Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 1/11/2009

Question
My dog has been diagnosed with pyoderma, which I understand is related to allergies.  I inspect him often for that reason and found the area in between his toes is very inflamed to the point of him developing a limp. He is also losing pigmentation on his paw pads, which is fairly recent.  What can I do for him to make him better?  Is steroids the best way to treat his allergies?  I am concerned of the long term effects.

Answer
Pyoderma is a secondary problem to many skin diseases including allergies.  Often between the toes, a yeast infection will develop due to the high pH of the skin in that area.  Ask your vet to do a cytology looking for yeasts.

For pyoderma, the dog will need to be on some type of oral antibiotic and some type of bathing regimen.  I recommend Cephalexin capsules and BEnzoyl Peroxide shampoos.

For allergies, steroids are easy and cheap.  If the steroids are used at a low dose intermittently, there are very few dogs that have reactions.  FOr those that cannot tolerate steroids, we have other drugs, like cyclosporine (Atopica) that relieves itching.