Advice PLEASE!!

carebehr

New member
Jul 30, 2011
23
1
Hello.
I am new to the site. I am glad I came across it. My husband and I are stationed on Okinawa. We have been here for exactly one year. Our first addition to starting our family is our bulldog named Bruiser. He is a couple months over 4 years old. He is stubborn, but can be a cuddle bug. The point of me signing up is because I have had enough of our worthless vet on base. I have taken Bruiser in so many times for his skin. This is a first for us for having a dog and a bulldog at that. Our dog is getting these bumps all over the place, ranging in different sizes. His chin is just horrible. The vet seems like they don't know how to do their job. They don't know how to draw his blood. They have been giving me medicines and shampoos that aren't doing a thing. I have attached some photos that I took 20 minutes ago (attempt to attach). His skin has gotten worse. Anyone experiencing or have you had this on your bulldog? What is it? I will take any suggestion as to what the problem is. Thank you.
 

LariP

..........
Aug 4, 2010
8,293
452
Milwaukee, WI
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
(HRH) Her Royal Highness Princess Gracie & Princess Amelia Pond (Amy)
:welcome:Those look a lot like what Gracie's rash looked like. We suspected food allergies and switched her to chicken free grain free (Fromm Beef Frittata) and shampoo her with Selsen Blue medicated dandruff shampoo followed by oatmeal shampoo because I don't like the smell of the Selsen Blue. we did also have an antibiotic ointment from the vet until it was cleared up. Would you have trouble getting and switching to a better rated food being in Okinawa? The Fromm is our choice, but there are other good choices available. Check out the Article rating most popular dog foods. If you do switch, do it slowly over a couple weeks. It will take several weeks to notice complete results. But if you find a good food for him, you'll be amazed at the difference.
 

BruceP

..........
Aug 12, 2010
0
505
Milwaukee, WI
Bulldog(s) Names
HRH Princess Gracie, aka: HRH; Princess Amelia Pond, aka: Amy
What Lari said....... I have nothing to add other than :welcome: I'm glad you joined and hope we can help your baby with his issues.
 

HrsDiva

I wear my bulldog heart on my sleeve
Community Veteran
Jul 6, 2011
723
54
Gravette Arkansas
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Colonel 5 yrs (2011 -Current) Ella May (2012 - Current ) RIP Bebe 8 yrs (2011 - 2014)
:newhere: too and these GUYS :rock: ( really nothing ) and yes they are right.... its the food doing it... Good luck and keep a log and take lots of pictures to show the progress of him getting better.... :hug:
 

KMARINO

I couldn't make this sh*t up if I tried!
Jul 21, 2010
7,219
728
Bradenton Fl.
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
VEGAS and REBEL
I am thinking food too, Vegas had big open sores on his body before I got him on a good food. He eats Nature's Variety Instict Salmon, grain and gluten free. I use an antifungal/yeast Shampoo from our Vet's office for his baths. Once the food change and shampoo change he no longer has any open sores and does not stink.
 
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carebehr

New member
Jul 30, 2011
23
1
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I have been feeding him the same thing. I have never heard of the brand you are talking about. Here on the island, there is very few things that the BX carries. This is our first summer with him and the vet says that the heat and humidty cause a lot of skin issues with the animals on the island. The humidty is bad here. I just got home from the gym and looked at him. His legs look like they have tiny tumors. I just don't know what to do and I am beyond angry. I don't let him go in bushy areas outside, so I know he isn't rolling around in anything. The food is the same. I guess I will have to take a trip to an off base vet since they seemed to handle my pug just fine and at least know what they are doing. Thank you!
 

KMARINO

I couldn't make this sh*t up if I tried!
Jul 21, 2010
7,219
728
Bradenton Fl.
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
VEGAS and REBEL
Heat and humidity do play havoc on bullys, I live in Florida 10 min. from the beach with temps-heat index-and humidity it has been well over a 100* here for weeks. Vegas does not have these kind of skin issues. Again the only time he did was when I was feeding him Iams dog food. I would go off base too and find another vet, obviously the one your going to is not helping you get to the bottom of this issue. Do you have any kind of dog food that is grain free? perhaps even chicken free because Vegas also can not tolerate chicken.????
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,580
3,671
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
We had a similar issue with our female bulldog.... after treating the initial outbreak, which were severe hives, we had a full allergy screening done (just blood test). It turned out she was allergic to ALL grass, weeds, molds and trees, but the worst was Chicken which was the main ingredient in her food. we switched to a raw beef based diet that is made specific to both our bullies allergies After about two months of being off the chicken - no more skin issues!!! They both need 100mg of Benedryl a day in the spring, summer and sometimes in the fall. because of all the environment stuff... but all skin is cleared up.
 
