Help Needed! Lolas getting better but worse

[aprilemari]

We had itchy paws and tears with chicken, now on the venison kibble we have a massively growing bald spot that started bleeding today. I thought it was just seasonal alopecia on one side of her body, but when it bled today I am more worried than ever. Plus her ear is itching her like crazy and i gave it a GOOD clean yesterday (lots of wax deep down) and i heard her scratching it with her toes all night last night.

Lola is allergic to chicken/turkey and HATES kibble, even though we put cheese/liver/groundbeef all over it, she will spit out the kibble. We've been through wellness, natural balance LID duck and LID venison+sweet potato, venison or lamb ziwipeaks. she won't eat fromm. she will eat for a while, then stop suddenly with no hope of ever ingesting it again.

I bought some raw beef medallions and some canned food to entice her to eat anything. She's not losing weight, up from 45lbs to 50lbs this winter but due to no exercise really. We tried going homecooked but she didn't like batch two so what the heck. http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...ial-allergy-situation-(one-bonus-snore-video)

before the bleeding, on Feb 11th
now today after our 1/2 block walk to the dog food store. i hope you can give me your opinions on what I should do. I've been putting off going to the vet for an allergy test, because they're really not bad. but what is this bald/bleeding spot now!? it has been dry for the duration, only bled today for the first time, and it's shiny because I duoxo'd and polysporin'd it just now. thanks for help

 

[RiiSi]

My only advise is to start raw feeding. Start with only one source of protein and give nothing else, not even to chew, before she starts healing. After that add one more source and see if you get a reaction. If not after 2-4 weeks add again and so on. That is the only way to find out what allergies she has without tests.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Aww poor baby and poor you. It must be really frustrating. It sounds like you've tried everything, Fromms, raw, and home cooked, I don't have any other suggestions for you. I switched my guys food 4 times before finding Fromms Beef, and they are thankfully doing great on this food, plus we also home cook for them as well. If you can find one food such as the Fromms that works for him, and he can tolerate it, and doesn't have any allergic reactions to it, then I would just serve that brand and leave it tere, eventually he will get hungry enough and eat it. Or find a home cooked recipe that he has eaten and liked in the past, and just serve that. He won't stop eating forever, and if it works then that's all you can really do. Hope you find something that works for him. Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[kazzy220]

Maybe you could try home cooked food?? So difficult when you don't know what she's allergic to, and it does sound as if she is quite the picky eater!! I'll tag @Twice and @cowsmom who have a lot of knowledge about different foods. I'm also going to tag @Lucy-licious because her Billy was a very picky eater when he was younger!!

I hope you find some help soon!

 

[aprilemari]

thanks everyone, i wonder if the dry/bald skin is because we took away her daily hard boiled eggs because of the chicken allergy. Her coat is definiately not as shiny, and we're trying to get the salmon oil into her - she is anti-fish taste. Do chicken eggs (mostly albumin) have the same protein as adult chicken?

 

[kazzy220]

thanks everyone, i wonder if the dry/bald skin is because we took away her daily hard boiled eggs because of the chicken allergy. Her coat is definiately not as shiny, and we're trying to get the salmon oil into her - she is anti-fish taste. Do chicken eggs (mostly albumin) have the same protein as adult chicken?

On the subject of the salmon oil .... you can give the fish oil pills instead. That's what [MENTION=983]LariP[/MENTION] and [MENTION=1034]BruceP[/MENTION] do for HRH ...

 

[aprilemari]

If you can find one food such as the Fromms that works for him, and he can tolerate it, and doesn't have any allergic reactions to it, then I would just serve that brand and leave it tere, eventually he will get hungry enough and eat it. .

thanks vikinggirl, i totally have the stronger will and if she doesnt eat it, we just put it away until next time. But seriously, when we add all those toppings, we have to start with a fresh bowl next time, and we waste SO MUCH kibble. like $$$ down the drain. I know she's not hurting for food, but when she won't eat her kibble/grub, i make sure she doesnt get PB or cheese either. I can stay strong, but it just makes me so frustrated.

ps. how was the high park bullie meetup? we are sorry we missed it.

