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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

German shepherd dogs with paw inflammation helped by prednisone

By Paterson, S·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·1995·Animal Medical Centre Referral Services·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Sterile idiopathic pedal panniculitis in the German shepherd dog--clinical presentation and response to treatment of four cases.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

Four German Shepherds were brought in with skin problems on their legs, specifically localized swelling and inflammation near their paw pads. Despite thorough testing, the vets couldn't find a cause for the condition, and antibiotics didn't help. However, the dogs showed improvement when treated with anti-inflammatory doses of prednisone. In some cases, adding oral vitamin E helped reduce the need for steroids and even controlled the symptoms on its own for one dog.

People also search for: German Shepherd skin problems · dog paw pad swelling treatment · prednisone for dog skin issues · vitamin E for dogs skin condition

Abstract

Four cases of sterile idiopathic pedal panniculitis are described in the German shepherd dog. All the dogs presented with characteristic clinical signs of localised panniculitis dorsal to the midline of the carpal or tarsal pads of one or more legs. Diagnostic procedures did not identify a cause for the panniculitis and none of the cases had a history of penetrating foreign bodies. All cases failed to respond to antibiotic therapy but cases failed to respond to antibiotic therapy but did respond to anti-inflammatory doses of prednisone. The lesions in three dogs relapsed once the levels of steroids were reduced. However, in two of the cases oral vitamin E therapy at a dose of 300 iu twice daily acted in a steroid sparing capacity. In a fourth case, vitamin E acted to control the clinical signs without steroid therapy.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8587325/