I got my bulldog at a pet shop ( i know i know) but thankfully I did cause i saved her life. Anyway sometime around Dec 2013 she started to become extremely itchy. A month before that we had to take her to the vet for hives that were all over her body. Anyway, to this day she still has chewed up ankles/legs in the back legs, both under arms are raw from scratching, and her belly has hard crusty skin. My vet just keeps giving her antibiotics and this last round (new antibiotic) made her sick. I am finally getting closer to healing her myself and I want to post the things I have noticed that are contributing to her illness so in case you havent thought of these things you can try and see if it works for your bulldog.
1) Got one of those round costco beds about the time she got these allergies. I just found out about 2 weeks ago it was making her sick. How? Well I took it away from her for some reason and gave it to my boxer for the night and gave the bulldog something else. Well my boxer spent the night having breathing problems. It wasnt until I noticed the boxer having breathing issues and that my bulldog seemed to itch less that i investigated this bed. Apparently they add wood chips to the bed, cedar to be exact, that is a known dog allergy. I threw out the bed. Same bed actually was making lots of other dogs sick.
2) I put her on the most limited ingredient dog food last month. It literally only has fish and potatoes. I had changed her food from a grain free chicken recipe to then a bison grain free from canidae. Vet was certain it was a chicken allergy but the dog still didnt clear up. Both dog foods only had one thing in common, pea and alfalfa. Both a known dog allergy.
3) She gets a fish oil and vitamin e vitamin everyday per vets instructions.
4) Let me tell you what i learned that seems to be amazing. I literally disinfect her with Povidone Iodine. You mix it in a bowl with warm water until it turns a iced tea color then apply to all the dogs skin to include the wound and around it. Then rinse rag, and apply a second time, pat dry the dog. This is the alternative to antibiotic (must catch her break out early). It Disinfects staph, yeast, and almost all common bacteria, it doesnt burn, and safe for the dog to lick.
5) I wash my bully with an oatmeal shampoo weekly.
6) Witchhazel works wonders for break outs of chin acne as well.
7) I will cook oatmeal, stir it around until I get alot of milk from it, sop it up with a cotton ball and use that on her wounds/acne. I swear the next day the dog seems almost healed.
8) Jojoba oil - This stuff is a natural type antibiotic as well as a an anti-inflammatory. You can apply this to really bad eczema. The dog can also lick this (be careful she doesnt drink alot of it cause it can cause the runs). This was the only topical solution that actually held up on her hot spots for the longest.
Unfortunately I've had to turn to benadryl. My bulldog keeps chewing the back of her legs up and all the other areas I mentioned. Because she was extremely over vaccinated by that crappy puppies n love pet shop and the first 6 months of her life on 3 antibiotics at once for pneumonia I fear that has something to do with all this. What really bugs me is when she went in for severe hives (i think it was grass related) the DR gave her a steroid shot and after that, these symptoms showed up and never passed. I have switched vets as of now because the vet I liked moved to another practice. I was wondering why none of the vets left seemed to care about my concerns.
I hate the benadryl because it makes her so sleepy and I have one of those overly active bulldogs that never rest so seeing her so tired sucks.
I am having a real hard time getting this baby healed but where I am today is the best Ive been so far but I will come back with new things I learn to share. I would love to avoid steroids and antibiotic by doing these other things and to be honest they seem to do better then anything else that I have been given by the vet.
1) Got one of those round costco beds about the time she got these allergies. I just found out about 2 weeks ago it was making her sick. How? Well I took it away from her for some reason and gave it to my boxer for the night and gave the bulldog something else. Well my boxer spent the night having breathing problems. It wasnt until I noticed the boxer having breathing issues and that my bulldog seemed to itch less that i investigated this bed. Apparently they add wood chips to the bed, cedar to be exact, that is a known dog allergy. I threw out the bed. Same bed actually was making lots of other dogs sick.
2) I put her on the most limited ingredient dog food last month. It literally only has fish and potatoes. I had changed her food from a grain free chicken recipe to then a bison grain free from canidae. Vet was certain it was a chicken allergy but the dog still didnt clear up. Both dog foods only had one thing in common, pea and alfalfa. Both a known dog allergy.
3) She gets a fish oil and vitamin e vitamin everyday per vets instructions.
4) Let me tell you what i learned that seems to be amazing. I literally disinfect her with Povidone Iodine. You mix it in a bowl with warm water until it turns a iced tea color then apply to all the dogs skin to include the wound and around it. Then rinse rag, and apply a second time, pat dry the dog. This is the alternative to antibiotic (must catch her break out early). It Disinfects staph, yeast, and almost all common bacteria, it doesnt burn, and safe for the dog to lick.
5) I wash my bully with an oatmeal shampoo weekly.
6) Witchhazel works wonders for break outs of chin acne as well.
7) I will cook oatmeal, stir it around until I get alot of milk from it, sop it up with a cotton ball and use that on her wounds/acne. I swear the next day the dog seems almost healed.
8) Jojoba oil - This stuff is a natural type antibiotic as well as a an anti-inflammatory. You can apply this to really bad eczema. The dog can also lick this (be careful she doesnt drink alot of it cause it can cause the runs). This was the only topical solution that actually held up on her hot spots for the longest.
Unfortunately I've had to turn to benadryl. My bulldog keeps chewing the back of her legs up and all the other areas I mentioned. Because she was extremely over vaccinated by that crappy puppies n love pet shop and the first 6 months of her life on 3 antibiotics at once for pneumonia I fear that has something to do with all this. What really bugs me is when she went in for severe hives (i think it was grass related) the DR gave her a steroid shot and after that, these symptoms showed up and never passed. I have switched vets as of now because the vet I liked moved to another practice. I was wondering why none of the vets left seemed to care about my concerns.
I hate the benadryl because it makes her so sleepy and I have one of those overly active bulldogs that never rest so seeing her so tired sucks.
I am having a real hard time getting this baby healed but where I am today is the best Ive been so far but I will come back with new things I learn to share. I would love to avoid steroids and antibiotic by doing these other things and to be honest they seem to do better then anything else that I have been given by the vet.
Last edited: