Add on Interdigital Cysts to Audrey's Long List of Issues...

[Audrey Hepbull]

So my fiancé and I got back in town last night after being away for my sister's graduation. Audrey's diarrhea is somewhat better. We decided to put her back on kibble for the next month until she is done with her antibiotics. We are still not sure what the cause of her week's worth of diarrhea was. She was eating raw (beef) for a full week with no issues. Then last Monday we increased her Ivermectin dose and switched her to raw chicken and then the splarts began. I wasn't sure if it was her meds or if she was allergic to chicken or what, but she is back on kibble for now.

Well now that the diarrhea is finally getting better, she has gone and gotten and interdigital cyst This poor dog is a mess. She has:

1. Severe Generalized Demodectic Mange
2. Idiopathic Head Tremors (they are getting more frequent and she is having one ever day )
3. Hip Dysplasia (Not sure how severe yet)
4. Entropion
5. A bacterial infection on her skin
6. (Resolving) diarrhea
7. An interdigital cyst
8. A SUPER tight screw tail that I'd always on the verge of being infected

Hoping to put her back on her Cephalexin and Ivermectin once she has had solid stools for 3 days. But what do we do for the cyst on her foot? Does anyone have experience with interdigital cysts?

Thanks in advance! I just want this poor baby to start getting better and she keeps wetting more and more problems that set us back

 

[2BullyMama]

Poor girl... and Mama! The cyst are due to allergies, she may be allergic to chicken as you stated. But, you can soak her paws in warm water and epsom salts -- also, wipe her paws when you come in from outside as she could be having a reaction to something in the grass (pesticides?).. Some people also use preparation H on the cyst.

My boy had these a LOT till we learned what his allergies were and removed it from his diet --- never got another one after that

 

[Audrey Hepbull]

I really feel terrible. I feel like I made her even sicker. :'( She just did SO great that first week on raw. She had no issues at all. NO loose stool or anything. We just switched her cold turkey from kibble to the raw beef. Then the second week on raw we decided to give chicken a try. Like I had said, we switched her to the chicken right when we increased her medication dose (per her vet). So I thought it was the meds. Diet didn't even cross my mind because she was doingso good with the raw. But when we took her off all her meds and the stool was only getting worse it hit me that perhaps she was allergic to chicken. The kibble she was on originally had no chicken in it but I was never informed that she had any issue with chicken. I switched her onto raw lamb today (I am out of beef) but she has gone bak to the splarts. Her stool was looking slightly better after being back on (chicken free) kibble this weeked. I wanted to test if it was the chicken or the raw causing an issue so I fed her the lamb. I'm just going to pick her up a bag of her kibble (Acana Grasslands) tomorrow because she doesn't seem to be tolerating this raw lamb

If I gave her this cyst I will feel awful I feel like such a bad mommy.

 

[2BullyMama]

I really feel terrible. I feel like I made her even sicker. :'( She just did SO great that first week on raw. She had no issues at all. NO loose stool or anything. We just switched her cold turkey from kibble to the raw beef. Then the second week on raw we decided to give chicken a try. Like I had said, we switched her to the chicken right when we increased her medication dose (per her vet). So I thought it was the meds. Diet didn't even cross my mind because she was doingso good with the raw. But when we took her off all her meds and the stool was only getting worse it hit me that perhaps she was allergic to chicken. The kibble she was on originally had no chicken in it but I was never informed that she had any issue with chicken. I switched her onto raw lamb today (I am out of beef) but she has gone bak to the splarts. Her stool was looking slightly better after being back on (chicken free) kibble this weeked. I wanted to test if it was the chicken or the raw causing an issue so I fed her the lamb. I'm just going to pick her up a bag of her kibble (Acana Grasslands) tomorrow because she doesn't seem to be tolerating this raw lamb

If I gave her this cyst I will feel awful I feel like such a bad mommy.

It is all trail-n-error with our bully babies. I would leave her on kibble till you get all her health issues under control... once all that is stable then you can get a full blood screen allergy test and go from there. Chicken and grains seem to be big issues for a lot of bullies... avoid those till you can get a better determination from the allergy test.

