General Question The Foxy Roxy Thread (Progress and Rantings)

Sep 3, 2012
115
16
Lawrence, MA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Harvey Dent
So, I'm no vet, but I do have about 7 or so years experience in dealing with bulldog issues.... and the whole situation with Roxy is just flat out making me tired.

Shes very skinny (you can clearly see and feel her ribs and spine), and there are patches of hair missing. The old owner (who I seriously hope drops dead so he can never do this crap to another animal ever again) told me it was all due to a thyroid problem and gave me some medication for her.

The first thing I thought was a bit funny about all that was that she was SEVERELY underweight. Dogs with Hypothyroidism are OVERWEIGHT. Also, the skin where the hair is missing is soft and healthy, and not really even super flakey... and the hair itself is soft, and normal. She has also been super hyper all the time. She's constantly bouncing off the walls like a maniac. She has also been eating like a machine and putting on absolutely no weight. All of this leads me to think that she was not diagnosed properly... possibly by an ignorant vet who had no bulldog experience. Nothing about her symptoms looked like thyroid to me, so on a hunch I have taken her off the medication. In the last few days wihtout the thyroid meds, she has calmed down considerably. I've started giving her Benadryl each day to see if it helps with the coat issues as I believe it is allergy related.

Of course all of this is pending her being seen by a vet that knows something about bulldogs... leading me to the next issue.

I called the old vet (the one from the thyroid med pill bottle, since the old owner gave me no real info) to see if I could get her paperwork released to me, and they told me without the old owner's consent that they could not release any information. I asked them what they COULD tell me, and the girl said that according to their records that Roxy had actually only been seen there once, and it was about 2 weeks or so before I got her. The story I'd been told was that they'd gotten her from a puppy mill and that the guy who owned Roxy was getting deployed in a few weeks, 4 mos after "rescuing" her.

This is fishy and I don't believe it for one second now that I hear that from the vet. I am typically the type of person that gives others the benefit of the doubt, but in this case the state she was in when I got her and the fact she'd only been to a vet once with how she looked when I got her (and the fact she clearly had been bathed so recently when I went to get her that she was still damp) makes me think that these people are the culprits in her neglect and the whole thing was a story concocted to try and convince me that they were not the ones who maltreated her. I don't like it at all when idiots think they're being clever. :mad:

Im just so mad about all of this. My poor dog. Have any of you had thyroid issues with your dogs? What do you do when you get a mystery mixed bag of health issues with no med records??
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Biogirl71

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Nov 5, 2010
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Sounds like a misdiagnosis for sure. There is the potential that if she had an overactive thyroid, she would be very hyper and skinny, but the fact that she calmed down after being taken off the thyroid medicine you were given probably means that it is the wrong medicine making her very hyper and skinny. The story that the previous owners gave to you does sound fishy, so hopefully a visit to a more knowledgeable vet will help straighten things out.

What a relief she is in much better hands now and will be taken care of and loved!
 
OP
Raspberryswirl
Sep 3, 2012
115
16
Lawrence, MA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Harvey Dent
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I think the closest ones are in Massachusetts. We are moving soon to Seattle, and even though I hate "hopping vets" she'll probably only see a vet once here before we hit the road and then we will have to find her one in WA. :\

My old Bully vet (from when I had my last EB, Hoss), is in RI but about the same distance away from me as the MA vets are. Hoss DID have a thyroid problem, so I was instantly aware something was not quite right when they told me she was on synthetic thyroxine.

I have a long history with dogs. My mother was a Norwich Terrier breeder when I was growing up and she and I did all the New England circuit shows together. Fortunately all that sorta prepared me to deal with MANY dog related issues. I just hate being lied to and blindsided. :(
 

mcraven2

Bonnaroo bound in my bulldog batmobile
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Jan 16, 2012
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Boston MA
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Giovanni, Princess, and Diva (Frenchie)
[MENTION=5880]RoxyWrinkle[/MENTION] if you are considering coming to MA for a vet you should definitely consider mine! They are located in South Boston, if you are interested I can PM you the website and the Vet I see. She is not a Bully vet, but she is very knowledgeable in the breed because South Boston has so many bullys! And I'm so glad to hear that Roxy is in such good hands now with you! She will be better in no time with just some TLC from you! :)
 
OP
Raspberryswirl
Sep 3, 2012
115
16
Lawrence, MA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Harvey Dent
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[MENTION=4081]mcraven2[/MENTION] Would you mind PMing me the info for your vet? I'm going to need to get her seen very soon. I'd like to get some allergy bloodwork done and a general checkup.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
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Mukilteo, Washington State
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I live North of Seattle. When you get here, let me know and I'll share some vet information with you. I can recommend two personally. My own (Dr. Terry Beatty) and the vet that CBRR (rescue) uses, Dr. Pam. She's great too and she's out in Puyallup, WA.
 
OP
Raspberryswirl
Sep 3, 2012
115
16
Lawrence, MA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Harvey Dent
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  • #9
So, next issue...

Does anyone have any experience with their bully chasing/being obsessed with cars?

Roxy seems to obsess over chasing cars and trucks on the road. She will pull as hard as she can on the leash, and this makes it impossible to take her for walks as we are afraid she will somehow get out of her harness and run into the road and get hit.

Suggestions?
 

Davidh

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Mar 21, 2011
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So happy you have her now and took her off the meds. As far as the car chasing, when you see a car coming, stay calm and when you see her look at the car and just as she is going to chase it, jerk firmly on the leash to the side and say "NO" then make her sit down. Once she is sitting and calm then you can praise her and continue. It will take some time to do.
 
OP
Raspberryswirl
Sep 3, 2012
115
16
Lawrence, MA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Harvey Dent
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Ok, that's pretty much what we have been doing. We take her to the fence at the end of the apartment building parking lot in view of the street and as cars go by and she tries to chase we jerk the harness a bit, push her butt to make her sit down, and say "NO" firmly. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. :(
 

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