HELLLPPPP! soo many food questions!

[hparker37]

Im new to this site...& WOW! Ive had soo much help already! We've had Hooey, our Bully for about 6 months now. He's our first..& we are absolutely in LOOVVVE!! I did alot of researching before we got him & THOUGHT I knew most of the basics..ummmm not even close!

Since we have Hooey, we have always fed him Purino Pro Plan. We have friends that also have a bully, and thats what they fed theirs. About 3 months ago, Hooey started to have rashes on his skin and he would loose hair where the rashes were. We immediately took him to the vet(which was reffered to us by our breeder bc he had the "best" bully knowledge in our area), they vet told us they were "hot spots" and that their skin allergies are so bad, basically saying all we could do is give him antibiotics & if they keep coming back..maybe get a prescribed shampoo. (NEVER mentioning anything about the food, & also told us Purina Pro Plan was a good food to feed them.) After Hooey took his meds the hot spots were gone & he was doing fine again.

Now, his hot spots are back..this time there are more & we cannot get him to eat for anything! Everytime I put down his food bowl he just gives me the saddest look. I can tell he is feeling horrible and it just breaks my heart. I was so clueless on what to do until I got on here yesterday. Im so excited to find all this helpful information! Yall have been such a relief. Now onto my 101 questions..

Hooey is very active..always playing around with kids outside..always wrestling with his daddy, he never stops. Obviously since he is very active, I need to get him a food with protein in it correct?

Also, since his skin allergies are so bad would it be best to try a food with no grains? After reading through so many peoples food issues, I have came to decide maybe Natures Variety or Fromm would be best for Hooey but how should I mix his food? Give him hard food most of the time but mix some wet food in it as well? I need helllpppppp!!!! lol

 

[RescueMe]

Purina is not a very good food. I agree Natures Variety or Fromm. I personally am a Fromm fan. I would go grain free to see if that helps his allergies. I would do kibble. i personally dont like the can because it ends up more expensive in the long run.

 

[MissPennyLue]

You are in the right place for help!! Welcome!

There will be other who can give you more advice, but I will chime in with my two cents.

Both of the foods you are looking at are good. We feel Penny Fromm Beef Fritatta (we were on salmon, but I she was still having watery eyes). I wanted to try the grain free with her. We have tried several foods, and determined that she has a chicken sensitivity.

You may have to try several foods to find the right one for your baby, but you are off to a good start!! I hope this is a step in getting rid of the hot spots for him.

 

[hparker37]

Thanks so much..I feel so bad because I could have been preventing, or atleast helping, with his allergies this whole time! Right now we have been mixing wet & dry but thats just to try to get him to eat it. I am going to get him the Fromm so we can see how that works. Do you order offline or have a supplier near you? What "flavours" work best for your bullies? Thanks again for the help!

 

[cowsmom]

members here use petflow. if you order i think over a certain amount then a code is used for a discount i think. also most here use beef fritatta there is no chicken in it. start with 1/4 new food with 3/4 old food for several days like 4 or 5 maybe some less if bully tolerates it. then go 1/2 new 1/2 old for several days then 3/4 new to 1/4 old for several days then full switch. should take like 10 days all total. let me see if i can find that amount you have to order and the code. ok its free shipping for orders over 65 dollars. englishbulldog is the code. ive found sometimes mine wont eat a food that makes them feel bad. he may just be tired of the taste also.

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

Sorry to hear that! Hope Hooey feels better soon! BTW you definatley came to the right place for all the info you need on your little boy!

 

[BruceP]

to EBN. You've come to the right place for bully info. There is sooo much bully experience here just about any situation you can come up with someone here has been there, done that. Glad you found us.
Food; the million dollar question. Cowsmom is a food expert so Im not going to repeat what she said. Bullies have very tender tummies so don't panic if your baby gets a bit of a upset tummy along the way. Just take a step back and reduce the new food ratio for a few days. Fromm Beef Frittata is grain and gluten free and also chicken free. A lot of bullies seem to be bothered by chicken for some reason.That formula has worked well for HRH Princess Gracie . I would suggest you not buy the large bag until you know your bully will be ok with it. Save the bag because Fromm will take back the unused food if it doesn't.
Now, having said all that, you may have to change a few times to find a food that works...... OR have him allergy tested to find exactly what it is that he is allergic to. It may not be food. But the first step is to get him on a good food whether it be Fromm of another brand. Good luck and keep us in the loop so we can continue to offer our help. And by the way...... the picture police will be knocking at your door soon unless we start seeing this sweetheart of yours!!!!!

