Help Needed! New English Bulldog Parents need Advice

MoeKnows

New member
Jan 19, 2020
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California
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Moe
Hi everyone, weā€™re new here! We adopted an English Bulldog from the Humane Society on 1/13, named him Moe :). Our vet thinks heā€™s around 1 year old, and he is the sweetest ever. This is our first Bulldog, but weā€™re quickly learning that these guys have special needs. On Friday (1/17) we noticed heā€™d thrown up in the morning. He continued to throw up several times throughout the day, and developed what we thought was a cough. Our first thought was kennel cough as weā€™d just brought him home from the shelter a few days before. We took him to our vet and they prescribed an antibiotic, so we took him home intending to start it after heā€™d eaten dinner. However, that evening he went downhill quickly, didnā€™t want to eat, drink, and as the evening wore on didnā€™t seem to want to get up at all. He looked bad enough that we took him to the emergency vet and to make a long story short, he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. Heā€™s been in hospital since Friday evening, yesterday he was improving, but he vomited again this morning and aspirated again. This evening we visited with him and he looked tremendously better. Theyā€™re going to continue to treat with various antibiotics and oxygen overnight, and recommended we take him to a daytime hospital tomorrow (emergency vet closes at 8 am Monday morning).

Sorry for the novel, but my question is this. From all of your experiences, what are the chances he does this again? Weā€™re not even one week in and have spent a few thousand dollars now, and are unable to sustain this if it becomes a trend. Iā€™ve read quite a few posts and learned about the steam shower and humidifier (ultrasonic!) which I plan to start tomorrow when he comes home, but if he does this again Iā€™m not sure what to do. We have learned about the slow feeders and having him rest after he eats, are there any other recommendations to prevent this from happening again? We have already fallen in love and Iā€™m terrified of anything happening.

Thank you all for your input!

Sara
 

ddnene

EBN's SWEETHEART aka our little GOOB
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Jun 19, 2013
14,554
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Willow (2015) Walter (2014-22) Winston (2012-13) Wellie (2012-13) Bella (2007-13)
:welcome2: to EBN!!!

First of all THANK YOU for adopting... SO many bullies end up in shelters. I'm SO sorry for what has been going on with Moe... my advice to you is find a GOOD vet that has experience with English Bulldogs. They have very specific needs, and a good qualified vet is the best place to start. Sounds like he could have an elongated pallet, which would explain the vomiting and aspiration. Does he seem to gobble down his food too fast? You may want to add some warm water to his kibble, or get a slow-feeder bowl (or put a tennis bowl in his food bowl) to help him slow down on the meals. Try smaller meals to see if this helps w/the vomiting...
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,580
3,669
Gilbertsville, PA
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USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
Hi everyone, weā€™re new here! We adopted an English Bulldog from the Humane Society on 1/13, named him Moe :). Our vet thinks heā€™s around 1 year old, and he is the sweetest ever. This is our first Bulldog, but weā€™re quickly learning that these guys have special needs. On Friday (1/17) we noticed heā€™d thrown up in the morning. He continued to throw up several times throughout the day, and developed what we thought was a cough. Our first thought was kennel cough as weā€™d just brought him home from the shelter a few days before. We took him to our vet and they prescribed an antibiotic, so we took him home intending to start it after heā€™d eaten dinner. However, that evening he went downhill quickly, didnā€™t want to eat, drink, and as the evening wore on didnā€™t seem to want to get up at all. He looked bad enough that we took him to the emergency vet and to make a long story short, he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. Heā€™s been in hospital since Friday evening, yesterday he was improving, but he vomited again this morning and aspirated again. This evening we visited with him and he looked tremendously better. Theyā€™re going to continue to treat with various antibiotics and oxygen overnight, and recommended we take him to a daytime hospital tomorrow (emergency vet closes at 8 am Monday morning).

