paw7004

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Porkchop has been battling interdigital cysts since last Thanksgiving. Three rounds of antibiotics, daily epsom salt soaks, and other topical sprays but they came back immediately, sometimes bleeding and obviously painful as he licked his paws so often. Two weeks ago we were wandering a garden nursery and a lady stopped to pet Pork. She also has bulldogs. I mentioned Pork's toes and she told me about her vet, who happens to own bulldogs. I got an appointment and was totally blown away with the full physical she gave Porkchop. Her diagnosis: yeast infections in ears, nose (which I was treating) requiring an anti-fungal med for 30 days and needed a different antibiotic for the toes, which erupt off and on but never totally go away and also related to the yeast infections. Daily soaks in betadine and epsom salts will continue. She noticed that one eye had a goo blob. I thought it was due to pollen in the air. She showed me that he's endotropic (?sp), his bottom eyelids were turned in and the lashes were irritating his corneas. So he will get some OTC eye drops to help. She was pleased that Pork is not a fat dog and said he was basically in pretty good shape for being almost 6 years old. She pointed out certain things to watch for that may indicate health problems like the color of gums, capillary fill time, and such. I like my other vet but I'm going to switch since her experience with bully breeds is admittedly limited. It's unrealistic to think a vet can remember all of the caveats with each breed. After 5 days on the new meds, there has been a remarkable improvement. What a blessing to meet the lady at the garden store and thank you, Jesus, that she shared her vet's name!

Now...Pork hates me more than ever because I mess with not just his nose and toes, but now the ears and eyes. Good part is he loves his bathtub soaks. Otherwise, he slinks off when I pick up the cotton pads and little white bottles. Smart doggie... He knows what's coming.
 

Texas Carol

Texas Carol....put the heart in EBN
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Jul 4, 2012
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Brutus & Cami live in Heaven
Indeed, that's a God thang to be so blessed ;)

Your former Vet may be a nice person but sure didn't do much for your Porkchop.
None of these issues should've been missed in that much time being cared for at
their office. So glad you have a careful & educated bully Vet & that Porkchop is
already doing better, please give him a smoochie from me.

Great & educational post, thank you for sharing this!
 

Vikinggirl

Norwegian Rose
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Hi Polly, I totally agree with Carol, how lucky that you met this lady and you found a great knowledgable vet, it makes all the difference in the world. I hope the new meds clear up all his skin issues. I'm sure he will feel much better in no time. They are smart when it comes to taking medications or pills, and Dozer runs from me as well as soon as he sees the bottle of ear cleaner. Lol. He knows the bottle. Another thing you can talk to your vet about and can try is using Probiotics for Porkchop to help with his yeast and to boost his immune system, especially because he's been on so many antibiotics. I add 2 Tbsp's of plain unsweetened yogurt to the morning kibble everyday to help with digestion and to boost his immune system, you can also add a supplement probiotic powder or pill. I hope Porkchop feels better soon.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Fabulous! a knowledgeable bully vet makes a very big difference --- I hope he continues to improve.
 

rjisaterp

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Now Porkchop...this is the kind of story I love to read. I am so happy for your mommy to run into another bulldog lover receiving needed advice, a change in venue, with a positive end result for the good. Salute!
 
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paw7004

paw7004

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Pork has been on his new meds for a week now and he is so much better. His toes look normal again! His nose folds don't smell like Fritos anymore. He doesn't want to give up his foot soaks though. Every time I go upstairs to the bathroom, he follows me! LOL I won't stop those until I see the vet for advice. I do give him yogurt each night (I get the ice cream) but I will ask about the probiotics. His poo is a bit loose. We have followup appointment in a couple of days.
 

1Chumly

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Feb 19, 2015
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Buster 2013-2023 Monty 6/2010 - 1/2020 Chumly 2002-2014
This is proof positive why a bully vet is so important! So glad Porkchop is getting the help he needs and is doing better.

As a heads up, make sure the yoghurt says 'live active cultures'. The more probiotics the better. I used to give Monty plain greek yoghurt, now I give him plain Kefir which has even more and is supposed to be good for dogs with yeast problems. He is always on the verge of interdigital cysts it seems but he has only actually had one since we have had him. He is not keen on soaks!
This website explains it pretty well.
So Long Yeast, Hello Kefir! - Dogs Naturally Magazine
 

helsonwheels

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Jan 10, 2016
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Here is what Sarah mentioned about here big boy turning 10yrs old and healthy!

From Saalwi /SarahIt's been a little while since I've posted so to catch up...Sgt.Schultz is turning 10 tomorrow and is still full of himself. His health has been pretty good (lots of maintenance) but I wouldn't trade him for the world.I've been home cooking for about 3 years (in a pinch we use a grain free honest kitchen that we add a protein to) and this seems to work well for his system.His chronic ear infections have been healed with a blend of essential oils that we apply weekly with a cotton balls - better than any antibiotic or vet supplied ear drop.

