General Question Eukanuba to Fromm???

[jonnya5562]

Hi all I am new to this forum as well as a new owner of a gorgeous bullie named Ben. I spent hours on here before i registered to maybe get some free advice on my new pup....after reading (for 5 hours lol) i decided to join. There is a lot of knowledge here and love for bulldogs. With that being said i have a question on feeding and brands.

My pup is just over 5 months old and i picked him up from a pet store. I made sure to ask what they were feeding him and they gladly pointed out and sold me the exact bag of food that they were feeding him. (eukanuba-puppy chiot large breed 1-24 months) I was so excited the first night when i brought him home that i didnt think to check him out (since they gave me all of his medical records and assured me he was in good health), but the next day while we were playing i noticed a weird rash near his groin and down his back legs, he also has what feels liks scabs on his head and around his ears and chin, and he seems a bit "pink" to me (he is full white with spots on his ears). I took him to the vet today and the vet said he looks in good health and even scrapped some skin of and checked for parasites (which came back negative), he said that it could be a staph infection and gave me some anitbiotics and soap to give him. I asked the vet what food would be best or any ideas and he just shrugged and said "anything will do".....(hence why i came to this site).

After reading for a few hours ive come to the conclusion that the food i was given (eukanuba) isnt the best quality and could be causing some of these issues. I still intend on giving him the antibiotics and shampoo but i have been noticing many on this forum feed their bullies "fromm". I want to switch his food from eukanuba to fromm but im not sure whether i should be giving him the puppy formula or if i can go straight to the 4 star stuff...also if grain free is the way to go or not...the first ingrediant in the eukanuba is chicken and also in the treats i have been giving him. Im not sure if he is allergic or not (the vet doesnt think so) but the rash on his under side worry me.

Sorry for the novel i just posted but thought i would give any info that could be helpfull...thanks in advance for any advice

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

How exciting..a new Bully pup! Well..you are in the right place and asking all the right questions. You definitely can do much better than Eukanuba. I will tag a few people to help you with food and the skin issues. I know you will love it here and welcome to our Family! :D

[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION].. [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION]... [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION]...

 

[Casper]

Jonnya, First of all Welcome to you and Ben for joining EBN, you'll find some excellent information here, Foods, allergies, anything and everything you can think of, You ask the question, and sometime during the day, someone will log in and know the answer, or someone will tag someone who's real knowledgeable in that area. It certainly sounds like Ben may have allergies regarding chicken, However food isn't something i'm real knowledgeable about. When I got Rocky, my male, he was on Pedigree, and I can say I bought pedigree, wasn't the same, I got small chunks instead of large chunks he was use to, and evidently a different flavor. I had a fit for about a week getting Rock to eat, and after a trip to the vet, getting a shot and tablets of medicine which wasn't any fun, His diet was so messed up, My vet and I decided to switch cold turkey to a better brand of food, we switched to Blue Buffalo, Basics, Sensitive diet, Grain Free, I can find that easily at my local pet store, But will make a switch again from a 3 start food to possibly a 5 star food in the near future. Rocky has improved so much, energy wise, his coat, Tear Stains, But still gets the eye boogers about every other day. The yeast infections scare me, and thinking the better food he's on, the less I'll have to keep up with, the better he feels, the better he eats, the more energetic he becomes, the better his immune system is, it's just so beneficial to get the best diet I can for him and his health, He means that much to me. Food makes a big difference, but there tummy's are so sensitive, that changing foods is an art all within itself, 25% New food and 75% old food for 3-5 days, then 50% old and 50% new for another 3-5 days, then 25% old and 75% new for another 3-5 days all the while checking his poop stays firm and he's still eating 3-5 days then 100% new food, and don't look back, so theirs a transition to making the switch. You didn't write a novel, you did provide some good background, The second thing I want to mention is a good Bull Dog Vet, a Vet that knows Bully's, I'm not sure what state your in, its not indicated on your profile, but look up on here the state you live in for reference of a good Bully Vet, A Good Bully Vet would immediately know the yeast problems in the Bully's, Their facial wrinkles, Tail Pocket etc, and would recommend a Grain Free Diet, So not all vets are created equal! It's so beneficial to you and Ben to have a Vet that knows Bullies, and their issues and problems, can save you a lot of money and grief, plus may save Ben's life one day. Your definitely at the right place, and welcome, everyone on this Forum truly loves their Bully's more than life itself, Your definitely at the right place to get information. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I know my boundaries.

 

[jonnya5562]

thank you so much for the info, you gave me some good advice here... sorry im still trying to set this thing up so i might be missing some info, but i am in San Diego, CA....i figured as much...im going to look for a bullie specific vet...dont get me wrong the one i went to today was fine and they were all nice and they all fell in love with Ben there, but it will be worth it to find someone who knows bullies inside and out....Ben does seem to shed a lot more that other bullies i have ran into and his stools have been fine until today when it was a bit runny..im going to stop giving him those treats and go to something else, perhaps another brand or maybe some fruits instead....but thank you for the advice ill get to looking for a new vet right away

 

[Sherry]

Hi Jonathan , first things first WELCOME
now then I would switch the food to Fromm Pork and Peas, I have seriously great results with it. Next a dollop of yogurt once a day on his food. Next, after a bath, rinse and mix 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 gallon of water pour over him and leave it on.
Staph can take some time to get out of his system, sometimes never, but this should really really help. Antibiotics weaken the immune system, though that is what it takes sometimes to clear it up. If you keep an eye out for one little area, its easier to get under control than a large area. Please keep us posted.

 

[FORDE'SMOM]

welcome.....so much wonderful information here.....you will very happy you joined......your puppy is gorgeous....when I got forde at 6 weeks he was on some kind of purina food.....we went by the pet store on the way home, listening to employees there I put forde on nutro, he seemed to love it....at about the age of one, he started getting the tear stains, licking his feet some..... i couldn't stand it....starting reading about foods etc. and decided to put him on royal canin, no tear stains but still wanted to lick the feet, then blue buffalo lamb and rice....which he did well with , no tear stains at all,the licking of feet reduced alot....after joining this site and reading about fromm and how many used it I decided to switch to it and did about two weeks ago......Forde loves it.....so do I...... I guess as with anything we have to experiment with what works best for our bullies.....what works for some, doesn't for others........good luck in your choices and send us more pics...

 

[sheshistory]

Great info here - let us know how the food change goes and good luck with your new puppy! They are so much fun and SO much work!

 

[jonnya5562]

thank you i will def try that, i dont wanna be putting him on medication, since he's still pretty young and growing so any help i can get will be great...as far as the food goes i cant just switch him cold turkey can i?? even though i feel its the chicken that is giving him these issues, i would still have to slowly transition his food right?

 

[2BullyMama]

Hi Jonathan , first things first WELCOME
now then I would switch the food to Fromm Pork and Peas, I have seriously great results with it. Next a dollop of yogurt once a day on his food. Next, after a bath, rinse and mix 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 gallon of water pour over him and leave it on.
Staph can take some time to get out of his system, sometimes never, but this should really really help. Antibiotics weaken the immune system, though that is what it takes sometimes to clear it up. If you keep an eye out for one little area, its easier to get under control than a large area. Please keep us posted.

[MENTION=8971]jonnya5562[/MENTION] The advice above from Sherry doesn't get much better...... do a slow transition to Fromm. 1/4 cup of new and 3/4 of old. for 3 or 4 days and then go half-half for 3 or 4 days and the 3/4 new and 1/4 old for 3 or 4 days.