My English Bulldog Tidus has been possessed!

[bullmama]

OK so you all know that I was battling a problem with Tidus's eyes. A bit of a refresher on the history:

He kept getting eye ulcers, was stapled, they were swollen, and I spent a fortune at an optimologist who would have me keep coming back for 'check ups' and was 'avoiding eye surgery', and in the end he tells me he wants to do surgery on his eyes in January. After I spent about $1000 on these staples and check ups.

Then I switched his food and he developed a huge hot spot. So my mobile vet (who is not a bully vet, but an HONEST vet), gave him steriods to sooth the hot spot and said he had a rash that was so hidden under his fur, and this was the cause of his batting at his ears. Still having the eye problem too, Tidus was forced to wear robes and head cones, and needless to say he was a very mellow boy. He just laid around and cuddled.

Well, the new treatment worked. I looked at all the foods I tried and decided that all of the common ingredients was chicken (even Salmon formulas have some chicken in it). Even tho he did good on those formulas it did not cause the hot spot. When I put him on a chicken formula from Fromm was when this hot spot happened. So I switched him to the Fromm Beef Fritatta, which has NO chicken in it. The Fromm Chicken also has grains, the beef Fritatta does not.

Within 3 days Tidus was possessed. He runs, jumps, plays, and is a frisky little guy! He obviously feels SOOOO much better. But now I feel bad, because my mellow guy is not mellow anymore. He was sick that whole entire time. He did not feel good at all. Because he was never diagnosed properly. Now I almost feel as tho he has been possessed by some other dog because he has never been this way!

Moral of the story: If your vet is not able to help your dog within a reasonable amount of time, it is time to get a second opinion!!! When I brought up food to the optimologist, he was very unconcerned and did not think it had anything to do with food. He was just sucking me dry of all the money I had. And we would have ended up doing an unnecessary surgery on his eyes in January. Thank goodness I learned what I learned on EBN and that my mobile vet LISTENS to me!

 

[TessaAndSamson]

So happy to hear he is feeling better! It amazes me how much vets discount the importance of nutrition. So sorry it took you so long to figure it out!!!!

 

[KMARINO]

I feel your pain! I was truly to the point before I found this site of not wanting to give Vegas away, but I didn't want him either, he was sooo Stinky it was smelling my whole house up.

Through this site I discovered a good food/diet for him, the change was slow but so worth it. I started with a grain/gluten free food then you told me that there was still better. The next bag was Nature's Variety Instint Salmon, and WOW what a change in him over the month. No Smell, no itchiness, not red in the face and spots on his belly, a complete change around!!! With looks and attitude, a new man as I have said before, you could just see that he felt so much better, even in his eyes, which became clearer on the new diet.

The second bag I bought was the Natures Variety chicken, it was like two steps forward, then one step back with the chicken!!. I will not put him on the chicken again. I went back to the Salmon and once again he is doing fantastic!! I felt horriable that HE felt that miserable for months before I found this site. I was really starting to resent him for smelling even though I washed his face, the red streaks from his face smeared all over my dining room wall where he would pace back and fourth rubbing his face, the constant rubbing his face in my carpet and here the whole time.... it was MY fault even though I did ton's of research on the breed!..... Poor Vegas!! And you know all the research you do really there is not alot of information on foods. Thank god I found this site.

I am so glad Tidus is doing better, and you can not convince me of any thing different than finding the right Diet makes all the difference in the world!!!

 

[sheshistory]

That is excellent news! I am glad Tidus is feeling better - I remember telling everyone about a similar change in Truman a couple weeks after his hip surgery, when I could really tell he was feeling great! He was a terror ... but in a good way!

So, are you saying that the eye issue was linked to his skin and ear problems? I wasn't sure if it was all related and the food has helped everything clear up?

Maybe you'll post a pic of your frisky little elf now that he's feeling better too?

 

[BruceP]

Yea for Tidus! It's quite amazing how important diet is and how little importance vets put on diet.

 

[Pendragon]

Yea.. Im so glad he is feeling better that is wonderful...

 

[sheila]

i'm glad he feels better! yay for tidus, truman, and vegas! it's sad to think about how horrible they feel and all they want to do is love. no complaining, just dealing with the pain/discomfort. such troopers! when i first got butler he was very sick with valley fever. he couldn't move or be pet (petted?) without wincing and screaming in pain. i had him on two pain killers and he still would cry and moan. it was awful. at some points i was certain he was dying :'( it took a few months before he started feeling better and now he turns into a wild man for a couple hours each night. I call him the terrorist when he's crazy. now i'm working on finding a food so he quits itching his face ears and neck.

 

[cali~jenn]

Wow I am so happy for him to finally be better! Amazing how little vets know or care about food and how it effects them. You should share your story with fromm, maybe they will put it on their site. lol

 

[Lacey28]

That is great news!

 

[lexterwayne]

so glad tidus is feeling better. i bet he feels like another dog!

 

[bullmama]

Thanks very much, I will definitely take some pics of him tomorrow, I promise! On the top of my to do list!

 

[Gertie's Mom]

Such great news! I'm so happy you finally got it figured out and he's feeling better.

 

[bullmama]

Here is my boy this morning.... isn't he a handsome fella?

And here is where his hot spot was:

[MENTION=860]jillh10[/MENTION] you asked if I was certain it was the food. My answer is no, not 100% certain, but I have been told by two reliable sources that hot spot behind the ears is a sign of particularly a food allergy. Not certain, of course. And I know his eyes are still a bit black around the eye on the fur, but he still gets eye boogers after sleeping for a long time. But his eyes are open wide, and he is not winking at me all day like he was. My poor baby. All I know is that this food is working well for him. The steriods are worn off by now and he is still doing well, so I this is only confirming the dog food theory. I am so glad, this has been a very long battle for him.

 

[sheshistory]

He looks great!

I was wondering more if the eye issue was related to the skin and ear issues - it sounds like it was, which isn't surprising because Linus used to have swollen eyes before I switched his food. I'm so happy for the you and the little man...it stinks when you know they don't feel good!

 

[BruceP]

His 'tiger' striping is so kewl!