Health Questions for my bully

[LaurelLovesLucy]

Hi everyone I am new to EBN and have a couple of questions for you all!
1. Lucy (my bully) seems to be getting darker tear stains than usual and I feel as if I am wiping her wrinkles 4 to five times a day. I have heard of witch hazel helping keep them dry is this something I should use. What are products that will help clear up her stains that won't hurt her eyes.

2. To help prevent yeast infections what are products that I can use in her everyday life?

3. I have noticed Lucy licking at one paw this week more than others. If this is a hot spot would Vetericyn help? OR are there any other treatments that I can give her?

4. How many benadryl pills can she have at once if she weighs 55lbs? Just one in the morning and one at night? Or can she have two at a time?

Thank you!!
Laurel and Lucy

 

[tyree213]

Probiotics will help with yeast (Plain unflavored kefir)

What are you feeding?

 

[2BullyMama]

to EBN......

1. I think this was answered in another thread for you

2. I try to avoid white potato in her food, but this can also be from allergies

3. Not a hotspot... paw likcing is allergy related... it is how they scratch the itch.

4. Benedryl... adult tablets... 1mg per pound of dog so at 55 lbs, she can have two tablets up to 3x a day

 

[LaurelLovesLucy]

I am feeding her Iams Mini chunks

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Thank you very much!

 

[dolphin]

Benadryl all the way

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi Laurel, Christine has given you excellent advice, regarding Benadryl for allergy symptoms, this will take care of itchiness, hives, and help with the licking. My female Blossom is allergic to chicken, salmon, beef, corn and grains. We have both our guys on Fromm's Lamb and Lentil, grain free. Paw licking, red or pink skin, chin acne, itchiness, shedding, and goopy eyes are all signs of allergies. Most allergy symptoms are caused from food and protein sources, many bullies are allergic or sensitive to chicken, and many dog food brands are chicken based. Iams isn't the best choice for food, either is Purina, Beneful, or any dog food that you buy at the grocery store, or stores like Walmart. These foods are rated a 1 or 2 Star, and have had many recalls. You can go to the Home page and look under the Nutrition Forum, there is an article on Dog Food ratings, you want to choose a food that is rated a 4 to 6 Star for nutrition and quality. Examples of these foods are Wellness, Fromm's, Blue Buffalo, Orijen, Arcana, and Go Natural. You can help prevent yeast and allergy symptoms by adding plain yogurt to her morning kibble. This is a good source of Probiotics, which is beneficial for digestion, and boosts the immune system. Allergies are caused by an abnormal response of the immune system, so by boosting the immune system it will help fight infections, parasites, and allergy symptoms. I add 2 Tbsps of yogurt to the morning kibble everyday, I also add 1 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar to their drinking water everyday, there are many health benefits to ACV, such as its a natural,anti inflammatory, 99% of diseases, including Arthritis are caused by inflammation in the body), it is a natural anti bacterial and anti bacterial as well, so it kills the bad bacteria in the body, so again boosts the immune system, and it also balances the Ph levels of the blood. I also give our guys 1 Tbsp of Coconut Oil in on the evening kibble, this is a good source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids, which is beneficial for the skin, hair, bones, joints, elimination, and also for the brain.

 

[2BullyMama]

I am feeding her Iams Mini chunks

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Thank you very much!

OH no... Iams is really, not a good food. Anything you can buy in the supermarket, Target or Wal-mart is nothing but fillers and crap. As Monica, suggested, PLEASE look for a better food.

Here is the ratings list to help you narrow it down.... try to go grain free and avoid chicken as a lot of Bulldogs tend to have issues with those.

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/content.php?r=219-Dog-Food-Ratings

 

[LaurelLovesLucy]

Okay thank you for all the helpful info

 

[LaurelLovesLucy]

Thank you Monica for the tips. I am going to start giving her plain yogurt and slowly work in the ACV. She is very picky about what is in her water when she drinks it. If it isn't just plain old water (sometimes our other dog will drink from it) she won't touch it.

 

[minibull]

Thank you Monica for the tips. I am going to start giving her plain yogurt and slowly work in the ACV. She is very picky about what is in her water when she drinks it. If it isn't just plain old water (sometimes our other dog will drink from it) she won't touch it.

Buttercup won't touch ACV in her water but tolerates it in her food at 1 tsp per 1/2 cup of dry kibble mixed in well and given a couple of minutes to evaporate. I do a sniff test before serving to make sure it doesn't burn my nose. If I give her a canned topper I can sneak in 2-3 tsp ACV (measured in a real teaspoon measure, not a general spoon), but too much at once may irritate the stomach so I try to spread it over the day. Thanks to Monica for suggesting that I try putting it in the kibble!

I wipe Buttercup's paws daily with the antibacterial/antifungal ear cleaner our vet recommended, but it's not enough to keep her feet from getting that strong "stinky sock" smell.

I also have started washing her paws with her medicated shampoo (Miconahex Triz shampoo, available online but originally recommended by our vet) ~once a week outside of her regular medicated bath time or whenever her paws get stinky. This has really helped. I lift her into a shallow bathtub of warm water and swish her paws before washing to get them nice and wet and rinse out any dirt from her post-potty digging. Then I drain so I can apply the shampoo including in between her toes and toe pads. I scrub and leave it on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing with warm water. She doesn't mind it much as a regular bath because I'm just cleaning paws and sometimes legs (e.g., if she got muddy).

There is a spray in the same product line as her shampoo but I haven't yet ordered it. I'm not sure it would be too good for her to lick it off so for now the paw washing works for us.

I also dry her paws well if they get wet when she goes outside. She tolerates this much better than she did when we first got her b/c I think she likes the feeling of having her paws rubbed. If I see her licking a paw I gently rub (not scratch) the area where she is licking and it distracts her from licking. Then I might wipe down the paw.

I'm going to try a 2% boric acid & vinegar mix as a wipe and/or soak as these are the active ingredients in Malacetic wipes (minus the inactive ingredients like fragrance), but I have not yet tried this.

 

[Vikinggirl]

This is excellent advice, you can add your own fragrance with essential oils like lavender, which is calming, or with Geranium oil, which also kills ticks.