? herpes virus ; great dane allergies; great dane bloat;

Question
My 5 month old Great Dane has developed some pretty painful looking sores on her lower 'lips' and jowls. They actually don't seem to bother her at all, but to me they look very painful. She had one or two small sores and I switched her food, and now she has many more. They are red and swollen and although it doesn't look like puss, they are moist looking. They don't interfere with her eating or drinking and she is just as playful as ever. She doesn't itch or lick them at all. If it is an allergic reaction to the food I had been feeding her, should it have cleared up with 3-4 days on new food? Is there anything I can do to help clear it up? My vets office is closed until after the New Year Holiday and I'm hoping to be able to do something productive to help my dog in the meantime.

Answer
Hi Kathy, If the sores begin to swell or give her discomfort please call the VET ASAP:
With that said, here is what you can do for now:  ( this could be a short term herpes virus that hits the face and the mouth areas)  OR - it could be general yeast overgrowth.

Make sure you look for a food that will reduce the ? yeast bacteria that may be taking over as related to allergies:
In your local pet store look for:
-Pinnacle Brand ( Chicken and Oat) - adult food   ( You can mix this with a Pinnacle puppy food )
Do 1/2 puppy and 1/2 adult mix.
-Natures Logic -  All Stages Dog food
-Fromms brand - Gold line
-PetCurean Dog food -  Go Salmon
-Nutri-Source ( chicken and rice only)
( Use your brand and the new brand at a 50:50 mix for 3 weeks, then go 100% onto the new brand)

Please go to your local drug store or walmart and get Acidophilus - This is a Probiotic - give her ( 1-2) per day of the 1 Billion CFUs of Acidophilus per day for 120 days.
This is NOT a drug / Just a  supplement that may help with the sores .
The GNC ,( General Nutrition Stores also sell a good GNC 1 billion CFUs bottle)- I get mine from GNC and they have very good quality.

NEXT - PLEASE call today : NOT sold in stores:  NuVET Plus Wafers - Give this baby 1 1/2 NuVET supplement wafer per day long term.  As your dog gets to be over 50 pounds, you may want to do 2 Wafers per day long term.  HELPS to get rid of allergies, yeast, protects joints and hips.
OVER all great supplement for any growing larger dog.  ( WE need to protect the legs and joints from injury )
Call 1-800-474-7044
Tell them Pet Nurse Marie sent you - If you call in the am / they will send it right out to you. YOU can't buy this in the stores;  It will come from the manufacturer in California.
They can send it Priority mail and you may get it by Saturday if you call soon
USE ORDER code 81098 for the 15% OFF Program.
I just 1 week on NUVET you should see some results.
Please remember this is not a drug - a great supplement.

The NuVET Web site:  
http://www.nuvet.com/81098
Bottles sell for 19.99,  39.99 and 55.00
ITS like a WAFER TREAT snack
They also give a 60 day money back guarantee  ( EVEN a TASTE guarantee)

My NuVET Personal Page
http://www.apluspetcare.com/untitled4.html


If your dog swells at all, please call your local Vet ....


HOPE this helps -  YOU may need to call around to find the foods I listed above.
Always soak your Great Dane's food in warm water for 15 minutes before serving any dry kibble
( to avoid bloat)
Also, no walks or runs for 1 hour after feeding.
YOU can go outside for  a potty walk but no running   ( To avoid Bloat)


Happy Holidays

Marie Peppers LPN MA