When Benadryl and Claritin don't work for itchy skin...what to try?

[amy palmer]

Our white english bulldog Sugar has itchy skin. Benadryl doesn't help. Claritin made her extremely groggy and apparently due to the dry mouth it can cause, made her drink more and she started peeing in the house, on the sofa, in her bed, etc.

Other suggestions? She doesn't have fleas or bumps or sores or anything. We've been to the vet several times. I think it's just itchy bulldog skin.

Any suggestions are much appreciated!

 

[bfletch13]

Wonder if there is a medicated shampoo?
I haven't ran into this but would love to
hear what you find out.

 

[bullmama]

Hi there Amy! I think we can help you, there is many questions and suggestions that will follow. But the first thing I must ask is what dog food do you feed your Sugar? Welcome and so glad you joined us!

 

[BruceP]

Welcome Amy... and Sugar. How old is she?? and again.. what food is she on. Bullies are very food allergy sensitive so perhaps it is a matter of finding the right food for her.

 

[doblackburn]

It sounds like your vet didn't give you much help, but I would try again to determine what is causing the itchy skin first. Is the vet known as a "Bulldog vet" (i.e., does he/she have a lot of knowledge in the breed, have a lot of Bulldog clients, etc.).

Allergies, obviously, are a common issue in Bulldogs...

What food is Sugar eating? What about treats?

Is she mainly itchy on her underside or all over? If it's the underside, I could even be the laundry detergent used to clean her bedding.

 

[KMARINO]

I had this problem with Vegas, first of all it was his food that made him itch, I got that straightend out with the right food and treats, secondly my vet has him on a special anti-fungal, yeast shampoo that you massage in, let it sit for 10 min. then rinse real good. It has made a huge difference in his itchiness. It smells good and makes him super soft and has cut his shedding down by 90%!! I would say it is his food. There is tons of information on this site about bully's and allergies and 99% of it has to do with their food and treats.

 

[sarge]

Wow...my little Sarge is the same way. Benadryl seems to help some, but i do not like to give it to him all the time He does get a little groggy and i think dried out.
I've changed his food several times...right now i have him on a 100% grain free dog food, salmon.

Any other suggestions on food and treats that are great for bullies?

Good luck to you with your pup and stopping the itchiness!

 

[amy palmer]

thanks, guys. i have another bulldog who's allergic to chicken. we've had him (fatboy) for several years. We rescued Sugar (who's 8 yrs old) a few months ago and fed them both Natural Choice Venison & Whole Brown Rice food. As a lot of you have mentioned i thought changing the food might help Sugar's skin and we recently switched to Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish formula but it hasn't made a difference. Another brand/type I should try?? I foolishly hadn't really considered treats...we give them Milk Bone Brand Medium Biscuits (one of the few brands I could find without chicken)...maybe a more organic treat would help??? Any suggestions are welcome!!!

 

[Gertie's Mom]

Your food choice is good, I feed Nature's Variety Prairie also. But what is "right" for my dogs may not be "right" for everyone's. I would start adding Salmon oil to their food. I have done this since I brought my first puppy home and it does the job. No dry skin here, and we live in the desert! My daughter has a pup the same age as my two girls and she had very dry skin. She started using Salmon oil and it cleared right up.

 

[bullmama]

Definitely stay away from Milk Bones Give frozen carrots or frozen green beans, or get some holistic grain & chicken free treats. Carolina Pet Pantry has those.

My boy Tidus is allergic to chicken as well. I give him Fromm Beef Fritatta, which you can get from petflow.com (it is not sold at pet retailers like petsmart)

Maybe you could try that one. Fromm is one of our recommended dog foods, for many reasons. Human Grade meat, natural vitamins (not synthetic), and Enzymes and Probiotics in the Guaranteed Analysis. It is higher in protein, however, so make sure your bully gets a bit of exercise each day to burn it off. Here is the ingredients:

Beef, Peas, Whole Dried Eggs, Potatoes, Pea Protein, Pork Meat Meal, Beef Liver, Sweet Potatoes, Tomato Pomace,
Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Flaxseed, Cheese, Safflower Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols),
Vegetable Broth, Whole Eggs, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Apples, Green Beans, Lecithin, Pork Cartilage, Potassium
Chloride, Cranberries, Blueberries, Salt, Chicory Root Extract, Alfalfa Sprouts, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Folic Acid,
Parsley, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcous Faecium,
Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine
Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate,
Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese
Proteinate, Sodium Selenite.

 

[kazzy220]

I can't really add anymore to the fantastic advice you've been given about the food and treats above.

So here's a big welcome to Amy, Sugar and Fatboy. Love those names!!! Hope to see some pics of your bullys soon!!

 

[layea]

My Remmy is allergic to the world it seems. Every summer for the entire summer she would get a horrible rash that she would itch and scoot around on the carpet and anywhere she could and make it worse. She was on benedryl forever and it did nothing for her issues. Then we did the hydrocortizone shot with 2 weeks of antibiotic. The rash came back again and we ended up doing prednisone and boom it dissapeared and she has not scooted or itched since she took it. It was an absolute miracle for us. We didn't think anything else would work to make her stop wanting to scoot or itch but the prednisone was awesome for it. We know every summer she will have this issue as she is allergic to grass and the rest of the world here in Florida but we now know how to battle it rather then the benedryl and daily allergy baths that did nothing until the prednisone.

 

[Momma2Bullet]

i'm fairly new so i can't really offer much but when you mentioned milk bone treats it hit home with me. i started a thread recently stating that i had been giving my bully a few bites of those medium milk bone buscuits as my choco lab eats them. well within that week my bully broke out and was itchy. i stopped the treats and used benedryl for a few days and it all went away. i knew they were not the best and rarely even give them to my lab but i didn't realize just how sensative bullies can be. hope you get it figured out soon.