Samson

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Samson
My first time posting here and am desperately hoping someone out there has had the same experience, because my vet is getting me nowhere and I'm not finding any definitive answers researching myself. :( Samson is a 12 year old EB. We have had him since he was 3 years old and have NEVER experienced anything to this extent. We took him to see the vet when his paws wouldn't clear up (his paws have gotten icky before, but with care they clear up on their own). That was 4 months ago. The vet has had him on steroid shots, Predinose, Ketoconazole, Cephalexin, Apoquel, various creams.......we has been through 2 rounds of this now. His paws are still the same. At my husband took him to his last appointment 2 weeks ago, she said he now has Demodicosis and another ear infection. However, when I called to clarify her diagnosis she said maybe its not Demodicosis, so now she wants to do a skin biopsy to the tune of $550. I choose to give him Bravecto and see if that helps. I have lost faith in her as she has a new diagnosis for him every time we go in there and we have spent nearly $1000 on all of her treatment plans. After researching the side effects of all of these medications she has given him, I wonder if they are only making matters worse. I have since started giving him only chicken, green beans, eggs and kefir to eat. I leave out starchy ingredients due to the obvious yeast problem he has. I also give him probiotics, fish oil and Chlopheniramine.

His front paws are red, inflamed and raw. The black spots you see are blood vessels that frequently bleed. His is loosing his fur between him toes on the top of his paws as well. His paw skin is crusty and black. His paw pads are turning yellow. He is in a cone constantly otherwise he will chew and lick his paws. He is confined to certain areas of my home 90% of the time because his paws bleed everywhere. I have tried wrapping them, putting boots on him (he still wears them outside) and everything else but it just makes his paws worse. They are better when they are getting air.

I understand some people would suggest to keep taking him to the vet, but financially I simply can not afford it. I am just really hoping someone out there may have seen something like this before. I've read everything from simple allergies to cancer and am at a loss.......

20160821_153750.jpg20160821_153854.jpg
 

kristimorrill

Member
Aug 10, 2013
68
1
san diego
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USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Maggie, Daisy and George
My first time posting here and am desperately hoping someone out there has had the same experience, because my vet is getting me nowhere and I'm not finding any definitive answers researching myself. :( Samson is a 12 year old EB. We have had him since he was 3 years old and have NEVER experienced anything to this extent. We took him to see the vet when his paws wouldn't clear up (his paws have gotten icky before, but with care they clear up on their own). That was 4 months ago. The vet has had him on steroid shots, Predinose, Ketoconazole, Cephalexin, Apoquel, various creams.......we has been through 2 rounds of this now. His paws are still the same. At my husband took him to his last appointment 2 weeks ago, she said he now has Demodicosis and another ear infection. However, when I called to clarify her diagnosis she said maybe its not Demodicosis, so now she wants to do a skin biopsy to the tune of $550. I choose to give him Bravecto and see if that helps. I have lost faith in her as she has a new diagnosis for him every time we go in there and we have spent nearly $1000 on all of her treatment plans. After researching the side effects of all of these medications she has given him, I wonder if they are only making matters worse. I have since started giving him only chicken, green beans, eggs and kefir to eat. I leave out starchy ingredients due to the obvious yeast problem he has. I also give him probiotics, fish oil and Chlopheniramine.

His front paws are red, inflamed and raw. The black spots you see are blood vessels that frequently bleed. His is loosing his fur between him toes on the top of his paws as well. His paw skin is crusty and black. His paw pads are turning yellow. He is in a cone constantly otherwise he will chew and lick his paws. He is confined to certain areas of my home 90% of the time because his paws bleed everywhere. I have tried wrapping them, putting boots on him (he still wears them outside) and everything else but it just makes his paws worse. They are better when they are getting air.

I understand some people would suggest to keep taking him to the vet, but financially I simply can not afford it. I am just really hoping someone out there may have seen something like this before. I've read everything from simple allergies to cancer and am at a loss.......

View attachment 100680View attachment 100681

Hi there. We had the same thing for one of our girls. After months and months of trting EVERYTHING our vet decided to prescribe Azithromycin...z-pack for short. Within 2 days the difference was amazing!! Since then, not a single issue....never heard of it for dogs but it worked! Our vet doesnt carry it so we had to get a written perscription to fill at our local pharmacy. See what your vet says, but its worth a try. Might i suggest no chicken too...ours have never had chicken but you never know. Good luck!
 
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Samson

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Hi there. We had the same thing for one of our girls. After months and months of trting EVERYTHING our vet decided to prescribe Azithromycin...z-pack for short. Within 2 days the difference was amazing!! Since then, not a single issue....never heard of it for dogs but it worked! Our vet doesnt carry it so we had to get a written perscription to fill at our local pharmacy. See what your vet says, but its worth a try. Might i suggest no chicken too...ours have never had chicken but you never know. Good luck!


Thank you so much for your response! Can I ask you what your girls diagnosis was? And why no chicken? I've read that a plain protein and no starches....am I missing something? TIA!!!!
 

KimDe

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Thank you so much for your response! Can I ask you what your girls diagnosis was? And why no chicken? I've read that a plain protein and no starches....am I missing something? TIA!!!!

I have heard most bulldogs don't do well on chicken. Mine is allergic to chicken. I also stopped giving him Greek yogurt because he broke out from it.
 
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Samson

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I have heard most bulldogs don't do well on chicken. Mine is allergic to chicken. I also stopped giving him Greek yogurt because he broke out from it.

I used to make him homemade food with chicken for a year or so, but then switched him to Nature's Domain grain free from Costco. He has been on that for years now. He never seemed to react from the chicken before. It's only been a few days since I started it again, trying to make what he takes in as 'clean' possible. What would you suggest in place of chicken?
 

