Sores in between Lola's toes

[cowsmom]

well im sorry but i have to say that most vets know nothing about food. ive had 2 vets tell me my cats hair loss was from fleas. i put treatments on her and bombed my house all to no avail. she was missing the top layer of hair from about mid back all down her back legs. for 3 years. i changed her food from the grocery store to blue buffalo and guess what her hair grew back and has been there ever since. last time i took her back i said look she has hair and has not had a flea treatment on her for 2 months. they were shocked so vets really know nothing about food. now cysts dont have to be strickly food related they can be environmental. but i do believe they can be allergy related but not strickly that as ive heard of ingrown hairs and toe nails causing them also. i only know that sarahs cysts on all 4 paws all but cleared up in 4 days when i took her off everything but boiled chicken for food. i have been using peroxide on sarahs for the last couple of days and seems to be helping get rid of the last remnants of them. but yes they are bacteria as the vet took a scraping of one of sarahs and it was bacteria not mange thank goodness. and yes sometimes they do require antibiotics to get rid of them. having a bully is very tricky business sometimes trying to figure out what the heck is going on. but so worth it when they give you a look or a nudge or do something so funny you laugh forever.

[lexterwayne]

Lex gets them every once in a while but they don't seem to bother him. He gets a weekly bath in the summer and everytime right before we do a Epsom salt soak for about 5 mins and it helps greatly!!! When I'm sore from workin out or yard work I will soak in a warm Epsom salt bath for about 15 mins and I feel so much better after! Also Epsom salt is good for plant growth as well

[Libra926]

. My concern is that we keep confirming the cause of everything as being from FOOD ALLERGIES. There really are specific behaviors a dog will exhibit if indeed there is a Food Allergy, and one of them is non-stop Paw licking. Without that, it is highly unlikely that the cause of
anything is from a Food allergy.

I've had Maximus back and forth to the Vet and specialists way to many times with skin problems, wrinkle problems, interdigital cyst problems, and none of the 3 Vets ever indicated it was a
result of his Food.

Could that be why you keep having to "go back and forth to the vet and specialists"? Bulldogs are a breed unlike any other. There are many, many, many people that have come thru here over the last year and a half who have had these same problems with their bulldogs. A good portion of them have switched food and have had success. Some have had to switch food more than a couple of times. I don't think anyone is saying that it's 100% a food problem. A mere suggestion that it's a food related issue should not be ignored. I've also heard that they can get them by having their nails cut. If they are walking on their pads differently due to shorter nails...it can get irritating, much the same way that a new pair of shoes can on a person.

[Maximus]

Could that be why you keep having to "go back and forth to the vet and specialists"? Bulldogs are a breed unlike any other. There are many, many, many people that have come thru here over the last year and a half who have had these same problems with their bulldogs. A good portion of them have switched food and have had success. Some have had to switch food more than a couple of times. I don't think anyone is saying that it's 100% a food problem. A mere suggestion that it's a food related issue should not be ignored. I've also heard that they can get them by having their nails cut. If they are walking on their pads differently due to shorter nails...it can get irritating, much the same way that a new pair of shoes can on a person.

Interesting . I guess my REAL CONCERN here is that there appears to be a genuine FOOD QUALITY PROBLEM if our Bullies are getting sick due to DOG FOOD. What is in the dog foods that is causing so many problems for our Bullies? and causing us to have to CHANGE THEIR FOOD constantly ?

What should we be feeding our Bulldogs to prevent such health problems ? I ran out of options when it comes to Dog foods ........ and I had Maximus on all of the 6-Star Dog Foods on the market.

Any suggestions on what we should feed our Dogs ?

[Libra926]

Interesting . I guess my REAL CONCERN here is that there appears to be a genuine FOOD QUALITY PROBLEM if our Bullies are getting sick due to DOG FOOD. What is in the dog foods that is causing so many problems for our Bullies? and causing us to have to CHANGE THEIR FOOD constantly ?

What should we be feeding our Bulldogs to prevent such health problems ? I ran out of options when it comes to Dog foods ........ and I had Maximus on all of the 6-Star Dog Foods on the market.

Any suggestions on what we should feed our Dogs ?

