feet. Her behaviour is fine too; she has maintained the improvement in her fear of the dark and sharp noises that she had with Silicea.
Above is a picture from the Dalmatian National Specialty (that Gala’s proud mum shared with me). No more red spots, just brown spots!
Pododermatitis is inflammation of the feet with varying degrees of severity. Many dogs with allergic skin disease have some degree of pododermatitis. When pod- odermatitis occurs as the sole manifestation of disease, it tends to have an auto-immune component. This was important to know, when this patient’s improvement stopped.