Here is the essential oil recipe for ear infections or just maintaining good ear health.Spray on cotton ball and wipe out ears ...don't spray directly in ears.In a 2 ounce glass spray bottle, combine:

15 drops Lavender
15 drops Geranium
15 drops Frankincense
15 drops Basil
10 drops Arborvitae

Fractionated*Coconut Oil*to fill the bottle about 3/4 of the way fullShake bottle well before using. Use once a week to treat ears that have an ear infection or once a month as a preventative measure in ears that are prone to recurrent ear infectionsIf ears are especially inflamed or infected, dilute 2 drops of lavender in 4 drops of fractionated*coconut oil*on a cotton ball and apply lightly to soothe the inflamed ear area.

**********************
Back to me.....

Im a firm believer in essential oils especially for maintenance. Prevention is the key word. [MENTION=13737]1Chumly[/MENTION] alsois right with Kefir. I also drink it too. Good stuff!
 

natski282

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May 27, 2013
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Megan = Meg,
" It's unrealistic to think a vet can remember all of the caveats with each breed." Sorry even vets have to read and update themselves depending what comes in that front door , your old vet did you no favours at all and poor Porkchop had to put up with it , That said you sound like you have a GREAT new vet , there hard to find sometimes I am so happy to see Porkchop is on the mend great stuff and well done with the new vet .
 

Maximus

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My Bulldog, Maximus, has to see a Dermatologist Veterinarian every 3-6 Months. He had terrible red irritated skin, and nothing I did would clear up the red raw wrinkles. The Dermatologist put him on Ketoconazole, an Antibiotic, and Allergy medication. He was like a
new dog in less than a week. He also had Entropion surgery on his (L) eye, he also sees a Vet Opthomologist as it appears his Entropion has returned now in both eyes. He is on Eye drops for dry eye and PolyDex ointment daily. I'm glad you got Porkchop the help he needs.
Maximus also had Interdigital cysts on all four paws. They seemed to have cleared up also with all the medication he has been on.
 
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paw7004

paw7004

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Tebow
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Porkchop is doing much better though a cyst popped up last week on one foot. She wants to keep him on cephalexin for another 2 weeks and he'll finish the initial ketoconazole, an antifungal, in 2 weeks. Because his nose folds are still raw looking, she changed him from Neomycin ointment to a pre-cleansing with betadine solution (diluted), dry the fold and then apply NeoPredef powder, easier for me to do with a Q-Tip. He also has a cherry eye and now gets NeoPolyDex eye drops. She believes most of his issues are due to yeast and also allergy-related, probably something in the grass. There's got to be something in that because he avoids walking in the grass now and has taken to peeing on the cement patio instead of his regular dirt area. He seems to be greatly improved in the eyes and nose so this therapy must be working.
 

My Otis

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Great News on Porkchop so glad he is doing so much better. We have to keep Elmo on our deck, he cannot go in the back yard where the grass is, he gets too many ailments if he goes in the grass.
 
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paw7004

paw7004

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Aug 30, 2012
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Tebow
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At first I balked at the thought that this was a grass-related allergy. Porkchop has not had any issues with these cysts except when I first got him 4 years ago and that was pretty minor. Four years later...I did notice a new kind of weed in the yard that spreads like clover. I have been hand-weeding them for the last couple of months because they choke out my grass. I don't use herbicides because my little backyard is a butterfly/bird habitat. It will be interesting to see if Pork's ailments go away once I win the weed battle.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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At first I balked at the thought that this was a grass-related allergy. Porkchop has not had any issues with these cysts except when I first got him 4 years ago and that was pretty minor. Four years later...I did notice a new kind of weed in the yard that spreads like clover. I have been hand-weeding them for the last couple of months because they choke out my grass. I don't use herbicides because my little backyard is a butterfly/bird habitat. It will be interesting to see if Pork's ailments go away once I win the weed battle.

Lambeau is allergic to 'pigweed' which seems to want to take over our yard this year... I never heard of it till we did his allergy tests and bang, it is now trying to invade our yard. Good luck!
 

RiiSi

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The biggest problem with antibiotics is that they will kill the good bacteria as well and as soon as the regimen is done the yeast is likely to strike again....and then the vet gives you another round of antibiotics and you're deeper in again....I can't stress enough the importance of good balance in the digestive system and the colon. Antibiotics wreak havoc in there and leave the dog (and us humans) again with less immunity to fight with, for one, yeast. Probiotics in a pill form are good, but fresh sauerkraute (not from the jar) is a great addition. And most bulldogs have had their first round of antibiotics in their mothers milk, since most are delivered through c-section.
 

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