Why is my dog's dry, cracked nose not healing? Is it autoimmune?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Tawket. I worry that she could have an autoimmune skin disease. This is where the dog's body attacks its own skin cells resulting in an ulcerated and cracked nose. A common type of this disease is known as discoid lupus. There are other types as well though. It is typically diagnosed by a skin biopsy. I would ask her veterinarian if this is a possibility. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ariel. I recommend that she sees her veterinarian. She may need to have biopsies taken from the affected skin on her nose. I am concerned that she has developed an autoimmune skin disease where the body attacks it's own skin cells. In this case, an accurate diagnosis is necessary to prescribe medications to manage the disease. I recommend having her seems soon as the cracking skin on the nose can result in terrible bleeding if it gets deep enough. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for posting the picture of Bruce’s nose. Many different disease processes can look almost identical on the nose. Often a bacterial infection can be the problem. Often underlying thyroid disease can redispose to the infection. If antibiotics dont resolve it then a biopsy is usially done to obtain a diagnosis. Zinc deficiency, skin disorders such as discoid lupus, and even more aggressive problems such as pemphigus can begin with this symptom. I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

This looks like lupus (DLE) which is an autoimmune disorder. Here is an article about this problem: http://www.marvistavet.com/discoid-lupus-erythematosus.pml This is not something you can really treat at home. You can minimize the affects by keeping him out of direct sunlight. You need to work with your vet on how to manage this as medications are needed to suppress the immune system to stop the inflammation. He will also need some antibiotics until this is under control. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Several problems can cause irritated nasal planum. However, especially in herding breeds other immune disorders such as discoid lupus, pemphigus, or zinc deficiency can also cause these signs. I typically treat with oral antibiotics for 3 weeks and if it’s not resolving then I biopsy the nose for a diagnosis. Good luck and I hope it heals soon!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Summer. I recommend that she sees her veterinarian. She may have a common condition known as hyperkeratosis of the nasal planum. If this is not the case, a more serious condition such as an autoimmune disease should be considered. Discoid lupus usually appears as a cracked, bleeding and ulcerated nose. This is diagnosed by a skin biopsy. I hope this information helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the picture you have provided, it appears that this could be bacterial or a skin parasite causing the lesion. The skin may need to be cultured and if a skin scraping has not been performed, I would certainly recommend having this done to make sure this is not due to a skin mite such as demodex. If this is not due to a mite and is still there, I would recommend a culture / biopsy of the area for a more definitive diagnosis. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.