KimDe

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I used to make him homemade food with chicken for a year or so, but then switched him to Nature's Domain grain free from Costco. He has been on that for years now. He never seemed to react from the chicken before. It's only been a few days since I started it again, trying to make what he takes in as 'clean' possible. What would you suggest in place of chicken?

I use the Fromm hassen duckenpfeifer. It has rabbit and duck.

What is your paw cleaning regimen? In the summer I have been cleaning after every trip outside with witch hazel. Hibiclens which contains chlorahexadine also helps as a cleanser. As does apple cider vinegar. There is also the option of Epsom salt or iodine soaks.

If it is just the paws I feel like it would be more environmental than food related. Any changes in cleaners, lawn supplements, etc?

I'm not really an expert though. I find I can maintain his paws by additional cleaning.
 
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Samson

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I use the Fromm hassen duckenpfeifer. It has rabbit and duck.

What is your paw cleaning regimen? In the summer I have been cleaning after every trip outside with witch hazel. Hibiclens which contains chlorahexadine also helps as a cleanser. As does apple cider vinegar. There is also the option of Epsom salt or iodine soaks.

If it is just the paws I feel like it would be more environmental than food related. Any changes in cleaners, lawn supplements, etc?

I'm not really an expert though. I find I can maintain his paws by additional cleaning.

I'm not really feeling like it is food related either. The vet says environmental, but his paws are still the same they were 4 months ago when we initially took him in. I clean his paws 2 times a day every day with Chlorhexidine wipes and iodine soaks. He now wear boots to cover his feet from the grass etc when he goes out, but I still clean his paws when I remove the boots. Even with all this his paws still don't seem to be getting better......
 

kristimorrill

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Aug 10, 2013
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san diego
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Maggie, Daisy and George
Thank you so much for your response! Can I ask you what your girls diagnosis was? And why no chicken? I've read that a plain protein and no starches....am I missing something? TIA!!!!

I honestly don't remember....might have been a fungus. We tried everging before zpack, to include shampoos, medicated soaks, wipes, creams you name it...her paws had those bumps and bleeding, etc. Zpack was the only thing that worked. They say alot of bulldogs are allergic to chicken so we always stayed away. Currently we are feeding acana duck and pear and before that natural balance duck and potato. We give them a tablespoon of Greek yogurt on their breakfast and then salmon oil on their dinner.. keep me posted!
 
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Samson

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I honestly don't remember....might have been a fungus. We tried everging before zpack, to include shampoos, medicated soaks, wipes, creams you name it...her paws had those bumps and bleeding, etc. Zpack was the only thing that worked. They say alot of bulldogs are allergic to chicken so we always stayed away. Currently we are feeding acana duck and pear and before that natural balance duck and potato. We give them a tablespoon of Greek yogurt on their breakfast and then salmon oil on their dinner.. keep me posted!

Thanks so much for the info! I'm going to see a different vet and talk about ZPack. Fingers crossed!!
 

Davidh

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I would definitely change vets, as that one doesn't seem to know what she is doing. I would also, as others have said, get her off chicken and see if that helps. I hope you can find a good bully vet to help your girl out.
 

helsonwheels

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TyTysmom

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Thanks so much for the info! I'm going to see a different vet and talk about ZPack. Fingers crossed!!

Not sure where you are located, but here is our list of vets, recommended by our members. I do agree with the chicken. We do lean ground beef for Tyson. Or lean ground turkey.

English Bulldog News Forums - English Bulldog News Recommended English Bulldog Veterinarians

Hope you find an answer and sweet boy can get some relief. And get rid of the cone! For cleaning, I would use witch hazel and some sensitive baby wipes.
 
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Samson

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Not sure where you are located, but here is our list of vets, recommended by our members. I do agree with the chicken. We do lean ground beef for Tyson. Or lean ground turkey.

English Bulldog News Forums - English Bulldog News Recommended English Bulldog Veterinarians

Hope you find an answer and sweet boy can get some relief. And get rid of the cone! For cleaning, I would use witch hazel and some sensitive baby wipes.

Maybe I will try the ground turkey, but like I said, he had this problem long before I have started making him food. He was on Nature's Domain prior to the last 4 days. I used to cook food for him years ago that included chicken and he didn't have a problem with it them either. So not sure that that is a concern. :)

I use sensitive baby wipes daily and iodine soaks every other day or so. I put boots on him when he is outside so his feet don't touch the grass.

The cone is AWFUL. Someone needs to invent a cone that isn't 20 feet long for these short-snouted dogs....lol
 

TyTysmom

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Nov 4, 2014
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Maybe I will try the ground turkey, but like I said, he had this problem long before I have started making him food. He was on Nature's Domain prior to the last 4 days. I used to cook food for him years ago that included chicken and he didn't have a problem with it them either. So not sure that that is a concern. :)

I use sensitive baby wipes daily and iodine soaks every other day or so. I put boots on him when he is outside so his feet don't touch the grass.

The cone is AWFUL. Someone needs to invent a cone that isn't 20 feet long for these short-snouted dogs....lol

Have you seen the soft ones? They are a lot more comfortable than the huge plastic ones from the vet.

7a224d2ba0783043df5918e1679a92f6.jpg


Also they can become intolerant to things with time. I fed Tyson the same kibble for 5 years then all he sudden he started to have reactions to it. Doc said to switch up - we did; ended up with The Honest Kitchen base mix and we add in the ground beef, turkey or kangaroo (at times) since the food change, no more issues!


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