Vulva Pimples Puppy

[BODI511]

Hi, I have a puppy who is a little over 4 months old. I recently posted about her skin itching problems. After visiting 2 different vets on many occasions, her itching problem was 90% gone (they determined that it was caused by her playing rough with her litter mates, but she was treated for mites, fleas, ticks, and yeast).

Her skin around her rear end is now bothering her again and she is itching again. Another main concern is that she has white head pimples around and on her vulva. They last as long as a normal pimple, but now I noticed one near her nipple. She has been licking her vulva more than normal and I am not sure what is causing this. One vet said that it could just be "puberty", but I am not sure. The vet never did a blood test or a fungi test and I am not sure what to do. When we treated her for yeast it was all topical but could this be steaming from an internal problem? I am really not sure and the vet isn't providing me with an answer or solution. I have spent so much time and money at the vet, and now I feel like I am back at the beginning. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[brunie's mom]

Sounds like you've been having a rough time health wise with your puppy?
The vet is wrong..at just over 4 months she is not going through puberty.
Sounds to me like some sort of allergies, or sensitivities or an poor immune system.

What are you feeding your puppy? She should be on a meat based food without any corn, wheat, soya or by-products...a holistic type of food is best..or raw.
How many sets of vaccinations has she had? Did you notice her symptoms get worse after being vaccinated?

What does she sleep on? What are you washing her bedding in? Have you got rugs or floors that are cleaned with chemicals regularly?

It could be so many things...until you narrow it down..it will be a guessing game.

Gina

[BODI511]

Thanks for the response. We are feeding her dry food. It is Canidae mixed with Origin. She is down to the end of it and we just purchased Exceed, which is also dry food, for all life stages, and it is made with real chicken. She has completed her vaccinations and also she has had her rabies shot. I didn't notice any flare ups when she was getting her vaccinations. She is sleeping on a memory foam dog bed, the cover is cotton on one side and micro swede on the other. Sometimes she sleeps right on the crate bottom. I washed her bed cover in a normal detergent that I use on my clothes. The rugs haven't been chemically cleaned, only vacuumed and the floors have been mopped with a floor cleaner.

She is extremely happy, extremely smart and so loving. She has a wonderful temperament and doesn't show any signs of aggression. Aside from her skin problems, she is the perfect puppy. She is about 45 lbs at almost 4.5 weeks and as gentile as can be. I would love to know what is causing her itching so I can help her get better. Another thing I forgot to mention is that her eyes do have discharge on a daily basis (eye buggers). The vet also told us that it isn't anything to worry about. We just keep cleaning them with a warm cloth when we notice them.

[jlhnokc]

When my girl was young, we had lots of issues with UTI's, when we got those taken care of, she had the same thing as you're describing with your girl and the vet diagnosed it as vaginitis. I had to clean the area a couple times a day and put cream on it...I can't remember what the cream was though...But if she's swollen, and she's itching and licking it, something is wrong. Go to a different vet.

[BODI511]

Thanks jlhnokc. The area is not swollen. How would I know if she had a UTI? She is house trained and doesn’t have accidents inside anymore. We take her outside often, but she isn't urinating more than normal. Her water bowl is always available to her, and she drinks there like a normal dog would, not too much, not too little. One thing that she does do is...when she gets excited to see someone that she hasn't seen in a while, she gets excited and urinates on the floor. We have tried to control it by not petting her until she is outside and has urinated (but it is sometimes hard to control when it is with other people). How can we determine if she has a UTI? About a week ago we had her stool examined and nothing was found. Thanks again.

[brunie's mom]

Both of the foods you are feeding are good foods...but both have "the kitchen sink"...meaning many different sources of proteins. It could be the chicken, or the turkey, or the lamb,etc. that is bothering her.
Having eye boogers is also not normal, and that points to signs of allergy or food sensitivity.
If she were my pup, I would probably put her on a very simple food like California Natural, and see how things go.

I would also be looking for answers from a vet,and would probably try a holistic vet out...to see if you could get this solved.

Gina

[LindaSSF]

You said: Another thing I forgot to mention is that her eyes do have discharge on a daily basis (eye buggers).

In addition to allergies, this can be from some other irritation, corneal abrasion, dry eyes, entropion or an infection like adenovirus. If this isn't clearing up easily, ask your vet to look again at her eyes.

Please don't always assume that eye discharge is only related to food allergies. If eye issues are deferred for any length of time, your dog's vision can be seriously affected if it from one of these other causes.