General Question Bowser's skin and eyes update

[disturbedmuffin]

I had made a post a while back about Bowsers skin condition and eye after cherry eye surgery “pocket technique” didn’t appear to be healing so well, it had been 17 days since the surgery and he was just not opening his eye. I had a gut feeling the stiches were bothering him even tho the vet kept on assuring me that it wasn’t the stiches and the “cherry was still infected” and insisted we remove the gland, despite what he said I told him to just remove the stitches. It’s been a week since the stitches were removed and to my joy his eye is bright and open.

I was also planning to make a food switch because his skin is just so bad, and only recently have done so because I was scared to make the switch while he was healing, I don’t know what he is allergic to and didn’t want to risk him having an even worse reaction to a new food (can’t do allergy test for animals where I live).

I had mentioned that I wanted to try raw, but here’s the deal, I think he is allergic to chicken and sadly I just found out all the turkey that you buy here is imported and seasoned. There is quail but I realized it’s so expensive and I can’t afford it long term, pork is not as common in super markets and on the pricey side, but beef is pretty well priced and so far I haven’t really tried it, I know beginners on raw should stay away from beef bones, and if I don’t add bone they get a runny number two. I decided to just try plain raw beef just to see how he reacted to the meat, and he seemed to take it really well. He wasn’t red after eating, and his skin remained just a light pink throughout the day. But as ive been warned day number three and his poop was runny, so I thought maybe adding a carb (glutenfree rice) would somehow help. But shortly after eating his first meal today, he started to get a little red, and later on he started itching the side of his face till he bled, I had to put his cone on just to stop him from making it worse, he stops trying to itch it as soon as the cone in on, but once I take it off he starts to go at it again, judging from the pic is this what a hot spot looks like? It feels harder than the rest of his skin, in the pic his fur looks wet but I just put anti-bacterial cream on it.

Could this be from the gluten free rice? Or could it be how long it took the beef to take effect on his body? ( I want to add that he always wants to itch his face like crazy especially on that side, but it’s a more intense today)

He also has marks on his skin that look like eczema; he has had it for a while.I let my vet know about it and he didn’t seem so concerned with it, he said it’s probably a reaction from his immunity being low due to his recent surgery, at the time he had also had a lot of pimples on his belly so he was prescribed anantibiotic to clear it up, so far the pimples went away but the red scales onhis arm haven’t. I posted a pic of them but my camera isn’t really clear. It looks like chicken skin on all the red marks.

And to add to his skin issues is I just noticed his tail has some hair missing. Ive never seen it before, I asked my bf about it and he said he had noticed it before we started him on raw but he assumed it wasn't anything, but that now its apparent its full on hair loss.

any advice on my current situation? I feel like my vet has been so preoccupied with his eye and has been ignoring his skin problem.

also uploaded a few pics from this morning just before he had the beef/rice dish, he was looking so handsome I had to share.

 

[Momma2Bullies]

Oh geez poor Bowser!
kudos to you about just getting the stitches removed. I hope that is still healing well.

i am sure that others will weigh in on the home cooking, but I just wanted to lend some support. I am going through the same thing with my Wilbur (he even looks like Bowser!). I haven't tried home cooking yet, but we just finished the latest round of antibiotics for his epic infection chin acne and raw feet. After a year and a half of every grain-free food with different proteins... No idea what he is allergic to. I have finally caved and have him on prescription Hill's z/d food trial. I hope he can tolerate it, even though I hate this food. My goal is to stabilize him and then slowly introduce proteins to see what triggers him and get him off z/d. If z/d doesn't work, my vet will support me with home cooking for him (am lucky to have a great vet who listens).

I hope we both get this figured out!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I'm going to try and get a few here who might have some ideas for you. But yay for following your gut instincts. Seems we all have to do that..

[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION]...[MENTION=4225]Twice[/MENTION]...[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION]

 

[2BullyMama]

Your baby is very handsome! And, kudos to you for stick to your guns on his eye!!!

1 -- yes, that is a hotspot in the first picture.... shave the area and keep it clean and dry, you can use regular Listerine to clean the area.

2 -- It is very possible he is allergic to the rice... my boy was very allergic to rice where not only did he get red faced and itch, but he would vomit shortly after eating.

3 -- the scaly scabs could be a staph infection which is due to the weaken immune system, which can be treated with a high dose of antibiotic for a long period of time.

I have tagged a few raw feeders to help you with choices. Best of luck and keep us posted

 

[izstigspunks]

Good for you for following your instincts with the vet.

What other meat is available in your area at reasonable prices? Beef, pork, chicken and turkey are staples here, but maybe there are different ones where you are that Bowser can eat. How about duck, goat and lamb ... rabbit even? Those are perfectly ok to start with if they're available.

Another trick that I do with my boys when they have boneless meals is add a couple of spoonfuls of pure pumpkin. Stiggy's more sensitive than Punkin, so I add more to his. It doesn't completely follow the raw rules, but it's what their digestive systems can handle so that takes priority in this case.

