Help Needed! New Bully owner needs advicec!

khoadley74 · Sep 3, 2013

Hello! I just adopted my first bulldog, Bella. She is 15 weeks old and I have had her one week today. First let me say that I did do my homework and knew going into this that bulldogs can have a lot of health problems. On the trip home, I saw her one eye was beet red. After getting her out of the car, her white head turned very pink after being outside just a very short time. I called the breeder and she said they had been outside quite a bit and maybe the red eye was from that. The next morning, both her eyes were beet red with discharge and she had an obvious allergy to the outdoors. So Thurs morning I took her to the vet. She was running a temp and he said she has severe allergies. He gave me meds for the allergies and antibiotic drops for conjunctivitis. So then on Sat I noticed her eye looked as if she were getting cherry eye. Today I'm pretty sure it is cherry eye. I will be calling the vet to have it checked. My question is this, should I call the breeder and ask for help with these vet bills and cherry eye surgery? Is that the right thing to do? I have never adopted a dog from a breeder before. She does come with a 1 year health guarantee. However, I do not want to give her back!!
Thanks for any advice,
Karen

Manydogs · Sep 3, 2013

If you have a written contract, you need to read what it says. But, it sounds to me like this breeder knew that the puppy had problems, if the pups had been outside, and at 15 weeks, surely she noticed something-allergies didn't just happen on the way to your home. I am not a breeder, but whenever I got a pup, I have always spoken to the breeder's veterinarian before getting a pup-to find out if any KNOWN problems and to make sure they HAD BEEN to a Vet!. Someone here will be able to give you advice better than I, but I would definitely call the breeder(though it sounds to me like they are dishonest?) It also sounds like you will have a long road ahead -as your health guarantee may not include things that are "common" to some EB's.

mer55 · Sep 3, 2013

Don't panic about the cherry eye! Bogey had the same type of infection (after playing at the dog park). They put him on eye drops and it got worse- I was CONVINCED he had cherry eye! The covering of his 3rd eyelid was almost covering his whole eye! Nope I was wrong! Vet assured me it was not cherry eye, just a bad bacterial infection and I just needed to give it some time. That 3rd eyelid becomes inflammed with infection and it may look like a cherry eye but might just be the inflammation. Good luck!!

traceylynn172 · Sep 3, 2013

Congrats on your new baby

Allergies are not uncommon especially going from the breeders home to yours so dont panic

It may take a few days for the bully to adjust to the differences in your home and yard.
Do you have a knowledgeable bulldog vet?
Some time cherry eye can be triggered by allergies and you may be able to massage it back in place.
If you have to have it fixed make sure the vet you are useing knows bulldogs not all vets do and they require a little bit different care then normal vets are used to.
Most breeder contracts will tell you if they cover cherry eye or not. Also most breeders want whats best for there pups so if you have a good relationship with the breeder talk to them they can be a invaluable source of infomation and help.

Vikinggirl · Sep 3, 2013

First I want to say Hello and Welcome to EBN Karen and Bella. You've come to the right place for all your questions. I've learned so much for my two babies on this site, and hopefully I've been able to help out other members with their questions. I don't see a picture of Bella, but if she is white in colouring like my female Blossom is, then yes it is normal for them to often be pink in colour, one reason is because they are white and their skin shows through their fur easier than a darker coloured bully. Also it is true that if they have been outside for a longer time period on a hot or humid day, they will turn pink from the heat. My male Bulldozer will also get really red eyes but no goop from playing hard, or after exercise, but it goes away after a few minutes of rest, the vet says this is normal. I find Blossom who is also allergic to a lot of things like chicken, salmon, grains, and we suspect corn, she often gets a pink face, pink chin, and chin acne, she will also get warm pink ears, and one other way you can tell if there are allergies is if they lick or chew their paws a lot, and if they are itchy. The goopy eyes can also be a sign of allergy symptoms. Most allergies in bulldogs are food related, which brand of food are you feeding Bella? A lot of bulldogs are allergic or sensitive to chicken. We switched our two guys to Fromms Beef Frittata when they were 7 months old, and they are both doing really well on this food, no more allergy symptoms or problems. Fromms has a Puppy formula as well, and since Bella is only 15 months old and still a puppy, it's best and recommended to keep them on a puppy formula, as puppy food has the extra calories, vitamins and minerals for the rapid growth and development of a growing puppy. As a puppy she should be eating 1 cup of kibble 3 times a day, morning, afternoon, and evening. When she is about 6 or 7 months old, you can switch her to an adult food and also eliminate the afternoon feeding, and feed her 1 cup of kibble twice a day, once in the am, and once in the pm. We feed our guys who are 18 months old at 6:30 am and again at 6:30 pm.

