Bella the Bully part 2

NE Bully

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Sep 27, 2011
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**********added pics************
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So, Bella is 3 years old, she had one litter, is not spayed (that is to be taken care of shortly), and she may have mange. I just got her about a week ago from a bad situation.

She has hair loss on her hind area, near her butt/tail, and extends a bit up her sides---pics below this pragraph. Her head, shoulders, seem to be ok. She does not seem to be itching the area that much but who knows what she does when I am asleep. I have read countless home remedies, I have read horror stories about vet treatments that did not work at all, including misdiagnosing the entire problem, all at a considerable expense to the pet owner.
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So off to our vet we went, vet said she had a very bad UTI which she is on antibiotics for but the vet declined to even look at the hair loss. She said the dog was in good health otherwise, but that is like saying the car drives, it just does not have any doors, tires, or gas in it. So vet wants to charge me 100 dollars for a skin scrape, then 100 dollars for a one time vitamin bath that is guaranteed to cure the mange is that is what she has. I think the vet is 100% full of it to charge that much for a bath and a skin scrape that they can look at with a microscope my son has under his desk at home.

So, again, in my infinite wisdom, I goto to the almighty Google to see what I can find out. Cant find any images that exactly look like Bella's issue. Some of those pups were in bad shape. So I start looking for home remedies to see if I can help her out without the use of chemicals or nasty stuff, came across, Borax/Peroxide, A+D mixed with stuff, lemon juice, ACV, Yogurt, Mayo, and most interesting of all, used motor oil. Of course, there is no remedy that has too many people raving over it.

So, I need some community help, is there a home remedy, I am not broke but "free" is my best price ya know :yes:. I would much rather spend 50 dollars on a good home remedy than spend in excess of over 200 for something that may not be necessary. At the end of the day, a vet is a business too. I do not know too many vets driving around a 2000 Geo Prism because they are in it for the animals...sorry but I did say that. :confused:

My wife took her to a local groomer who said they could not groom her because of her skin condition. Apparently it is far more widespread than I had originally thought.

I also have a saint bernard at home who is the picture of health, I do not want her to catch this mange either.

Yes, I thought about returning the dog and forgetting about it, but I can't. No way in heck I can do that and sleep at night, it is very clear that Bella was not in a good environment and I am not going to send her back there. This dog is great, she is exactly what I wanted in a bully. Snaggled teeth, snores like crazy, red/white coat, big nasty tongue hanging out, and she is a total sweetheart. I just want her to get what she deserves, a nice family, a dog to play with, and her health.

Sorry for the long post!!

Thanks
Ken
 
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JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
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Welcome! If I've missed you before..I'm sorry. I, personally, don't have the expertise to help you with mange. I just want to tell you that you have found a great place. There are very knowledgeable people here and I'm sure they will speak up shortly..as they discover this post. Congrats to you for being willing to give Bella a better life. You are in for an adventure...a bully adventure! You will have to educate yourself from A to Z..but everyone will help! Food is one if not THEE most important building block! Buckle up..we want pictures too!
 
OP
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NE Bully

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Welcome! If I've missed you before..I'm sorry. I, personally, don't have the expertise to help you with mange. I just want to tell you that you have found a great place. There are very knowledgeable people here and I'm sure they will speak up shortly..as they discover this post. Congrats to you for being willing to give Bella a better life. You are in for an adventure...a bully adventure! You will have to educate yourself from A to Z..but everyone will help! Food is one if not THEE most important building block! Buckle up..we want pictures too!

thanks for the warm welcome, I had just posted in the New intro area before this one. Couldn't agree more on the food. When I bought my wife her Saint (happy wife, happy life, kind of deal) we gave her good food for the reason of me not having to pick up 3 pound piles everyday, her stools are very small because the food is actually food and not filler junk...but I feed her Innova since we got her about 4 years ago, we tried Blue Moon but she did not like it, but the health benefits far outweigh anything else with pet food. I am still surprised seeing people at my local grocery store buying a HUGE bag of PURINA proclaiming the AWESOME deal they just got....maroons.....