 

[disturbedmuffin]

its seems now he has made another bloody hot spot on the other side of his face.

thank you for the replies, goat has not occurred to me yet! i will look around I'm pretty sure i can find this, what bone parts of goat and sheep could a raw noobie handle? rabbit is imported so its also long term expensive, ive been looking for duck but i cant find any, i would also think this isn't farmed locally.

@2BullyMama did you mean Listerine the mouth wash? im sorry if this is a stupid question. also about the red marks on his arm, he was on a round of antibiotics for 10 days, it had cleared up an infection on his belly and private parts but made no effect on his arms what so ever.

But some good news is i found another vet, well gotten his number and talked to him on the phone, he seems like he knows a bit about bulldogs. so in 2 days from now me and Bowser will pay him a visit, see what he has to say about his skin.

 

[RiiSi]

Have you tried to find a butcher any where near? All type of animals do and you can really try all bones except weight baring bones. Bird bones are usually the most degistible to start with, but it is important to feed bone, not just to harden the poo, but for calsium aswell. Also if you can get hold of some probiotics they can help with digestion.

 

[disturbedmuffin]

during the raw trial i was giving him a daily vitamin, that has calcium in it, i was considering adding egg shell powder to the meat but i was worried about giving him too much while giving him the vitamin tablet, but the tablet also has phosphorus in it, so i guess it doesn't matter? i'm just worried about over supplementing.

and no they don't sell probiotics here, i just ordered grizzly salmon oil from Amazon and i should get it in about 15 to 20 days, i can do the same with probiotics. any brand you recommend?

 

[Texas Carol]

[MENTION=7258]disturbedmuffin[/MENTION]...Now THAT's a user name (love it), so sorry Bowser is having
problems and estatic you're taken him to another Vet...good for you!

I'm learning about bullies here, on my 1st one, adopted Brutus 6 mo's back, he's
4-5 y/o and has kept me alive (literally) as I lost my beloved husband of 52 just
3 mo's after we got BruBru, thank goodness I'd already joined EBN, their kindness
& caring has picked me off the floor many times-Welcome!, you are in the BEST place!

I'm no bully food expert, but I do know about general nutrition/well being/supplements
from being dx'ed w/autoimmune diseases and was about dead from convential medicine
& clueless Dr's care for 10 years BEFORE I researched & educated myself & made drastic
changes (against their learned advice) that has given me back my life (I was bedridden).

Your deep love for your handsome bully SHINES thru every word as does your fear for him.
Honey, we all know & understand...us too! Take deep breaths, let them out, do again...there
is an answer for your sweet bullie's food allergies and you WILL find the answers to get him on
the right track. Brutus came to me w/thin hair, bald in areas w/sores underneath, his tail had no
hair and had horrible,constant farting w/goopy eyes...scratched constantly, making himself bleed.

Grain free made the biggest difference, then finding a source of protein & a good carb (for him).
He also needs a great source of fats and until you find what works foodwise for him, his immune
system needs building up w/a great Probiotic & Prebiotic-will PM you w/suggestions of where/buy.

You may need to give him pasta or chick peas for a carb source rather than grains or rice. Avoderm
uses green peas, chick peas or sweet potatos for carb source (Red Meat Meal uses sweet potatoes).
Like, you could cook ground beef & add any one of the above to see his reaction, add a scoop of good
fats like coconut oil (coldpressed & organic, it comes as a solid in a jar) just add in like that, don't have
to refrigerate) You could try fish like salmon for his protein source, Avoderm has one so does TOTW
(Taste Of The Wild) that's resonably priced and the salmon IS a great source for healthy fat as well as
other great things he needs. Fromm's Beef Fritta is very well tolerated and many bullies here are on it
and do great. Can you order in from the Internet easily?

Anyways, do not get overwhelmed or panicked (know it's hard when they're miserable) but you are
here and there IS an answer and we'll help you find it. Give Bowser a big, smooshy kiss!






Put a Tshirit on him to help protect his skin, and yes, the orginal Listerine (gold colored) is effective
antiseptic & drying agent for hot spots.

Avoderm's grain free Red Meat Meal worked for him, a friend who knew him before saw him 4 mo's
later and couldn't believe her eyes!

 

[disturbedmuffin]

ty for your kind words Texas Carol , i tend to worry easily i cant help it and i know it never does me any good. the whole skin allergy thing is new to me, all my pets i have grown up with have never had allergies, its just such a helpless feeling.
i wanted to try fromm's but i considered the ordering process which is pricey because i use UPS, there's a tracking fee of 20$, they charge more depending on the size of the item, and of course there's the price of the dog food itself, and my boy goes through one bag pretty quick. Unless there's a jumbo size i can order and will last me a while, i cant afford to do this every few weeks. But ordering things like supplements and probiotics is easier since they are small items and i can buy a bunch from the same seller and only pay one tracking fee, and not have to repeat that for a very long time.