Anyone familiar with Perianal Fistula?

[cswoodlandfairy]

So over the weekend, I acquired a new German Shepherd. Sadly he was a dump dog left on some back road to fend for himself. His age is between 1 and 2, though based off his manerisms and way of going on the younger side. I of course contacted all necessary people about him should his owner ask about him, but quite frankly after taking him to the vet and getting the prognosis and how he looked he doesn’t deserve him back!

So sadly Samson has Perianal Fistula. It is an autoimmune disease that attacks the anal glands. It looks awful and the vet said the worst she has ever seen. It hasnt been there days or a week, its been festering for weeks if not months. So we got him all cleaned up and soon to be on all the meds he needs to heal, which will take months. Of course there is no cure, but obviously I need to work on his immune system the best I can to help him out. Does anyone have any good suggestions for food, supplements, etc to help with the immune system?

I currently have 1 GSD who has EPI and now this new boy, who is the sweetest darn thing you will ever meet. He is totally in the awkward, long legged, puppy stage but he will be BIG… I mean underweight and only 76lbs!!!

Photo just cause
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jjijiPyqKm4rfKyV7

[Anne]

Cyclosporine is the mainstay of therapy for these.

[kj2H1D]

I have a GSD with that condition; I think she was around 6 when a vet who specializes in surgical procedures was visiting my vet’s clinic and she surgically repaired one side of the anus on her first visit, and then the other side about 6 months later on a second visit. (During that time she was on a drug like Asacol, some kind of salicylic acid that is released in the distal colon.) I don’t know exactly what she did but (knock on wood!!) it took care of the problem. And my girl is now 13 1/2 years old and still doing well (although she is starting to have some incontinence problems where a nugget will slip out here or there, but that has only started happening in the past 6 months. And certainly she is really starting to show her age.) I feed a grain-free diet (Taste of the Wild) and I did notice that if I moved her to even a premium food, if it wasn’t grain-free she would start showing blood in her stool. (I only did that because she would sometimes eat the Triple Crown that my horse spills when eating since she’s a messy eater, so for a little while I was wondering why I was spending a fortune on grain-free food when they were eating grain anyway from my horse!) So I put her back on Taste of the Wild and she did great on that ever since. And apart from the drug treatment regime around the time of her surgeries, I’ve never had to put her on any other medication. So… it can be controlled. I hope you can find a good option that works for your guy, I’m glad he found you!!

[Marshfield]

I like the mushroom blends designed for immune support

[Foxtrot_s]

I’m not qualified to comment, but I started a thread a while ago. It turned out that there is a wide range of causes and conditions and some are easier to treat and heal than others. My daughter’s dog started off with dire predictions and with treatment she is doing very well so far. I think it is more common a condition than some of us realize, although at the time I’d nevervhad any experience of it.

Anyway, good luck with your dog, and he is a beautiful animal.

[cswoodlandfairy]

Thank you all! His Cyclosporine is arriving today…had Vet to Allivet communication issues… So I am hoping it will kick in fast. we neared the end of the antibiotic and I think hes starting to feel unwell again as its painful (He’s still on pain pills). I try to wipe him with a warm damp cloth after he goes as his immediate reaction is to go and clean it himself which hes not suppose to do.

I just feel so bad for the poor guy and goodness it just looks awful (better than a week ago) but still what a mess!