No..but I don't think it should be overlooked. Where your vets have NOT suggested a problem because of food, 2 of mine have. My 4 year old male was diagnosed with epilepsy at 10 months old. After all the testing was said and done, no known reason was found. Now he suffers from a grand mal seizure every 3 to 6 weeks. Every 3 months he has blood work done. Every 3 months is meds are tinkered with. Finally, one of his team of doctors suggested a food allergy. I put it on the back burner. We switched vets offices (we were using it because of it's 24 hour service but they were so spendy) and the owner of the new clinic specializes in bulldogs. HE suggested a food allergy also.

I was stunned, but I'm willing to give it a try. Right now he's gone just over 8 weeks without a seizure. That is a HUGE accomplishment for us. We have him on a spy camera and we have several members on this forum that watch him closely during the day. At night, he sleeps right against my side.

So, for every person who tries a food switch without success..........there are about 20 who have had success. Food plays a huge part on how our bulldogs appear both inside and out.
Feeding them crap food is like feeding a child McDonalds. What are you really feeding them. They don't call the shakes, MILK shakes..........hmmmm, I wonder why.
Feed them a good quality food and it makes a huge difference. There are just too many success stories right here on EBN to ignore it. I really hope Max will find something that works for him.
Poor Max may benefit from allergy testing. It seems as if you've given all the 6 star foods a try...(how long on each???)

Good luck to both of you.

[JAKEISGREAT]

I have tried chicken and lamb both. She used to eat the Rachel Ray food but we changed to Iams and before the Rachel Ray we bought her beneful. She doesnt get treats excessively, but usually its just milkbones and an extra treat every once in a while. She does get table food though, but she got that before she started getting these. Shes a completely indoor dog except to go outside to potty. I mean i guess if they are common then i should just keep them clean so they will go away quickly.

I just have to add..milk bones are crap! And so is beneful..full of chemicals and preservatives! Table food is also not good for her! Please read up a little bit on the differences in dog food...you will be doing so much for the health of Sadie. Remember..ALL chicken and lamb dog foods are NOT the same...her symptoms are trying to tell you something..but YOU have to figure it out..and speaking from experience it's not easy and every bully is different..but at least start with removing milk bones..table scraps and NO MORE BENEFUL!!

[BabyDuke]

this is a GREAT thread and I completely respect and understand both opinions.. I will throw my two sense in as well since we have literally spent thousands on food trials, allergy shots, meds etc.. for Duke's allergies..
first of all.. I completely agree that FOOD is HUGE in our bulldogs overall health.. you guys talked me into switching to NVI food for Duke and within weeks his coats was like silk but more important we saw a difference in his personality.. ( more energy, better mood and especially better bowels and we noticed his hair growing back where he has gotten it shaved for the allergy testing and prior to switching foods it would not grow)
BUT my suggestion is to have your dog allergy tested from the get go.. I just would never put Duke through the year of food trials, ear infections, hot spots , cyst in paws etc if i knew i could have his tested to get to the bottom of what was wrong.. We ended up after our 3 vet going to a dermatologist.. Duke is highly allergic to wool and somewhat to mold. We had wool blankets all over our house.. now mind you this Dermatolgist did start with food trials.. so we had to be very patient.. he gave us three options so we could have had him tested right away but we chose to do the food trials..hope I am not going in circles here.

my point is once he was tested and we got rid of the wool etc he was 80 % better instantly we then put him on allergy shots for the mold ( which did not work ) for about another 3 months he would rub his face against the sofa and butt spin as we call it ( so removing the wool got rid of the cysts, ear infections, hot spots that Duke would rip open every other day ) but he still had the red red wrinkles so we found a regimin of a very low dose steriod he takes 1/2 of a 10 mg every other day and he is 100 clear, I had to make a choice of the quality of life I wanted duke to have because i was very against this regimin.. I have his blood tested every 6 months and i have him on very good food and make sure he gets plently of excercise. I think it is such a shame that our bullies have so so many allergies but I think we have to do what is best for each situation. I know so many are allergic to chicken etc. but there are also so many environmental things they are allergic to as well. the whole thing is VERY frustrating!!!