 

[cowsmom]

ok it seems as if you have not found your dogs protein nor what they like to eat or your dog is just playing you. bullies are great for playing you to get what they want. i would start the beef right away and try to stop the venison as quickly as you can. was she fine with her fur before the venison? also how did she do with the lamb? there are many other foods to try. sarah loves stella n chewys, theres primal, vital essentials, k9 naturals, the honest kitchen, gramdam lucys, canned food is good. i would probably be feeding a vitamin with such a picky eater to make sure they are getting what they need. you can also do flaxseed or even some extra virgin olive oil on the food. there is yogurt, cottage cheese, beef broth. if they liked the egg i would try it again but only after the dog got straightened out. might be time for a vet visit to make sure the bald spot is not something else like mange. could have an ear infection to. ive heard malacetic ultra is good for that and chloraseb is good also.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Try not putting the toppings on, just one or the other, either just the Fromms kibble, or the home cooked, but don't mix them, you can give him the toppings as treats only after he's eaten his regular foods first. When he gets hungry enough, he will eat his food. Maybe he's getting too many choices, and it's making him picky? The High Park meetup was great, lots of bully's came out, and it turned out to be a really nice day weather wise. High Park has a really nice leash free park, and lots of room to run. I hadn't been to High Park area for many years. Sorry we missed you as well. Maybe we'll meet at the next one in the spring. There are a lot of pictures that amore downloaded on the meetup website. Check them out.

 

[aprilemari]

thanks [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] i think she is part playing me, but part not agreeing with the protein in the kibble possibly. She IS hungry when she doesnt eat her kibble, because she will eat green beans or sweet potatoes. She just KILLED two NVI raw beef medallions. These are only 15% protein, 8 ounces a day (8 medallians) is the suggested feeding. but this isn't alot of protein. although it is 95% meat/bone/organ. IF she keeps eating this raw diet medallions (omg so expensive), do you think its nutritional enough? we do not have enough freezer space for full blown raw. i gave her two medallions, and maybe two later this evening. just want to ease her into it just in case she's not agreeing with the raw right away. i just want her to eat and be happy you know?

 

[cowsmom]

well if i was given a choice of raw meat or kibble id eat the raw meat to. maybe you could just feed some raw patty with some home cooked. hm well i know your not supposed to mix kibble n raw but not sure bout raw n home cooking maybe ask first. there are many other brands of raw patties also you could look into. a vitamin every other day or 1/2 a day couldnt hurt or every couple days just to be sure. with 8 patties a day i would think that would be enough protein. it is going to get expensive if you have a big dog. i do freeze dried raw with sarah so i dont have to worry bout freezer space.

 

[Twice]

You can add the raw to anything that you cook. You can add it to rice, pasta, oatmeal, mashed potatoes (mashed SWEET potatoes ) then mix in some blanched veggies for extra vitamins and a raw egg for more protein if you want. But honestly, for an adult dog 15% protein is fine.

edit..

I was just talking to Sandy [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] about this the other day. Don't know why I didn't include it in my original reply. Sorry.

Zinc is great for skin issues. The regular kind you buy in the grocery/drug store is what you need, nothing fancy or expensive. Start with 500 mg once a day for the first couple days, then up it to 500mg twice a day.

 

[cowsmom]

You can add the raw to anything that you cook. You can add it to rice, pasta, oatmeal, mashed potatoes (mashed SWEET potatoes ) then mix in some blanched veggies for extra vitamins and a raw egg for more protein if you want. But honestly, for an adult dog 15% protein is fine.

edit..

I was just talking to Sandy @cowsmom about this the other day. Don't know why I didn't include it in my original reply. Sorry.

Zinc is great for skin issues. The regular kind you buy in the grocery/drug store is what you need, nothing fancy or expensive. Start with 500 mg once a day for the first couple days, then up it to 500mg twice a day.

you know i had actually included that with my reply then removed it as im just learning about it and thought i would leave it to you if it would help here as i did not want to post something that was not true or that i knew for sure.

 

[Twice]

you know i had actually included that with my reply then removed it as im just learning about it and thought i would leave it to you if it would help here as i did not want to post something that was not true or that i knew for sure.

and if I wasn't still sick and miserable I'd have said so sooner. No matter what I do I can't kick this cold and fever (and yes, I'm working on my own immune system too )

 

[cowsmom]

and if I wasn't still sick and miserable I'd have said so sooner. No matter what I do I can't kick this cold and fever (and yes, I'm working on my own immune system too )

i got a "small" 2/x 4 that might help. hope ur better soon to.