itchy welts

[i love my bully]

-- I have a 5 month old English bulldog. 2 nights ago I discovered bumps all over him (head, face, neck, all over his back, tummy, EVERYWHERE), his fur was raised, and when I looked closer, I noticed that he has a yellow dried substance on some of the raised bumps. I thought they were hives because they made him itch so bad. I have also noticed that his smell has changed. Hes also losing fur, mostly from his back due to all the bumps on it. hes getting some bald spots for so much hair loss.
-- I gave the vet a brief history of the things I have done for him in the past month:
1.played in new area outside a day or two before bumps showed up, (he got muddy and I ended up having to give him 2 baths to get all the dirt off him)
2.in the process of switching from royal canin bulldog food to grain free blue buffalo
3.started him on coconut oil (which had wonderful results immediately).
Sometimes he gets a small tummy rash, but I rub some coconut oil on it and it is gone by the next morning.
-- well I took him to banfield pet hospital today, and they said they saw fungi spores and yeast in the skin sample they took from him.
after telling her the months history with him, she immediately said that grain allergies were not real and keeps trying to keep me on royal canin saying its the best food ever for bulldogs.
I truly believe that she was lying to me about the grain allergies, just so she could keep promoting royal canin and keep me from finding another brand.
what is your opinion about pet grain allergies? is it real or not real?
-- second, coconut oil is amazing and I have seen it heal his skin. she shoots it down right away and says that it will feed the bacteria, yeast, etc. I know for a fact that it is anti microbial. its anti viral, anti bacterial and anti fungal because of the lauric acid.
could you give me your opinion on using coconut oil on pets?
-- third, they prescribed my dog antibiotics. antibiotics do not help with fungi or yeast right? I really feel like I am getting ripped off by banfield. I truly want what is best for my puppy, I just feel like I need a second opinion, this last visit has me really doubting the vets at banfield pet hospital and i feel like im getting ripped off. -- fourth, could the welts simply be allergies that bulldogs get? does anyone have any advice as to how I can treat or soothe his skin?
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[Pati Robins]

I would get a second vet opinion , on the end of the day royal canin is full of fillers (grain) that don't benefit our dogs (allergic or not) as much as a grain free dog food does
Can i ask what meds where you prescribed? Did they prescribed you medicated shampoo?
Maybe a picture of her skin and rash would be a good idea to post it here -it is difficult making judgments without seeing the dog ;-)

 

[i love my bully]

were actually in the process of changing him over to blue buffalo grain free puppy food. hes at 50/50 of each right now. they gave me anti fungal shampoo and antibacterials. which I don't understand why they gave him the antibacterials if he has yeast. its cefpodoxime proxetil 100 mg

 

[Pati Robins]

Im no expert by any means but this looks to me like a food allergy -shy had exactly same bumps on her
Is he itching constantly ? X

 

[i love my bully]

hmm, do you think he could be allergic to the new food were giving him (blue buffalo grain free). hes been eating if for almost a month now

 

[Pati Robins]

Do you give him something else besides god food? If its grain free i dont think it migt be food allergy-but if be get any treats i would cut those out and wait and see
But again im no expert (ps shy is allergic to grass too ;-) ,my best advice is try and find a vet that is experienced in bulldogs ;-)

 

[i love my bully]

we give him green beans and his regular treats. im just waiting for them to finish so I can find healthier ones. I also give him coconut oil in his food and topically. it helps with the tummy rashes he gets and also helps with his stinkiness lol. we don't give him anything else. unless he found something and ate it without us knowing?

 

[Scueva]

Banfield really isn't the best place in my opinion. I would find a vet that is knowledgeable in bulldogs and doesn't just "go by the book". I had to take duchess to banfield once and that's the feeling I got from them. The doctor was a recent grad- was purely "by the book" and kept try to tell me a raw diet wasn't good for bulldogs- mine are raw fed- and that royal canin was designed specifically for them and was the best. Also she kept trying to push the health plan they have. Too much of a sales process for my liking. I'm in sales by profession so that should give you an ideas how bad of an experience I had.

