BIG updates on both ALDO and KATARA- lots of questions-- help please

[acarabias]

Ok, as you may know I had Katara very very sick last Saturday. Well, I am happy to report she is doing better and wanting to get in trouble again. I have a few concerns about her health still and I am not 100% sure what happened to her. She has a follow up vet visit tomorrow with her regular vet and I really need to talk to her about it. The er vet seems to think it was related to her raw feeding and aspiration (which aspiration can happen with any food), but she also told me that the pattern in her lungs was not definitive for aspiration but more of a near choking incident. Her trachea appeared narrow on her first x ray but normal for the breed in the 2nd X-ray. I contacted Katara's breeder yesterday and we discussed the issue; she said that bulldogs have very sensitive throats and tracheas that any mild choking incident can cause them to quickly build up fluid in their lungs. She mentioned that many bulldogs have died from pulling on their collars. This conversation lighted a bulb in my head. That same day Katara went to training class and we are teaching her to heel and the collar gets popped every time she walks the wrong direction. Also, we are teaching her to not go through an open gate but wait until I allow her to continue. Every time she walked past the gate I was taught to pop her collar. I am thinking I could have clearly been too rough with her and caused trauma to her trachea and it responded by swelling and fluid overload. Does this sound right? The breeder seems to think it's very possible. She told me her bulldogs never wear collars but always harnesses.
Have any of you had any experience with this? I feel horrible that I might have been responsible for the episode, but at the same time I want answers and I can live with this because it is easily preventable.
Do you have any harnesses you like for training your bulldogs?
Now, onto my boy Aldo, a week ago he developed a hotspot on his neck. I shaved the area and it was looking wonderful, had a scab and was already starting to fall off. I had felt some other areas that were raised and tough around it but no redness or discharge. Well since Katara got released from the hospital they sent her home on a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice and guess who wanted the same... Sunday night and monday I fed Aldo boiled chicken and rice. . Last night his skin was still improving and this morning I almost wanted to cry when I saw him. He had redness and irritation and some bloody discharge from the top of his head to in between his shoulder blades. OMG! can it really be the rice? can the allergies be this severe from one day to the next? or can it be something else like Mange. He doesn't seem to be bothered much by it. I cleaned it with surgical soap and dried and it seems to be already improving. I love my dogs but I have to admit I am very overwhelmed by them. they have an appointment tomorrow at 3pm. I know this was long and I am sorry, but I just want to cry sometimes knowing that they can be suffering and I want to do what's best for them. I need a harness for both and need to see what's bugging my boy and his skin.
thank you so much,
Ana

 

[Sarah]

I have no clue about the collar thing but we do have harnesses for both of our babies (used mostly in the car). We have the EzyDog chest plate harness for both of our babies and they work GREAT and come with the car attachment.

Now about Aldo, when you take them in definately make sure they do a skin scraping to check for mange. When Brooke had it, it didn't seem to bother her, but the hair was falling out and I didn't have to shave anything to see the red spots (she ended up with a secondary skin infection in the mange spot on her face) so it may not be the same. I have no experience with allergies as neither of mine seem to react badly to anything, **knocks on wood**

 

[cowsmom]

well as ive have asked you before have you considered allergy testing for him. if this is food related that is the best place to start. i had sarah done last tues and am waiting on the results. it will cut out so many questions as if its the chicken or the rice that did this. you can just do food allergy testing instead of a full panel as its cheaper. i would not do any more chicken or rice for a bit till these heal then add some chicken back and see if he reacts. kind of an elimination diet. go back to whatever you were feeding when they were healing up and only feed that for a bit. and yes get the vet to check for something else when you go in.
i use a harness for sarah and my bostons. i just get them at petco usually. i cant use a collar for sarah as i have to make it so loose so as not to choke her that it comes off of her head. could be a possibility that it could be that but im not sure. wouldnt hurt to either loosen the collar or get a harness. i so hope things calm down for you soon.

 

[acarabias]

[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] ALdo and Kataras diet has been mostly chicken since 8 weeks old so I doubt it's the chicken. I am going to ask her to run the food allergy profile to try to determine the problem

 

[Poppy]

Sorry I can't help with your other questions, but a martingale collar is very effective for training. You can then put tension on the leash without choking them, and the sound of the chain clicking is often enough for a dog to correct themselves.

Hope you get it all worked out soon stay strong.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I can't speak to the food..but to the collar..No Way! My vet told me.."NO COLLAR ANYTIME"... There are tons of great harnesses. We have the Gooby Big Dog Harness that is wonderful because it has a handle on the top in case I need to really get his attention. Everyday he uses just a comfy hemp harness from petco. He does, by the way, wear a collar just to hold his ID. Since we live in earthquake territory, I feel better knowing that besides his microchip, he is easily identified. when Jake went to obedience class, they also wanted us to use a collar. We elected to ignore them. Now..Jake doesn't mind very well, but I know he's safe!

 

[acarabias]

Thank you [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] always so helpful!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Thank you @JAKEISGREAT always so helpful!

:shhhh:​ your check is in the mail!