 

[hparker37]

Thanks sooo much everyone for all the help. Hooey went to the vet today & we found out he also has an ear infection. My poor baby..that somewhat explains the no eating. He is now on antibiotics for his rashes & eardrops for his ear infection.I'm going to start feeding hooey yogurt & fruits & vegetables for snacks instead of store bought snacks. Any good or bad experiences with fruit & veggies? I'm still trying to figure everything out on this site so I'll have more pics up soon.

 

[cowsmom]

hot spots and ear infections are usually food issues so changing him is a good thing. yes fruits and veggies are good. lots here get frozen green beans, bananas, and the like. i would just try one at a time at first to make sure tummy is ok and also that they are not allergic to it. i would also kinda lay low with it if you are changing food also. maybe wait till you get it changed then go in with fruits and veggies. bullies have very sensitive tummies. good luck and welcome to the site. :D

 

[BruceP]

Treats can UNDO all your hard work of finding a good food. Commercial treats are fine as long as they are chosen with the same care as the main meal. HRH doesn't like carrots or beans so she gets Blue Buffalo treats that are grain and gluten and chicken free like her main meal. Veggies are great treats,,,, if you bully will eat them.

 

[Biogirl71]

So glad you found us! Welcome! Hooey is adorable and I love his name!
I am glad you are switching food...it sounds like most of his issues are most likely food related. It took us a while to find the right food (we feed Grain Free Fromm now and get it from Petflow), but once we did, it was like a huge relief. Frank felt so much better and we felt better feeding him good food.
You will find so many helpful people here in this wonderful bullie community, so don't be afraid to ask any questions! I look forward to seeing more pictures of your adorable Hooey!

 

[Saalwi]

You've already gotten the best advice, so I'd just lie to say hello and welcome....hope hooey feels better real soon, he's a handsome fella.

 

[2BullyMama]

Thanks sooo much everyone for all the help. Hooey went to the vet today & we found out he also has an ear infection. My poor baby..that somewhat explains the no eating. He is now on antibiotics for his rashes & eardrops for his ear infection.I'm going to start feeding hooey yogurt & fruits & vegetables for snacks instead of store bought snacks. Any good or bad experiences with fruit & veggies? I'm still trying to figure everything out on this site so I'll have more pics up soon.

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of bulldogs and EBN!!

We use Fromm Beef Frittata... and have noticed such a difference in her coat, skin and Or vet is thrilled and says "for a bulldog - she is a picture of health" She still has some minor yeast issues in her paws and one ear, but over all FOOD makes the dog. Like ours have said - be sure to stay the course with the treats... grain free or like you said veggies (what ever they like) carrots, green beans, bananas etc. We use Grain Free 'Fruitables' (cranberry/bluberry and cranberry/pumpkin).

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[babybully]

Hi! Have you ever thought of raw feeding Hooey? Cleo started off having issues and I put her on raw at 6 months and have never looked back. She's now 14 months and her new brother Mac is 5 months and both are doing great on it.

 

[kazzy220]

Hello and.

We are Fromm feeders here too!! Go to the Petflow website because I think they've reduced the minimum order for free shipping now.

You've been given great advice so the only thing I would say is that don't feel you have to start grain free as it does limit you a little. The food he has been on is truly awful so I'd like to think that ANY of the Fromm 4* range is going to give you improvements. Our Maggie can only tolerate small amounts of chicken which means I can use the Salmon n Veg. She does slightly better on the grain free surf n turf which has a little chicken in it. However does the very best on the beef like a lot of others here.

The food issue is the biggest thing for our babies!!! I wish you luck ... and hope it doesn't take you too long to work out the best option!!

By the way ... the ear infection is very possibly down to the food too. If he's still not eating I would suggest trying the bland diet for a few days!!