Dry cracked nose

[levigsp]

As above, my 8 year old GSP dog has been suffering the condition for about 18months and we constantly lubricate the nose with various things.
We have tried, lip balms, Vaseline etc. but it never gets better.
We have asked the vet on numerous occasions , but always get the same response, put some Vaseline on it.!!!
Anyone got any suggestions, please?

 

[Woodsmoke]

It could be an allergy, especially if it's a relatively recent thing. Have you changed her bed, feeding bowls, etc. New floor coverings in the house, etc?

Vaseline will just stop air getting to it and won't lubricate or soothe it. I'd be more inclined to use aloe vera gel, or P45 emulsifying ointment or similar. One of the biggest causes (I've read) is from plastic, so you could change his bowls to stainless steel or earthenware and get rid of any plastic toys, etc if you haven't already done so?

Hope you get to the bottom of it!

 

[levigsp]

Thank you for the reply, as said the dog has been suffering this problem for 18 months or so.
We have tried the things you suggest and everything we can think of! but to no avail.
The Dog is healthy in most ways for his age and the only thing I can think of is that he has to take Metacam daily, but I cannot get round that.
What I need is something that will help his nose at its obviously sore and the vets DONT help.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Poor old lad. Aloe Vera will definitely soothe it for him. What's the Metacam for, if you don't mind my asking? I wonder if the two are related? Another thing you can try is coconut oil. This stuff's supposed to have near-magical properties, I've been told. Other half is a very experienced vet' nurse so I'll ask her and see if she can suggest something for you

 

[Cambo]

Poor old lad. Aloe Vera will definitely soothe it for him. What's the Metacam for, if you don't mind my asking? I wonder if the two are related? Another thing you can try is coconut oil. This stuff's supposed to have near-magical properties, I've been told. Other half is a very experienced vet' nurse so I'll ask her and see if she can suggest something for you

I was just away to suggest coconut oil. Although not her noise, our Border Terrier randomly had all her pads start to crack and peel off. We rubbed some on every night and they healed quickly. If anything she will be selling nice things all day and it tastes good.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I asked OH and she immediately suggested coconut oil too. She's away to have a look in the books, so if she comes up with anything i'll let you know

 

[Buchan]

Is it getting worse, is it bothering your dog, is it bothering you more than your dog? If the answers are no, no, yes, then it's not a problem. If the answer is yes, yes, yes, then perhaps a biopsy to find out why. There are some auto-immune problems like pemphigous that can present as cracked noses.

 

[levigsp]

Thank you for the reply, the nose is getting worse, it doesn't seem to bother the dog and yes it bothers me.
If I leave it alone the crack get worse and the nose bleeds, the dog is as hard as nails so you wouldn't notice if it bothered it and it bothers me because I have had first hand experience of skin cracks that were not treated at the time, I would not wish my dog to go through the same.
I asked on here as I was getting nowhere with my vets and I was worried about putting things on that might react with the sun and make things worse.

 

[Hungry hunter]

I'd be careful of putting anything with a strong smell on its nose. That may bother it much more than the cracks.

 

[Buchan]

OK, if the cracks are bleeding - that's not right. Try a picture?

 

[levigsp]

Thank you to everyone for their suggestions.
Since I first posted this, I [my wife actually] have been using a type of Aloe Vera cream on his nose and its come on leaps and bounds.
He still has two small cracks in the folds of his nostrils and some discolouration but he is certainly getting there, it will be interesting to see what happens when the sun finally arrives properly.
I have tried to take close up photos but its a waste of time, they just look blurred.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I hope it clears up for him! OH also mentioned that you could put sunblock on him during the day, too. It won't interfere with anything else if you use hypoallergenic stuff, and will prevent any further damage due to UV

 

[JGR]

Lanolin would be a good one to try

 

[ben0850]

One of our sheep dogs has a similar problem caused by continual licking, we found apply a good moisturising barrier cream sorted the nose as she couldn't lick it off.