 

[2BullyMama]

Ana --- BREATH!! All are preventable and easily addressed issues.

Easy on first -- Aldo, get the alergy testing done, he sounds a LOT like what my sweet boy went through until he was almost two -- guess what he was allergic to == RICE! Find out what is bothering him and the hotspots will stop.

Collars -- I never have a flat collar or harness on my pups unless they are leaving the house. I have been long against the flat collar on any bulldog, pug, French bulldog or any breed with the short snout, it is just to risky. For dress up and quick potty runs, I do use a flat collar... walks we have a two different harnesses.

One harness is the Easy-walker, which stops them from pulling, this would be great for the training class, but when practicing at home you do not need to use those - just use FOOD, works like a charm. You can do all the same stuff in class, but if she moves say a firm NO and have her return to where she was even with going in and out of a door - just place your leg or foot in front of her if she tries to go before you - she stops, give her a treat. There are ways around everything.

The other harness we have is specifically for the car -- has wool/padding on the chest and a loop to run the seat belt through.

see we are all nuts.... each of my pups has three collars and two harnesses, just like Princess Grace has an outfit for every occasion, my pups have neck/chest atire :D

 

[2BullyMama]

:shhhh:​ your check is in the mail!

Paying people off aleardy, getting an early start for 2012 Awards?

 

[MissPennyLue]

I'm glad to hear Katara is doing better!! How scary. I have a friend with a puggle who had tracheal problems at one point because of collar pulling. It was definitely make sense. I know collar pulling is a somewhat inevitable when training, but I'm had VERY good success with Penny in clicker training classes (girlfriend loves to eat, so she was VERY motivated to work!) where they are rewarded for the behavior your want & you aren't correcting by a tug. For example, we were taught "wait" at a door. If Penny wanted out, she shut the door every time she stepped near it until she simply sat & then clicked the wait. On the other hand, if what was inside was better than outside (i.e., class) when she went out we shut her outside (on her leash) for a few seconds. Since she wanted to be inside, she just sat then next time we opened the door. Just a thought for training purposes if you are uncomfortable with the tugging correction at her current class. I don't "know" you that well since I'm not as active on the board as I was in the summer, but I do lurk & you seem very knowledgeable & responsible with your dogs. They are lucky you are their mama! I hope they are BOTH on the mend quickly!

 

[Sherry]

You have the right idea about the collar business, don't use it for training. Around here, they never wear a collar or a harness for training. I use quick release collars when we go for walks around the neighborhood. 3 leashes are in my left hand and my right is free. My hub walks behind us with the 2 oldies but goodies. None of this helps you I know, but I just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and your fur kids. Thank goodness it should have a happy ending now. I can tell you are totally stressed out. Just when you think you have a handle on things, happens. You are finding this breed to be different then any other, and it sure is. By you posting your experiences others may learn. Seeeeee something good can come out of anything. Sorry you had to go through all this..

 

[GatorRay]

Collars are just not great for bulldogs and others. With their breathing issues and small tracheas, I wouldn't take the chance. We either go "Nakey" or use a harness when outside. I just don't feel comfortable putting pressure on their necks.

I don't know if that caused the incident with Katara but I think that you could consider both as possible contributor. Stick with chicken and forget the rice for Aldo and go back to RAW ground once Katara is ready and see how that goes. Rice can be a contributor to the allergies with Aldo but so can COOKED meats.

Don't get discouraged! The first year of life for these guys can be very frustrating. They have issues that often clear with age (including acne!). I was even told by our opthalmologist (who works closely with a dermatologist) that the first year can be terrible for environmental allergens with these guys but many outgrow it (some do not). Once you get them figured out and in the groove, their maintenance is much less. I had tons of issues with poor Gator Ray but once he hit one year, many of them worked themselves out. For example, he has a huge nose rope and no matter how much I would clean, it would get yucky and sore underneath. At just about a year, it cleared up and now I only clean it once every two or three days to keep it healthy. He also had acne really really bad. To the point that he was on antibiotics a few times. Well, about a year old and that cleared up too. Gypsy got mange, guess what, that cleared up with her immune system maturing as well with minimal intervention (though it was not widespread).

At any rate all that boils down to you are an EXCELLENT bully parent! Never beat yourself up and remember, as they age, it does get easier! That first year is a doozy lol.

 

[LucysMum]

Lucy has flat collars for every occasion but like others have mentioned they are just for show. I invested in two buddy belts (harnesses) and I can't be happier with them. I used to use the Sporn No pull harness until I can across the buddy belt. I use the buddy belt to walk Lucy and it is great to use in the car. I can secure the strap to secure her in the back seat right to the harness.

Google Spon no pull harness. If you want I think I have two possibly three laying around here I don't use any more. They are "gently" used--with some bully hair attached but if you are in a pinch they are yours. Just message me your address.

 

[LisaMarie]

[MENTION=3247]acarabias[/MENTION] , I never use a collar on Mocha. I use a harness. I think is best for EB to use harnesses.Like others have said the collar is just for show,like a necklace!! I am happy she is getting better by the minute!! I bet her brother Aldo is so happy to have her back!!!