Oh yeah, pics will be up tonight or tomorrow of my Bella, I wish I had taken some pics when we first got her because as bad as she looks now, she was ALOT worse when we took her.
 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
14,802
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Southern California
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Jake
You are doing great! One thing to think about..we love before and after stories here..there is an article section..you might read through some of them as you wait for help! And if you start taking pics..keeping notes..I'm sure Bellas story will be a great addition when she's healthy!
 

GatorRay

I am in total control....I think
Feb 25, 2011
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Ok, Ken...my advice is to find a different vet. #1 a scrape is the only way to diagnose. It may not be mange, it could be allergies, seasonal flank alopecia, tons of things. I would get the scrape from someone else. Also, do not spay until it is cleared up if it is mange. Likely, if it is mange, it is Demodex mange which is not contagious! Generally, it is caused by mites that all dogs have. The dog's immune system is lowered and voila, the mites take over. Spaying her right now will likely make the condition worse. My vet refused to spay my girl when she had mange.

#2 a "bath" or "dip" is NOT the best way to tackle mange. Ivermectin (I think that is how it is spelled?) is the most effective treatment and it is oral. They will often also give a shampoo to help topically with the itching/healing process. A dip can actually cause all sorts of problems for the dog so I would be very leery of anyone trying to do that. To get her comfy, you may want to consider using either lavender oil or a mix of 50/50 lavender oil/neem oil. The neem oil will actually kill the mites but if it is very widespread (which it sounds like it is) this may not be effective. It worked great on my girl but hers was just 5 or 6 spots that ranged in size from the size of a pea to a size of a quarter. Lots of things can cause mange. Generally, it can be low quality nutrition, a heat cycle, antibiotics, or illness. So here ya go:

1. Get her on a high quality food. High quality does not necessarily mean expensive. Common, reasonably priced ones you can get a regular pet stores would be Natures Balance LID, Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, and many others. Go for something grain free and possibly chicken free as that is what most of these guys do best on. There are more expensive high quality foods and you can find a list on the "articles" section at the top of this page. Not only will this help with mange, but if it is allergies, it may help to correct this as well.

2. Neem oil/lavender oil. I buy mine at Whole Foods and mix them. Beware, this smells funky. But it seems to soothe the area quite well.

3. Support her immune (and digestive) system while on antibiotics. Try adding a probiotic such as Jarro or Forta Flora. If you can't get these, you can try yogurt. Plain, no fat but it is not nearly as effective.

4. Keep her calm and give her lots of love! Stress can lower the immune system.

5. No matter what the problem is, you can use extra virgin, organic coconut oil. Just put it on like lotion. A little goes a long way. This will soothe her skin no matter the issue and may help with hair re-growth.

6. Add wild salmon oil to her diet. This will also support her immune system and her skin and coat health and help her with any skin issue, not just mange.

7. Get a scrape! If it isn't mange, you can still do all or some of the above to help her out but finding out what the problem is, is the first step to correcting it.

8. LOVE HER! You are a lucky guy to have found her and it sounds like she is lucky to have found you. Bullies are like no other dog and you will be delighted and surprised at how much love and happiness she will give you every single day.

HTH!
 

Libra926

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Google bulldog club of America and look for your surrounding area. Find the list of vets that people recommend in your area that have experience with bulldogs. Also, call around to local vets and see what the average price for a skin scrape is. I'm checking Vegas bills. BRB to let you know how much we paid.
 

Libra926

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Just looked. Back in 2008, it was 25.00 for a skin scrape and 38.00 for the office exam.
 
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NE Bully

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GatorRay, funny you mention coconut oil. While searching for remedies, I found people saying coconut oil will help the buggers causing the mange, and it will soothe Bella. So I go out and find it, coming home all proud with myself because I NEVER go shopping, my wife does that (no, I am willing to go) but I always get the wrong crap, pay too much, and never use coupons. SO I get home and proclaim my success to my wife. She looks at me and tells me she has a ton of that in our bathroom closet because she uses it on her hair for a conditioner...GREEEEAAAATTTTT.

