Eye, Ears, Paws, Skin, Gas & Etc Problems....... he has it all!!!

[Bulldog Lover]

My 5 year old English bully is having major problems and the vet keeps telling me to give him Benadryl and use a special shampoo. I have suggested having him tested for allergies but the vet says the test in not accurate. His eyes constantly need to be cleaned, his ears smell like yeast, he constantly licks his paws, he scratches is face so much that he has to wear a cone when someone is not home with him, and he is very gassy. I started researching the problems on my own and so far have recently started doing the following:

Switching him from Royal Canine to Taste of the Wild (mixing 1 cup of each for now). I plan to eventually go to 1/4 cup of Royal Canine and 1 3/4 cup of Taste of the Wild and then to all Taste of the Wild. He was rarely gassy with the Royal Canine but now he is really gassy. I'm hoping it will get better.

I am adding 2 teaspoons of all natural greek yogurt to his food.

I have also gotten rid of his favorite treats (Milkbone) and have changed it to a all natural venision treat. I don't know the name of the new treat but I do know it is all natural and grain free. I would love a treat suggestion that isn't impossible to find.

Bathe him every two weeks in a allergy shampoo recommended by the vet.

Giving him eye drops morning and night. His eyes are already looking much better.

Washing his beding once a week in allergy free detergent.

Please tell me if I am doing anything wrong or if I could do something better. My bulldog means the world to me and I hate to see him suffer. I also need to find a vet in the Louisville, KY area that knows more about bulldogs. Up until now I have never had any problems.

Please help,

 

[MissPennyLue]

Hi there,

I'm sorry your baby is feeling bad.

I am a new bully owner & new to the site, but this site has been extremely helpful!

It sounds like you are on the right track with the food change and everything else. Hopefully with the food change you will see overall improvements. I have read on here that RoyalCanine isn't a great food. There is a section on Dog Food with ratings. That might be helpful to look at! Also, some use green beans & other veggies as treats. I would do some reading on the nutrition/health boards & see what else you can find. There is also a recommended vets board at the top of the health page. Maybe there is one listed for your area. There are some great Before/After food change pages, too.

Good Luck! I hope that he's feeling better soon.

 

[Davidh]

Good advice from [MENTION=2594]MissPennyLue[/MENTION] the first good thing was to change food. We used to feed Royal Canion and it worked OK for awhile then they started itching. Tried a few more and then put them on Holistic Select. They did good on this one but after awhile Buddy boy stopped eating it and he started to itch. We are now feeding FROMM 4 star, and so far so good. You may have to try several foods to find the one that works. Milkbones are not that great of a treat either. Holistic Select and FROMM have great treats. You should see a change after several weeks of feeding the new food. so try that and do some research and keep us posted.

 

[Tiffany B]

My Winston had awful, stinky, yeasty ears. When he came to us in Feb. The vet couldn't even see down his ear canal, swollen & red. I used
Epi otic by virbac animal health once a day for two weeks. Then as needed since. Then used mometamax (it's for yeast) used for 7 days. Got both from the vet. But I have seen them cheaper on the Internet, but would need a script from the vet to order the mometamax. It was like $50 but has last a good while. His ears look great now, occasionally still have trouble with one ear, but I just start using the mometamax again when it starts getting gunky. Good luck! I hope your Baby starts feeling better soon

 

[reillysmom]

Reilly has it all too! he is 5 as well and all his life has suffered from the horrible pollen here in Atlanta. I have had him allergy tested and they told me he is allergic to Grass and Trees i was like seriously?? So I had him on 2 allergy medications and shots... almost $2000 later it was no cure, he is still chewing his feet. I recently took him back to the dog derm and it was recommended i change his food. I switched his food from Royal Canin for Bulldogs to Avoderm Ovenbaked Lamb and Rice. His tear stains have completely disappeared and he is not as itchy as he was. I am hoping his patchy fur on his back will grow back soon. I hope the TOTW works for your bully! Good luck

 

[Bulldog Lover]

Thanks for all advice and comments. I have been slowly changing his food and he seems to be better already. He has been cone free for almost 5 days. I'm hoping to have him 100 % on Taste of the Wild before August 1st. I am taking it slowly so I don't shock his system. I will keep everyone up to date on his progress.

 

[mosca72]

Hi I am new here but I can tell you that my boy had the same ear problems and the solution for me was to buy a good ear cleaner and clean his ears for a week every day second week every two and on the on week three every three on the four week one a week until now also my secret is I use the ear drop for after swimming from polysporine (for humans) it works like a charm I hope it helps and save you some vet bills

 

[GatorRay]

Wow! Well, the food change is a GREAT first step . That is probably the root of some of his issues. We had gas on the TOTW as well. If he still has issues after six weeks on the new food (after the complete switch), I would look into a grain free. There is a store here in Louisville, that sells the Fromm line and they have two really great grain free formulas that you can try if needed. PM me and I will tell you where to get it. I am in Louisville as well. I also posted a vet in Louisville that we LOVE LOVE LOVE. He even gets on the floor and plays with them during the exam instead of using the table every time. Go take a look at the vet recommendation page. Pretty much all of the vets at that practice are good.

Good luck with your little guy. I hope he feels MUCH better very soon.