 

[Scueva]

Oh ya- did I mention I was there for an eye infection!

 

[Marine91]

I would get a second opinion as well as find a new vet that has a lot more bully knowledge. For them to tell you grain allergies are fake is a load of garbage as many members here can attest to. What is the protein in the new food you are switching to? If it is chicken or any kind of poultry that could be the culprit as many bullies are allergic to chicken and or other poultry. Heck it could even be a reaction to the current food as it can take up to a month for it to be out of their systems.

 

[Scueva]

When I was a kibble feeder I considered blue buffalo and was told it was too rich and could was the runs- most people here that don't feed raw have good luck with fromms

 

[i love my bully]

Banfield really isn't the best place in my opinion. I would find a vet that is knowledgeable in bulldogs and doesn't just "go by the book". I had to take duchess to banfield once and that's the feeling I got from them. The doctor was a recent grad- was purely "by the book" and kept try to tell me a raw diet wasn't good for bulldogs- mine are raw fed- and that royal canin was designed specifically for them and was the best. Also she kept trying to push the health plan they have. Too much of a sales process for my liking. I'm in sales by profession so that should give you an ideas how bad of an experience I had.

Yeah that's how they made me feel! Kept pushing things on me! I totally lost any and all trust in banfield. My dog has a two week follow up..and after that, I'm never going back

 

[i love my bully]

I would get a second opinion as well as find a new vet that has a lot more bully knowledge. For them to tell you grain allergies are fake is a load of garbage as many members here can attest to. What is the protein in the new food you are switching to? If it is chicken or any kind of poultry that could be the culprit as many bullies are allergic to chicken and or other poultry. Heck it could even be a reaction to the current food as it can take up to a month for it to be out of their systems.

My point exactly! I'm not an idiot, I know there are grain allergies. I couldn't wait to leave that room. I almost felt insulted because she really thought I would believe her lies.
as for the food, both have chicken. He was doing ok on the canin royal, but he was gettin tummy rashes. I thought maybe it could be from the food. So I started switching him to grain free food..and weeks later, BAM! Full blown rash or whatever it is all over! My poor baby is going bald because he's losing so much fur I took this picture of him earlier today..

 

[Texas Carol]

Yeah that's how they made me feel! Kept pushing things on me! I totally lost any and all trust in banfield. My dog has a two week follow up..and after that, I'm never going back

I wouldn't bother with going to the followup visit, they've already proven
themselves as money grubbing, incompetent, uncaring liars. Put your efforts
into getting into the Bully Vet. Take all paperwork from your visits to ER Vet
and from these idiots to Bully Vet.

 

[cowsmom]

ok look if he was doing good on the rc and then got this way on the bb then get him off this food and back on the rc as soon as you can. if you start seeing improvement when back on the rc then you know it was the food. ok heres the deal i think this grain free thing started with all those dogs getting sick and dying from the grains from china. contrary to popular opinion here bullies can eat chicken and they can also eat grains but grain free is probably better for them really and i would prefer that over grains if possible. my sarah is eating chicken and millet at this moment as she is allergic to everything else so sometimes grains can be a good thing if they are allergic to peas and potato and sweet potato. if you wish i can help you find another food other than rc since it seems to be causing a rash after you get him better. if you are not happy with your vet then another one would be in order for sure. i use duoxo pads and duoxo ps shampoo on sarah for her yeast. apple cidar vinegar is supposed to be good for yeast and can be applied with some water or straight to the fungus areas. it can also be put in the drinking water but i found mine would not drink it and mine did not do well with it but many here do. coconut oil is supposed to be good for this also and can be taken internally or applied to the spots. i would do any thing you try new one at at time as bullies can be sensitive to the littlest things.