Juvenile pyoderma in the Weimaraner dog breed

The Weimaraner is a large, handsome and distinctive looking dog from the Kennel Club’s Gundog grouping, and which has a noble appearance and distinctive glossy grey coat.

Weimaraners are intelligent, high energy dogs that will keep their owners busy and on their toes, but they are also very versatile and enjoy being trained and worked, which means that they can be a very rewarding dog breed to own for experienced handlers.

If you are considering buying or adopting a Weimaraner, it is important to do lots of research into the breed first, to find out its core traits and pros and cons, and behaviour and temperament are an important part of this. However, it is also wise to look into some of the main health conditions that can be found within the breed that you are considering, so that you ensure that you are aware of any potential risks and stand a better chance of choosing a healthy dog or puppy.

One breed-specific health issue that can affect certain Weimaraner breed lines is called juvenile pyoderma, and this may also be referred to as puppy strangles or juvenile cellulitis. Whilst this condition is not one of the most prevalent across the Weimaraner breed as a whole, it is early in onset and can be quite serious.

In this article we will look at juvenile pyoderma in the Weimaraner dog breed in more detail, to give would-be buyers of dogs of the breed a head start. Read on to learn more.

What is juvenile pyoderma?

Juvenile pyoderma might be referred to as puppy strangles or juvenile cellulitis, and it is a hereditary health condition that is passed on from affected parent dogs to their own young.

The condition tends to affect puppies between the ages of anywhere from three weeks to six months old, and rarely develops later on in adult dogs. Juvenile pyoderma can be both painful for the affected dog as well as making them look rather strange around the head and face, and this will make the affected dog quite miserable and lethargic.

Juvenile pyoderma is thought to be caused by a dysfunctional immune response, although the exact mechanism of its action is not definitively known.

What are the symptoms of juvenile pyoderma in the Weimaraner?

Juvenile pyoderma can develop in dogs that are affected by it any time from around three weeks of age onwards, with most cases showing symptoms by the time the dog in question is sixteen weeks old. However, it can take until the dog is six months old for the condition to develop, although it is unusual for cases to begin beyond this age.

The first symptoms of juvenile pyoderma you may notice at home include facial swelling, which tends to affect the dog’s lips, muzzle and eyes. This swelling develops into pustules, or pus-filled lumps, which form scabs and crusts and that may ooze a thick, viscous fluid. Some dogs will also suffer from swelling and pustule formation of the ear canals and ear flaps, as well as painfully swollen lymph nodes to the rear of the dog’s jaw.

This often causes affected pups to run a high fever, which is apt to make them lethargic and unhappy and also, may mean that they refuse food. As you can imagine, the pain and discomfort of the condition will make affected pups quite miserable, and this will generally be very obvious.

In order to get a formal diagnosis of juvenile pyoderma, your vet will take into account your dog’s history and physical symptoms, and undertake a differential diagnosis to confirm or rule out other health conditions that have the same symptoms.

Your vet will need to rule out things like fungal or bacterial infections, which may necessitate taking skin scrapings and blood tests as well.

Ultimately, diagnosis of juvenile pyoderma in the Weimaraner is based on clinical assessment, and ruling out other health conditions until the correct conclusion becomes evident.

Can juvenile pyoderma in the Weimaraner be treated or cured?

Juvenile pyoderma will make your pup quite unhappy, but fortunately, it can usually be treated successfully, assuming that treatment is begun early enough. The usual method of treating juvenile pyoderma is to administer oral steroids at quite a high dosage, to clear up the skin lesions and pus and reverse the effects of the condition.

In order to ensure that the condition has been fully cleared, your dog might need quite a long course of steroids that is gradually tapered off under supervision to ensure that the dog doesn’t relapse. If the dog is in a lot of pain, medications to treat pain and swelling may be prescribed too.

Treatment may be less effective if the condition is already quite acute when treatment is begun, and this can result in scarring even after a successful treatment. However, dogs who have been treated successfully will usually be fine afterwards, and juvenile pyoderma is not a condition that tends to recur later on in life.

Any Weimaraner that was diagnosed with juvenile pyoderma may potentially pass the propensity for the condition on to their own young even after successful treatment, and so dogs who have had juvenile pyoderma should not be bred from.