 

[Audrey Hepbull]

So soak it in warm water and Epsom salts? And put preparation H on it? So I can take care of this at home? Is veterinary intervention needed? Or only if it doesn't improve?

 

[2BullyMama]

So soak it in warm water and Epsom salts? And put preparation H on it? So I can take care of this at home? Is veterinary intervention needed? Or only if it doesn't improve?

no need for the vet.... yes, all home remedy. You can do one or both.... I've always just did the soak, once a day and wipe when they come in from outside.
They can be painful depending on how big it gets -- vet will only 'pop' it if you go, nothing more.

 

[Audrey Hepbull]

Yeah she will be on kibble for a while until we get these things under control. Then we will have to slowly ease her back onto raw.

 

[2BullyMama]

Yeah she will be on kibble for a while until we get these things under control. Then we will have to slowly ease her back onto raw.

One thing to keep in mind... although raw is best for them, it may not agree with her system due to all her health issues. Banks was on raw and developed colitis and now, she can not have it... her system can not handle it and she bleeds from her bum.

 

[Audrey Hepbull]

no need for the vet.... yes, all home remedy. You can do one or both.... I've always just did the soak, once a day and wipe when they come in from outside.
They can be painful depending on how big it gets -- vet will only 'pop' it if you go, nothing more.

Thanks so much for the help! We certainly can't afford to go to the vet right now for something we can treat at home. She has enough issues that require vet care. It gets expen$ive fast!

 

[MamaAndi]

Poor Audrey...at least the cysts are something you can help her get rid of at home. I'm sure she will be just fine because she has a good mama to take care of her!

 

[2BullyMama]

Thanks so much for the help! We certainly can't afford to go to the vet right now for something we can treat at home. She has enough issues that require vet care. It gets expen$ive fast!

If I remember her list of issues.... it seems to all be related to a weak immune system... once you balance that out she will thrive. You a great bully mama and she loves you for it

 

[Audrey Hepbull]

One thing to keep in mind... although raw is best for them, it may not agree with her system due to all her health issues. Banks was on raw and developed colitis and now, she can not have it... her system can not handle it and she bleeds from her bum.

If she doesn't tolerate raw (down the road when we try again) then we will likely pursue a carefully fomulated (complete and balanced) home cooked diet. We will have to see how she does. But for now we will have to stick with kibble.

 

[Audrey Hepbull]

If I remember her list of issues.... it seems to all be related to a weak immune system... once you balance that out she will thrive. You a great bully mama and she loves you for it

Thank you! We are definitely getting a crash course in many bulldog health issues. It is easy to feel like we aren't doing things right for her. she is so sweet an loving despite her numerous health issues.

 

[Fontanafox]

I feel for you too. Just got to get a grip. I go through these things with Mr. Wilson. I have to wash his feet a lot at this time and try not to go crazy with worry. Progress can be slow with bulldogs so it takes extra patience to see it. My bullies get those cysts but if I catch them in time by keeping their paws washed and dried it prevents the cysts from swelling up, they just dry up and go away. My Mr. Wilson has had entropion and cherry eye surgeries in the past so right now I have to clean his eyes from all the eye goopies he gets. He also gets optimmune for one eye and the other eye gets moisturizing eye drops. He suffers from environmental allergies (mainly grass and weeds) so he tends to have a greasy feel to his coat. I have to bathe him thoroughly with a medicated shampoo but he feels and smells great once I'm done. He's had a blood allergy test done and is now on the right food and no longer has bloody scabs and bare spots on his skin. So there is progress for my Wilson but it has been a long tough road getting him there and trying to maintain it to be sure. Just keep on going in the direction you are. Your caring is obvious and I'm sure you will get there in time. We all were beginners in bulldog care once and now we are all here to help each other through it.

 

[RiiSi]

I'm so sorry that you both have to go through this. I just have to wonder is kibble really better here? Raw food helps a lot of issues that she has. And you could try giving him vitamin B for the head tremors.