I'm back ... MAX Has Raw, Red, Irritated Face and Wrinkles AGAIN !

[Maximus]

Here we go again ...... now Maximus' face and under his Chin and jowels are raw irritated and red, in addition to his main Wrinkles. I'm at my wits end! I clean them, dry them, wipe with Mal-A-Ket wipes, dry them again, apply DESITIN cream and still he manages to get raw, red irritated skin. I think its because he drinks so much water his face and jowels (sp) get dunked in the water bowel and he's left with a wet face for too long which is breaking down his skin ......

I just need to know that I'm doing the right thing, and using the right products on his face and wrinkles.....

Should I be using something other than Mal-a-ket wipes and Desitin cream ??

Thanks again for your help ...............

 

[bullmama]

[MENTION=701]Maximus[/MENTION] have you tried using filtered water?

 

[Libra926]

Vegas does the same thing. He puts is whole chin in the bowl for a drink of water. We have to dry his chin after every drink. We also crate him during the day, so he doesn't have access to the water. You might want to think about taking the water from him when you aren't home. Another thing we are going to try with Orion...is getting a water thing for her kennel. You know the ones for rodents? Not saying she's a rat, but I think she would enjoy drinking out of this..using her tongue to move the ball.

 

[cali~jenn]

What happens if you DONT do so much to maintain his face? I wonder if maybe you could be doing too much maybe? What do you think if you just tried drying real good after drinks and then maybe to help heal put some aquaphor on his chin? This would probably also help repel the water from setting in the folds the next drink he gets? Maybe not but it sounds good. Poor thing, it is so hard when they have these issues and we cant figure out how to fix them.

 

[kazzy220]

I'm sure you've already answered all these questions in another thread .. but remind me. What food is he on ... could it be an allergy to something. I have had Maggie on what I consider to be the best food EVER ... Fromm 4* range and yet approx two months ago we tried the chicken flavour. Well, to summarise it all ........ stinky face, followed by raw wrinkles, swiftly followed by interdigital cysts on both back feet which then became infected. We are steering clear of chicken now, and just for the heck of it have also gone to grain free. Those interdigital cysts were just AWFUL. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that it could be a really good food, just not the right one for Max.

 

[BruceP]

If Max isn't left alone for long periods (like all day) try only putting a small amount of water in his dish at a time so he can't get his whole face in the water. It may keep it a little drier. At least it is soothing that is easy to try.

Can we assume that he has a stainless steel dish, not a plastic one that he may be allergic too?

 

[izstigspunks]

I would do a process of elimination too in addition to keeping him dry after drinking water. Keep things very simple with wrinkle cleaning and food. I would go with @cali~jenn's advice with the wrinkles. For now, maybe stop using the wipes as it does have some chemicals that he may be allergic to. And for the food, just 1 kibble type (Not too sure, but I think I read in an earlier post that you mix 3 types? They were all great food, but each have different ingredients even if they're grain/gluten free). Keep doing this for at least a week and see how Max does.

Also, do you feed him treats? I remember, Stig had similar reactions to the grain/gluten free treats too. They disappeared tremendously after I stopped giving them within a few days.

I know it feels like punishment when we need to cut back on a lot of things that our bully seems to love like treats and different food, but once you figure out the exact item that he's allergic to, you'll be able to find him another treat that he'll love without this ingredient.

Hope that helps.

 

[KMARINO]

Vegas does the same thing. He puts is whole chin in the bowl for a drink of water. We have to dry his chin after every drink. We also crate him during the day, so he doesn't have access to the water. You might want to think about taking the water from him when you aren't home. Another thing we are going to try with Orion...is getting a water thing for her kennel. You know the ones for rodents? Not saying she's a rat, but I think she would enjoy drinking out of this..using her tongue to move the ball.

[MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION], [MENTION=701]Maximus[/MENTION], I keep a shammie's, it is very absorbent towels, on top of the fridge just for Vegas when he is done drinking and I can catch it. He puts almost his whole face in, Joe calls him Niagra Falls when he walks away from his bowl. His drinking habits definately contributes to his facial problems. I have been trying to just give him about an inch of water at a time but it gets soooo gross and is pure slime/drool when he gets to the bottom of his bowl!! I found some great shammie's at the dollar store for just a dollar and I cut them in half. As soon as I hear him drinking I am right behind him, he actually turns, and stops because he knows he has to get his face and chin dried.

