Help My Bully has Skin Problems!!! Hot spots / Rashes :(

[EBDR35]

thanks for all your tips and help guys, I guess ill trying changing her food now, I went with Salmon to begin with because i heard it does wonders to a dogs coat and stuff... and she never really had much trouble before with the food just recently in the past 2 months or so.. I want to stick with NVI since shes sort of used to it now, her stools are nice and hard

 

[cowsmom]

Just a note I had Sarah on a food for 2 months when she had a severe reaction. I've had her react to simple chicken n rice can food. Just take stock of when it happens after going out after they eat after they lay on their favorite bed. Do you feed treats or other food besides the kibble. Nvi has lots of ingredient that could be culprits. Maybe consider an allergy test. Sarah is so much better now since I've had the test done. I still have to benadryl sometimes. Keep us updated

 

[bulliemommi]

@EBDR35 how is your baby doing? Did you go to the vet? If at all possible, I highly suggest getting an allergy panel done. Our baby has all kinds of allergies, including dust mites. I noticed you said you hadn't cleaned the carpet or floors in a while, and though I am sure they look clean, they could be full of dust aggravating possible allergies. I learned so much from getting the allergy panel done that our bullie looks so much better (changed food, use hypoallergenic detergent when washing anything he comes into contact with, special shampoos (and not oatmeal as he is allergic to oatmeal we found out!), probiotics, and Free Form brand Fatty acids on the food), everyone who sees him now can't believe it. If it hadn't been for this forum, we may have never spent the money on the panel, and just so glad we did. I wish you and your baby well!

 

[EBDR35]

Just a note I had Sarah on a food for 2 months when she had a severe reaction. I've had her react to simple chicken n rice can food. Just take stock of when it happens after going out after they eat after they lay on their favorite bed. Do you feed treats or other food besides the kibble. Nvi has lots of ingredient that could be culprits. Maybe consider an allergy test. Sarah is so much better now since I've had the test done. I still have to benadryl sometimes. Keep us updated

@EBDR35 how is your baby doing? Did you go to the vet? If at all possible, I highly suggest getting an allergy panel done. Our baby has all kinds of allergies, including dust mites. I noticed you said you hadn't cleaned the carpet or floors in a while, and though I am sure they look clean, they could be full of dust aggravating possible allergies. I learned so much from getting the allergy panel done that our bullie looks so much better (changed food, use hypoallergenic detergent when washing anything he comes into contact with, special shampoos (and not oatmeal as he is allergic to oatmeal we found out!), probiotics, and Free Form brand Fatty acids on the food), everyone who sees him now can't believe it. If it hadn't been for this forum, we may have never spent the money on the panel, and just so glad we did. I wish you and your baby well!

Would you happen to know about how much a Allergy test is? I hear their quite expensive. If it really came down to it I would do it. We actually had the carpet steam vacuumed a few weeks ago so its pretty clean now. I have fed a few treats such as blueberries / raspberries / banana and some Wellness WellBites treats which are supposed to be healthy. I read another thread where someones Bully had red bumps as well and they applied some ointment which helped, I was going to give that a shot. I've also seen petsmart selling medicine for dogs with skin problems, I think their was a bulldog on the bottle as well. I've always wondered if those actually worked..

 

[bulliemommi]

[MENTION=3380]EBDR35[/MENTION]
Ours was $300. There was a link here at some point where you could send a hair sample to the UK for a lot cheaper - can anyone help with this?

Being frank with you, and please don't take this as being judgmental, but I really think you should take your baby to the vet. She may possibly need some antibiotics. It could be so many things, you can drive yourself crazy (like I used to, to avoid having to go to the vet) and end up buying a ton of stuff you may find out doesn't help or that she doesn't need. Better to get a vet's take on it, and go from there. I like my vet, and find he's usually right, and if he suggests I try a product, I do. I always check the internet to see if there's a price difference, but he has seemed very good so far in not marking up the meds he sells. I wouldn't go with anything you can find at the regular Pet store, sadly. Everything I need for our EB I have to get from the vet or online, except for the day to day powder, cotton pads, etc.

Do you have a vet? If not, you may want to call around and ask offices if they have experience with English Bulldogs.

I know vet's are expensive (tell me about it - our guy has had icky eyes, I took him in yesterday, and it was over $100 just for the eye tests/stain/culture and still not sure what it may be yet, but did get prescribed drops/rinse. I am not a vet and am not going to buy over the counter stuff and mess with his eyes without knowing from a professional what might be wrong, you know?) but sometimes I think in the long run, they help you keep your sanity when your baby has issues.

Putting ointment, etc, is like a bandaid (and may not work in your case) - wouldn't you rather know the cause of the breakout and then go from there?

 

[bulliemommi]

PS, I highly recommend you try a specialized shampoo for her - lots of recs here if you search. Your vet would have ideas too. I know so many people praise oatmeal shampoo but I can NOT use that on our EB due to his allergies.

PPS Our guy is white too and I have heard the babies who have all white fur tend to have more skin problems. No idea if that is true but we really have to keep in the routine to keep him from having skin issues too. He never itches though, so it worries me your baby is itching. If she scratches too much you can have secondary infections which are even more of a pain to deal with and hurty to her too.

 

[cowsmom]

Would you happen to know about how much a Allergy test is? I hear their quite expensive. If it really came down to it I would do it. We actually had the carpet steam vacuumed a few weeks ago so its pretty clean now. I have fed a few treats such as blueberries / raspberries / banana and some Wellness WellBites treats which are supposed to be healthy. I read another thread where someones Bully had red bumps as well and they applied some ointment which helped, I was going to give that a shot. I've also seen petsmart selling medicine for dogs with skin problems, I think their was a bulldog on the bottle as well. I've always wondered if those actually worked..

well i had sarahs done and it was like 250 dollars. but you can just get the food part and thats cheaper. you will find with bullies that anything can be a trigger. i mean laundry detergent to the cleaner you used on your carpet to the good treats your feeding. if your baby is not getting better id say a vet visit is in order to make sure you dont have an infection or something else going on. i dont use oatmeal shampoo on sarah as she is allergic to oats. im not sure petsmart is the best place for dog shampoo for bullies. maybe try some hydrocortisone cream on the rash see if it helps.

 

[EBDR35]

Hey guys I've decided to switch over to Raw feeding after doing some research. Also will be getting the allergy panel done when i go to the vet.

 

[bulliemommi]

That is great [MENTION=3380]EBDR35[/MENTION]
If you can find out what's going on from the vet now (only because I see the rash all over and not in just one spot, you know?) and how to help her, you can avoid having to go in the future! My vet isn't very into me giving Benedryl though I know a lot of people have great results from it. He did recommend allergy shots at one point but we decided not to (saw so many people here that didn't see results from them) and our guys has been doing fine for the most part with all the other changes we made.
Ugh, if only our babies could talk and tell us what's wrong!

 

[cowsmom]

Hey guys I've decided to switch over to Raw feeding after doing some research. Also will be getting the allergy panel done when i go to the vet.

oh thats awsome. we have a raw feeding forum here and i think there is a yahoo group they recommend. they also say to do alot of research before starting but im glad your baby is going to get the test and some mighty awsome food. i feed sarah freeze dried raw and she is doing good now. i hope you keep us posted on how its going.

 

[Wrangler]

I didn't see anyone suggest it but the last picture shown looks like red circles. Are they getting bigger and scaly around the outside of the circle? I am wondering if it is ringworm-a fungal infection. Last year it went around my animals with my kitten I was bottle feeding getting it and it spread to me and my lab. Not sure where it came from but it was a bear to get rid of!