Blossom also developed cherry eye when she was 5 months old, we opted to wait until she was spayed to have the eyes repaired at the same time, so we could do both surgeries at the same time. Cherry eye is quite common in breeds with a flat face such as the EB, boxers, and pugs, these are called Breaphealic breeds. These breeds can also have breathing problems, and these two things are common to them, but I don't know if it is considered a genetic defect, since these are common problems in this breed. I'm not sure what is considered a common defect, and which is considered a genetic defect, and which are covered under the health guarantee with your breeder. You would have to read your agreement and see if cherry eye is covered or not. One breeder may cover it, and another may not. You can always phone your breeder and let her know about Bella's allergies and her cherry eye and tell her you're not interested in your money back, or a new puppy, but ask her if she would be willing to help you out with some of the surgery costs. All she can say is no. My male Dozer developed a severe underbite at 5 months old after a growth spurt, his jaw was normal when I bought him. His lower jaw grew much longer than his upper, and as a result he can't fully close his mouth, and his tongue hangs out most of the time. He also eats a lot slower than his sister because his top and bottom teeth don't meet together, and he's genetically missing some molars on the bottom as well. This is considered a genetic defect, but there isn't anything we can do for him other than do a big reconstructive surgery on his jaw, which would involve breaking his jaw, cutting the bone and shortening his jaw and then putting screws in to reattach it. He would also have to have his jaw wired shut, and then he would need braces to line up his teeth. I wouldn't put him through all that, and he doesn't have any problems eating, and he's not in any pain, so I will leave it. I figure God made him that way, and he looks so cute with his teeth sticking out on the bottom with his reverse fangs, and his tongue hanging out gives him character. I love him just the way he is. I did call the breeder not to ask for any money towards Blossoms cherry eye surgery, but just to let them know of the defects in their puppies, because they should be made aware of this for future breeding of their dogs, and should not breed them anymore if they continue to have puppies with these problems. We have PetSecure insurance for both our guys which we took out when we bought them, and they cover 80% of the vet costs for exams, vaccinations, surgeries, medications, and illnesses, which definitely helps out with the cost of vet bills. Bella's problems are both minor problems that can be corrected with a good quality dog food for the allergies, , and if she does have cherry eye it also can be repaired. If she is healthy otherwise these things aren't major issues, or dangerous to her, but are common traits in our babies and we are aware of these problems in the EB breed when we decide to love them. I knew when I decided to buy an EB that they had many health problems, and allergies, and breathing problems, and that they could also develop hip and joint problems as well, but I still opted to own one of these beautiful animals because I truly love the breed. I decided right away that I would get insurance, to help with the vet bills, and I did it early so that if these issues did come up then they would be covered. If you wait until health problems occur, then some things such as hip Dysplasia will not be covered in your policy. But if you get insurance from a young age then most of the time depending on the insurance company and your level of coverage these surgeries will be covered. Like I said phone your breeder and ask her if she would be willing to help offset the cost of any surgeries she may need, all she can say is no. Good luck with Bella, and she is a beautiful girl. Keep us posted on what your breeder says if you decide to ask her, and if the vet says she has cherry eye or not. Take care Hun, and sending love, hugs and prayers that everything works out for you, and Bella continues to be healthy.

Davidh · Sep 3, 2013

Welcome to the site and sorry you are having problems with your new pup, unfortunately this happens sometimes. If you live in the same area as your breeder, then they should have known about the allergies and should have told you this and should have already had her on meds for that. If you live a long way away, then you could have different environmental allergens so she will have to get used to that, or may have to take meds all her life for it. The Cherry eye is something that happens sometimes and it just depends on your contract as to whether they will help pay for it of not. It could also just be an infection in the eye and not cherry eye at all. A visit to a good bully vet should make that determination. I hope your baby gets better soon so you can have a healthy and happy pup.

ChanelnBrutus · Sep 3, 2013

Hi and Welcome to EBN! It could very well be cherry eye but that is something that happens with our bullies...My Brutus had his right and left eye pop out at different times but we were able to get them to go back in and since then havent had any troubles. If its not in writing that the breeder will help with surgery then its something you can try to talk to them about! It could just be allergies causing the swelling and as others mentioned if your in different areas there may be different allergens! I am assuming thats what it is since her eye has gotten redder! I hope its nothing serious and if you havent looked into a good bully vet I would do so! The other vets arent really up to speed with bulldogs! I have a vet in our area who isnt a bully vet and they will do every test and charge you insane amts b/c they dont know what to look for! Hope everything works out! Thanks for joinig us and I look forward to seeing pictures

Could you post a picture of the eyes

Sherry · Sep 3, 2013

is there a stipulation on getting the pup to your vet in the first three day's , she may be liable for any decision you make . READ that contract! know your rights, she may owe you half of your $ if you want to keep the pup.