Immune-mediated skin diseases in dogs including pemphigus foliaceus and lupus cause painful skin lesions requiring long-term immunosuppressive treatment with significant side effects.
Pemphigus foliaceus causes painful, crusty, oozing lesions that significantly impair quality of life. Footpad involvement makes walking painful. High-dose immunosuppressive treatment causes increased appetite, thirst, muscle weakness, and behavioral changes. Infections of open lesions create additional pain. The chronic nature of the disease means many dogs experience years of alternating remission and flare, requiring constant monitoring and welfare assessment to determine when quality of life is adequate.