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carebehr

New member
Jul 30, 2011
23
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I just spent time googling. I found another bulldog website and the photos are exactly how Bruiser looks. So he has hives. I called our on base vet (since they carry a cell phone around 24/7) and all she said was to do the benedryl (2 1/2 pills) every four hours. I hope this works. I have never seen this before so I have been worried. It happened right after his walk. So I assume something bit him or he was licking something (usually pee (?) because my dog is gross like that then chomps :/). I have just hope it goes away and I can take him off base. When we got him, the old owners gave us some cheap dog food. I switched to Iams for a while. No problems. Since this place is so hard to get a job, I was thinking of things to cut back on. So I swapped to Pedigree. I did the swapping of foods like you are supposed to and no problems. It's always something. If he is fine, then my pug is having issues and vise versa. I am just frustrated that he has been to the vet twice within a month for his skin and they don't know what is going on. Now they say he might have ringworms....Just give me an answer and a solution so I can make my bulldog happy. You know?? Thank you. I greatly appreciate your responses. :D
 

BruceP

..........
Aug 12, 2010
0
505
Milwaukee, WI
Bulldog(s) Names
HRH Princess Gracie, aka: HRH; Princess Amelia Pond, aka: Amy
Benedryl is good for immediate relief. Dosing is 1 pill (25mg) per 25 pounds. The hives are caused by something so that is what we need to find out. Bullies are very food sensitive but you have a dilemma in that you can't get good food there apparently. I wonder if raw diet would be an easier way to go for you. Just kind of thinking out loud here. Raw diet may be worth looking into.
 

cali~jenn

..........
Mar 28, 2010
0
419
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Cutty, Miila and Mugsy the pug :)
Yes if a good food is hard to come by where you are maybe raw would be ideal for you. We have a few raw feeders on here that have had wonderful success when allergies were ruining their lives. lol. Iams is not good but pedigree is by far worse, if not THE worst there is out there. Not that it will kill your babies or anything but hives, itching, hair loss etc are all things that bad food reactions and allergies to it can cause. What other foods are available do you know off hand? We have the recommended food page which can help direct you towards something better than what you feed. They say 3 star ratings or higher for the most part but 4 is probably the lowest I would prefer. Bullies have such allergies and sensitivities to everything. I also have a pug who can handle ANYTHING with no problems but boy my bully is another story. Funny how that is isnt it? Also vets dont know much about nutrition for the most part as we have seen on here. Many vets have told their owners food is not the cause of anything and as they have found from trial and error it WAS food allergies. Also the food they sell in their stores is something they get kickbacks on too, not necessarily the best thing for your pets. Who knew? I never did till this site. Oh welcome! :)
 
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carebehr

New member
Jul 30, 2011
23
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The stuff that the old owners gave us was $8 for a 40lb bag. Talk about cheap. I was thinking of switching back to Iams (since what I bought is a bit too big for my pug). I would have to talk to the off base vet today about it. But food doesn't seem to be the problem. It happened right after his walk. We seriously walked on the patio and I saw it when I was taking his harness off. He does like to get into stuff, but we have to find out later on today.
Food wise for dogs...it's Iams, Pedigree, Natural...something, a cheap brand, Science Diet (I think just small bags though)...and that's about it. Off base food is double what we pay on base. Mostly the Japanese carry Iams and tons of Pedigree stuff.
The hives have gone down since last night. There are some bumps and his back legs still have some swelling. But like I said, have to wait to see the vet today. Thanks again!
 

Angievelvet

New member
May 28, 2011
776
54
california
Bulldog(s) Names
violet elizabeth
Welcome! Maybe u could order the food online. I agree with everyone food is a big issue and iams and pedigree are not good at all. Best if luck and keep us updated ;)

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GatorRay

I am in total control....I think
Feb 25, 2011
3,432
227
Louisville, KY
Bulldog(s) Names
Gator & Lucy Goosey, the Basset and Gigi (AKA Gypsy)
I was going to say that if it looks like little cysts, it could very well be hives. If it is an on-going problem, my suggestion (along with the benedryl) would be to wipe him down with a clean, wet cloth or a baby wipe after every walk just to make sure it isn't something in the grass. However, we just went through this with our guy and the vet suggested that, for us, it was unlikely to be an environmental allergy (which usually will manifest with a rash and not hives) but more likely something in his system. Meaning a bug bite of some kind or could possibly be food related.If it is a bug bite or something along those lines, they will go away with the benedryl and it will be over. If it is an ongoing problem, finding the source is important or it will continue to happen. Good luck and enjoy your bully!
 

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