Skin Problem starting to become scary!

[magnessjo]

Hello, thank you in advance for reading this help post.

My bully’s name is Unitas and he pretty much is the love of my life. We do most things together including office visits, trips to subway, and some sharing of the bed with limits of how much pillow time he gets. Currently we are having some major difficulties with his skin. I took him to the vet back in May because of balding spots that were not bothering him. The vet did a complete test (blood, urine, skin, biopsy...the works). Seven hundred later, the vet said that it was just season alopecia. She recommended Melatonin for 4-6 weeks. Towards the end of the 6 week period (about mid september) I noticed some new bumps that felt like hot spots on his back. I scratched them out and gave him a nice warm bath twice that week. The spots slowly began to become flaky. The dryness of the skin removed the natural black coloring of his skin and reveled a whiteness that I had not seen before. The last few days, I have started to freak out due to the increase size from some of the spots plus additional bumps beginning to appear. I have attached a photo of the main spot that is of concern. I am about 80% sure that I am going to take him to the vet this week, but being a poor graduate student plays a role in that decision. I will do what is necessary for Unitas health, but I would really like the opinion of some folks who have more experience with the breed and with dogs in general. First, What type of problem does this appear to be? Second, was the first Vet that I took him to a total rip off? Should I take him to another office? Third, should I be bathing him? I did bath him tonight to try and help, but I hadn’t for about a week and half to help the dryness (or so I thought/hoped). Thank you so much for reading if you got this far and I appreciate you taking the time to write a response. --Josh
Magnessjo@me.com

[gatorfan85]

I am no expert but it looks like a VERY bad case of hives. which bust after turning white and form scabs if not treated. There are two things i would do in this case if it is hives. If you rub him and his skin feels bumpy its hives. Selsun blue which i am adamant about .Also benadryl and alavert you can alternate between the too.Hope this helps ur baby

[magnessjo]

Thanks so much Gatorfan. I will read some information about hives online

[gatorfan85]

Thanks so much Gatorfan. I will read some information about hives online

Also what type of food/treats is he eating? My georgia was eating science diet and normal dog treats I later found out even though testing said she was clear. That the corn and wheat in both were causing the hives also her plastic bowls werent doing much good. Sometimes it can even be fleas and since she was allergic to topical flea treatment I put her on comfortis and now we are HIVE FREE!!!

[magnessjo]

Ultra Holistic brand....weight management is the type. I have went through about 30 different brands while we were trying to determine his allergies and why he was balding. He seems to enjoy the food, but I was planning on changing it since we were having these problems. I do have a plastic bowl so I will look into changing that as well.

[bullmama]

The photos look like dry skin, caused by who knows what. How often are you bathing?

Try a grain free food from Fromm, Nature's Logic, Nature's Variety or Merrick.

The dry skin flaking could be mites, mange, fleas, fungus ect. I would say you may or may not have been ripped off- but yes if you spent $700 with NO DIAGNOSIS I would say YES!

I spent $200 finding out Yuna's bump was a wart (lol)- but you will definately need to take your bully in if it gets worse. FOR SURE. Mite scrapings can be taken and not show mites if it was not done correctly.

Try changing the food to one of those 4 above listed ---and if your bullies skin is over dry, get some Nuetrogena bath oil. Anytime you use medicated shampoos ecessively this helps their skin from getting dried out too.

[sheshistory]

Good advice from @desertskybulldogs ...and I can't believe that you haven't received a skin scrape yet from your vet given all the money you've invested in a diagnosis. Did you mention how old Unitas is? My bulldog, as an adolescent, had demodex mange and it manifested itself very similarly to this issue you're having. Does giving a Benadryl affect the ailment at all? Does it make it less itchy? That could indicate it's an allergy problem, in which case, it's a matter of deducing what the allergy is.

Anyway, I would definitely look into a skin scrape to see if there's any mites living in there or anything else they might be able to identify under a microscope. Good luck, keep us updated.

[NikkiSchoolcraft]

Such great adivice. All three of my bulies have skins issues. Winston gets Hives and it soounds very much like what you described. They do dry our and get itchy and if scratched can get infected...so keep your eyes on that. Oatmeal baths give Winston some relief.What they eat and what they eat out of is SOOOO very important. Also, Our old Vet was wonderful, but just didnt know the bully breed. We spent so much $ while he tried to figure things out. Your wallet and you Bully will be much happier if you find a Vet that knows anout EBs. A skins scrape should have been the first thing he did.

[cali~jenn]

I agree find a bully vet for things of concern like this. I use my regular vet for regular check ups since getting into the bully vet is an ordeal in itself but for things I have real questions on, I go to the best and thats it. You have gotten great advice from everyone here for sure! Hope it helps somewhat. I know fish oil or salmon oil is good for skin and coats also, just curious if you also feed that? It wont solve your problem but it may help with the dryness a bit? Please keep us posted on what happens, you have us all curious.