 

[Chunksmama]

Vegas does the same thing. He puts is whole chin in the bowl for a drink of water. We have to dry his chin after every drink. We also crate him during the day, so he doesn't have access to the water. You might want to think about taking the water from him when you aren't home. Another thing we are going to try with Orion...is getting a water thing for her kennel. You know the ones for rodents? Not saying she's a rat, but I think she would enjoy drinking out of this..using her tongue to move the ball.

I was thinking the same thing for Chunk! He wouldn't drink all day today but as soon as I took out a water bottle and started to pour it into his bowl, he was willing to drink. Was thinking that kennel bottle thingy might give him the same satisfaction.

 

[giasmom]

I have a water bowl for Gia when we're home and for right after she eats.....but then we also have a gerbil/hamster type of "upside down" bottle for her while we're gone. That way she doesn't just drink and load up her bladder for when we're away all day (she's still a pup) but yet she can still get a little drink if she wants to. It really works good! Only took a small amount of time for her to get the hang of it, and she actually kind of loves it!!

 

[reallyrob]

I used to be very anal when it came to Berties face and wrinkles...I found with her that less was more. The more I cleaned and dryed her face and wrinkles the worse they got...usually very red and cracked and she wouldn't let you do anything to them because they hurt.
Now I use a Stridex pad once or twice a month on her wrinkles and that is all I do. Since I quit babying her wrinkles so much, she has not had any trouble with them at all, so less is more!

 

[Maximus]

Hi all .......
Well, with Maximus I find that because his wrinkles are so very deep, the moisture inside the wrinkles is rather constant, requiring alot of care daily. If I do not tend to his face and his wrinkles, there is alot of
"gunk" in there that is rather unpleasant. I've been using DESITIN cream to keep the area dry in between the wrinkles, as well as his chin area which, as I stated, is raw, red and irritated from his obsession
with drinking alot of water. But I never get these raw, red areas healed. His face wrinkles do require alot of attention, so I don't really think "Less is More" will work for Maximus. Using powder, like Gold Bond is just to difficult to apply. I use Mal-a-Ket wipes, and I use Desitin, but with the constant moisture inside his wrinkles, the skin is always red and irritated.........it is a constant struggle for me with Max.

 

[bullmama]

Have you tried panalog ointment from your vet? [MENTION=701]Maximus[/MENTION]

 

[GatorRay]

I am thinking along the same lines as some other posters. Maybe you can try cleaning them with just plain water and a soft cloth and then dry until the fur looks "fluffy". Then use the desitin. The malaket wipes could possibly be irritating even more. I bought several packs of the $5 for 12 washcloths at walmart. I got the white ones so I can bleach them. If there is gunk, it might be worth it to ask the vet some cream?

I know someone asked about food too. Think that could be the issue?

Poor Gator had a terrible time with under his nose rope. I took him to the vet and she gave us some Duoxo wipes and they work like a dream. Within a few days, it was clean and healthy. I just clean under there with the wipe, then use cottonballs to make sure it is very dry. I have been putting desitin every other day and it is working to keep it looking good.

Good luck and I hope you can figure it out.

 

[Maximus]

Well, I ended up taking Maximus to the Vet. The Vet gave him an injection of Dexamethasone, and put him on Antibiotics for 10-days.
The injection did wonders ---- Max never looked so good. All of his Face redness and swelling disappeared. I've never seen him look so good. And the Antibiotics took care of the irritated red raw skin.
The Vet thinks ALLERGIES are the problems, so Max will have to be on a low-dose prednisone on a pretty regular basis.

The face wrinkles still pose a problem, and water only with a dry cloth won't help. He has deep face wrinkles that collect alot of moisture. Keeping them dry is important, but when they become red, raw and irritated, the Mal-a-Ket wipes with Chlorhexidine have to be used, with the Desitin to keep things under control.

I don't know of any other products I could use for this .......