SMSiegman

Member
Jan 17, 2016
79
24
California Bay Area
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Red
Hello All,
My dog Red is almost three years old. When I first got him he had no eye tear stains and I kept him on the same food that my breeder used.

At about one year old he started with the tear stains and the chewing of the paws started a couple months later. I have tried many different foods but nothing seems to help.

He has been to a opthomologist and a dermatology doctor. The eye doctor said he had entropian but not bad enough to risk surgery

I tried a couple prescription formula dog foods but no luck. He is currently on Fromm beef frittata.

I would love to hear what others feed and what works best. Also has anyone done the blood testing to see what their dog might be allergic to?
Thank you
 

Petra

Moderator
Jan 8, 2013
2,869
198
Naboomspruit, South Africa.
Country
Sweden
Bulldog(s) Names
Boeboe, Bennie Boy and Joey
Hello @SMSiegman and welcome to EBN :)

Sorry you're having trouble with Red:( Allergies are so common sadly. When trying new foods did you stay on that food for a few weeks/even months? It takes quite some time for the "old" food to get out of the system.

Did the vet suggest any other treatment for the Entropion? Eye drops can sometimes help and if surgery is to invasive it's possible to have a vet pluck the hairs if they cause issues. My Boeboe has had surgery, but before she had it her eyes would sometimes get like a blueish surface on them and she'd try to scratch them with her paws. Hers was pretty bad though:(

Do you use stainless steal bowls for food and water? Maybe try to add some coconut oil and/or plain greek yogurt to the food? Start off with just a little and after a few days normal dose is about 2 tbsp/day. It might help... but check for changes in stool in case he's sensitive to dairy.

They can be sensitive to so many things, it can be a chew toy, cleaning products, grass... basically anything. I'm not in America so I'm not good with the foods there, I know what you're feeding is great but if he's sensitive to it that's a problem:unsure: I'm sure many more will come along with suggestions that knows the foods better.

Hugs to you and Red:hug:
 

nubonics

Active member
Sep 24, 2013
812
77
Colorado
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Curly
I've had the skin allergy test for my french bulldog mix - who is allergic to everything under the sun. I didn't have the blood test done but I've heard that it might not be as reliable.

Curly get seasonal allergies so we give him a zyrtec once a day. I don't think this helps as much with his tear staining though. I have found that when he drinks filtered/spring water his tear stains slowly fade. I also use baby rash med on his folds at least 1x every other day to help keep the area dry.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Ftse 100

Bully lov'in wonder from down under
Mar 25, 2012
6,731
421
Qld Australia
Country
Australia
Bulldog(s) Names
Ftse
I was having that problem with FTSE and it turned out to be beef and chicken he is now fed lamb and kibble but I am not in America so I am unable to help with the food as our food is different here
 

cefe13

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2013
3,714
205
Country
Sweden
Bulldog(s) Names
Castor (2013-2021 RIP)
Castor had a period of rusty tears and I think it was when he ate beef. I'm sorry I don't remember, but I do know it went away when we switched food (and switched protein). Castor is currently eating Royal Canin Hypoallergenic (slightly different ingredients here than in the US) and although we don't know yet if this is the right food for him it has definitely reduced the yeast in his noserope in a few weeks.
 

LordNelson

New member
May 28, 2014
37
3
Austin, Tx
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Nelson
Hello All,
My dog Red is almost three years old. When I first got him he had no eye tear stains and I kept him on the same food that my breeder used.

...
Thank you

Are you in the same area as your breeder? (basically, do you think the allergens are the same/similar?)

This really does sound like an allergy issue. It could be to food/grass/dust etc, it could also be due to hormonal changes with him (ie puberty) depending on when these symptoms started occurring.

Do you have him on an antihistamine (benadryl/allegra/claratin etc?)

Every dog is different, but I went with grain free foods (fromms is great), and really watched the extra treats I gave Nelson. His tear stains did clear up. He has grass allergies, so I used to wipe his paws after he came inside also, so that could help.

I talked to my vet and got him on Apoquel, and that has cleared everything up -- though I'm not sure the long term effects.

Hope some of the above helps and good luck! remember that food changes may take weeks to show up.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
:welcome3: to EBN

We also started with Beef Fritta, but it did not work well for our two... I switched to Pork and peas and it was a great match for them. Try one of the other Fromm grain free line and see if you have any improvement.
 

punky

New member
Mar 19, 2010
732
41
washington, west virginia
Country
usa
Bulldog(s) Names
porkchop, abbey, gucci and rocky,
Yes, i have one that has done the testing... turns out she is allergic to over 25 different things.. alot is food.. duck,chicken,fish,, lamb and rice were almost all she could have.. but then i got Rocky, and noticed his tear stains got really bad just after i switched him to our food.. so then i came to the conclusion, after researching on here and someone mentioned that i may be the rice.. so i looked long and hard and found a food that did not have rice and also didn't have the things my abbey wasn't allowed to have... so now that are both doing good.. his tear stains are much better, Abbey is doing fine on food but as i mentioned she had other allergies.., some grass, some fibers.. so along with the food she is taking apoquel that has helped out alot.. hope this helps some.. and hope you can get something that helps too..
 

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