I hope this helps in some way.. I just think they deserve to be comfortable and happy! Good Luck to all

[dietchick2]

My english bulldog is 13 years old and has sores between her feet, I give her baths in aveeno and put gold bond powder between her toes, it seems to help.

[Maximus]

No..but I don't think it should be overlooked. Where your vets have NOT suggested a problem because of food, 2 of mine have. My 4 year old male was diagnosed with epilepsy at 10 months old. After all the testing was said and done, no known reason was found. Now he suffers from a grand mal seizure every 3 to 6 weeks. Every 3 months he has blood work done. Every 3 months is meds are tinkered with. Finally, one of his team of doctors suggested a food allergy. I put it on the back burner. We switched vets offices (we were using it because of it's 24 hour service but they were so spendy) and the owner of the new clinic specializes in bulldogs. HE suggested a food allergy also.

I was stunned, but I'm willing to give it a try. Right now he's gone just over 8 weeks without a seizure. That is a HUGE accomplishment for us. We have him on a spy camera and we have several members on this forum that watch him closely during the day. At night, he sleeps right against my side.

So, for every person who tries a food switch without success..........there are about 20 who have had success. Food plays a huge part on how our bulldogs appear both inside and out.
Feeding them crap food is like feeding a child McDonalds. What are you really feeding them. They don't call the shakes, MILK shakes..........hmmmm, I wonder why.
Feed them a good quality food and it makes a huge difference. There are just too many success stories right here on EBN to ignore it. I really hope Max will find something that works for him.
Poor Max may benefit from allergy testing. It seems as if you've given all the 6 star foods a try...(how long on each???)

Good luck to both of you.

As I had mentioned earlier, I have just changed Max's food to Nature's Variety INSTINCT, which is a LID, and I also have him on BENADRYL for his Allergies, and he looks alot better - the redness in his face
and around his eyes is gone and his eyes are no longer swollen and puffy. The VET recommended using the Chlorhexidine solution to clean between the toes - Max has interdigital cysts on all four paws and between
each and every toe. I use Duoxo pads to clean these. I haven't tried the Epsom Salt soaks yet - Max is a big boy, he would have to go into the Tub for that. I haven't done Allergy Testing yet because I know it is
very expensive and its not a good time right now to have a major expense.....

[kayrahbear]

Roscoe has them between every toe as well. His were pretty huge when the vet drained them yesterday. The vet gave me cream to put on the sores, but Roscoe won't let me anywhere near his feet now. He even growled (just a teeny bit) on the last attempt.
How can I get him calm enough to actually put the medicine on them. It's like wrestling a crocodile

[Libra926]

@kayrahbear
I have one of those also. Orion use to throw the biggest temper tantrum and scream like a 2 year old when I tried to clip her nails or put in eye drops. Orion developed an ulcer in her eye, and drops were necessary twice daily. I started doing it right before she ate. No food until the drops were in. It took over a month of sitting on her, begging her, 2 people holding her until we got the drops in. Now, she sits and lets me do it. Her nails? Some days she lets me clip a whole paw, other days just one or two nails before she starts her fit. It's consistence. Do you have someone who can help you? If you do, work on it a little each day.

Good luck.

@Maximus

You said in an earlier post that you've tried alot of 6 star foods. How long was he on each food before you switched him to the next? Just curious. I hear ya about the allergy testing costing alot....do you have care credit? It's an option if you ever decide to do it.

[GatorRay]

Weren't you mixing foods for Maximus there for a while? I am glad you are trying something else. It might NOT be food (Gator's eye problems aren't) but it could be. Or one problem could be and one could be something entirely different. My vets DO think that the interdigital cysts on Gator were food. Two of them said so. Guess what, I took him off of a chicken based kibble and no more cysts. They were gone within days.

I would also like to add that if they are on the right food, they are healthy enough that their allergy symptoms will lessen. The allergy to whatever it might be (grass, pollen, whatever) will still be there but their suffering will be less. In my heart, I know that if I had been supporting Gypsy properly through diet, she may never have gotten mange or if she did (from the lower immune system due to antibiotics), it would have been less and cleared faster.

This is why I no longer feed kibble, to be honest. I just got plain fed up with cysts and acne and yeast and ear problems and bad poop and anal glands, just everything.....

At any rate, I think you are doing you best . Give him hugs from us.