But thanks for the tips, I guess the most aggravating thing about is this could be caused by many things like you said. I am not a very patient person, I want to know now and even then it is too late for me. Was it caused by her food, stress, her deplorable living conditions, mange, allergies, alopecia, who knows.

Anyhow, it is off to the vet for a skin scrape. Then we will take it from there, I will definitely keep everyone updated...
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
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Looking forward to the pictures, Ken. This girl is lucky to have you! My Bea had seasonal alopecia that I diagnosed (because I'm so friggin' smart) as demo-mange. For a week I was spraying her with a homeopathic borax concoction. It didn't work as quickly as I thought it should - and off to Dr Terry we went. I love my vet and he laughed at me when I told him what I'd been doing. He said, "You can keep doing it if it makes you feel better...but it's not helping Bea at all." hahahaha

The cost for this was exactly the same as Libra926.

Keep us posted huh?
 

Sherry

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[MENTION=3332]NE Bully[/MENTION] :welcome: Now I have an option for you too. You say she has had a litter, if it was recent, it could be from the stress and hormone change. My female lost patches of hair on both flanks after the puppies were born. It took 8 months for the hair to grow back in. today she is good as new. The bare spots never looked sore or like a condition of some sort. Just plain old bare skin. Vet's assured me this was normal. Other breeders told me so too. Dolly's puppies will be one year old on NOV. 30, 2011 :birthday:
I kept three out of the eleven.
023.jpg
 

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)
The coconut oil story is too funny! I love that you went out of your way for her :). That stuff is great for lots of things so can't hurt! She will have nice, soft, skin no matter what. lol. [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION] is right about hormone change and that was a good thought. You have to be a detective with these guys but the best first place to start is a quick scrape. I don't think I paid more than $25 for the scrape. If I remember right, it was around $75 for the exam, the scrape, nail clipping, and the cream I never used lol

If it is mange, just some support and a possible oral med should take care of it :). You both are so lucky!!! What a great day :).
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Welcome Ken and Bella! [MENTION=1906]GatorRay[/MENTION] has given you all the best advice... good luck and we are looking forward to pics
 
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NE Bully

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@NE Bully :welcome: Now I have an option for you too. You say she has had a litter, if it was recent, it could be from the stress and hormone change. My female lost patches of hair on both flanks after the puppies were born. It took 8 months for the hair to grow back in. today she is good as new. The bare spots never looked sore or like a condition of some sort. Just plain old bare skin. Vet's assured me this was normal. Other breeders told me so too. Dolly's puppies will be one year old on NOV. 30, 2011 :birthday:
I kept three out of the eleven.
View attachment 12327

Great point about her litter, I am not sure how long ago it was. I will have the wifey see if she can contact the person who we got Bella from to see if they know. I was surprised to see that Bella has no C-section scars, she is a rather small bulldog to have a natural delivery.

Oh and I added some pics to my first post.....
 

Sherry

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Yes, I see the pictures and her skin doesn't look irritated. Just missing. Could be the hormones. ??? And some bulldogs free whelp and don't have c-section, that happened to my Dolly. Jeesh, I birthed them and got em breathing starting at 4 in morning after three different tests to see if she was ready to have five puppies. So said my vet. Turns out we had eleven in there. All survived, AKC registered, and health certified. Thank goodness.

These critters will surprise and puzzle you all in the same day.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
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Mukilteo, Washington State
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Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
Turns out we had eleven in there. All survived, AKC registered, and health certified. Thank goodness.

[MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION] Holy cow! I didn't know bullies could have that many pups in a single litter! And all of them survived. That's awesome! Is there somewhere I can go back and look at the puppies? I'm sure you must have shared pics here (or have been scolded for not doing so...heh heh)
 

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