Sorry for the novel, but my question is this. From all of your experiences, what are the chances he does this again? Weā€™re not even one week in and have spent a few thousand dollars now, and are unable to sustain this if it becomes a trend. Iā€™ve read quite a few posts and learned about the steam shower and humidifier (ultrasonic!) which I plan to start tomorrow when he comes home, but if he does this again Iā€™m not sure what to do. We have learned about the slow feeders and having him rest after he eats, are there any other recommendations to prevent this from happening again? We have already fallen in love and Iā€™m terrified of anything happening.

Thank you all for your input!

Sara

Welcome... thank you for rescuing! What part of CA are you in? We capfuls have a member recommended vet near you to help.

Tracey has you covered on advice... small meals till better and keep up the steaming


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

cefe13

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2013
3,714
205
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Sweden
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Castor (2013-2021 RIP)
Hi Moe and welcome, says Castor!
Sorry to hear you are going through this but good that you took him in and that he's feeling better.
 

oscarmayer

Have Bulldog Will Travel
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Jan 20, 2016
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Like has been suggested, try smaller meals...and if feeding kibble, spread it out on a large baking pan. That will force him to chase the food around in order to eat, and prevent him from gobbling it up and possibly choking on it. Have him evaluated for an elongated soft palate and/or Megaesophagus.
 

Dollys Owner

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Feb 20, 2017
2,005
24
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Canada
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Honey
Like has been suggested, try smaller meals...and if feeding kibble, spread it out on a large baking pan. That will force him to chase the food around in order to eat, and prevent him from gobbling it up and possibly choking on it. Have him evaluated for an elongated soft palate and/or Megaesophagus.

To further elaborate on this, if he has elongated soft palate he can get a minor surgery to correct this. The sooner you do the surgery the better. If he has megaesophagus, he should be fed using a Bailey chair since surgery can't cure this. Oscarmayer has an amazing rescue dog named MINI with megaesophagus so he's an excellent resource on this.
 
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MoeKnows

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Jan 19, 2020
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Moe
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Thank you All! I am learning how to post replies and will reply to all ASAP! Moe was transferred from the emergency yesterday to our normal vet, who released him back to us yesterday afternoon. He is resting comfortably at home and seems to be improving little by little! Thank you ALL for your warm welcome and great advice. This new mama is feeling much better!
 
OP
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MoeKnows

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Jan 19, 2020
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Moe
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Hello! Thank you for the welcome! Yes he was gobbling very fast. We did buy a slow feeder yesterday when he came home and are carefully measuring each meal, and feeding several times a day, rather than 2 bigger meals. So much I wish weā€™d learned sooner so the poor guy didnā€™t have to go through this. He hasnā€™t vomited again since Sunday morning at the emergency, so fingers crossed weā€™re on the right path!
 
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MoeKnows

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I am in So Cal, Riverside to be exact! Iā€™d appreciate any recommendations! Yes we are continuing the steaming and coupage with smaller meals. So far so good :).
 
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MoeKnows

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Jan 19, 2020
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Moe
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Hi Moe and welcome, says Castor!
Sorry to hear you are going through this but good that you took him in and that he's feeling better.

Thank you!! Iā€™m so grateful to have found a forum of people with such a wealth of knowledge!
 
OP
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MoeKnows

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Jan 19, 2020
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Moe
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To further elaborate on this, if he has elongated soft palate he can get a minor surgery to correct this. The sooner you do the surgery the better. If he has megaesophagus, he should be fed using a Bailey chair since surgery can't cure this. Oscarmayer has an amazing rescue dog named MINI with megaesophagus so he's an excellent resource on this.

Thank you both. We will be looking into both of these issues and hope to get resolution soon!
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,580
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Gilbertsville, PA
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Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)

Cbrugs

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Dec 9, 2016
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King Louie, Jax (French Bulldog), Ella Mae and Darla Rae
I am in So Cal, Riverside to be exact! Iā€™d appreciate any recommendations! Yes we are continuing the steaming and coupage with smaller meals. So far so good :).

Hey...I grew up in Redlands, CA! But that was way before I had any bullldogs. I am in the Seattle area now.
 
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MoeKnows

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Moe
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Hey...I grew up in Redlands, CA! But that was way before I had any bullldogs. I am in the Seattle area now.

Nice! I did my masters at U of Redlands, itā€™s such a beautiful area! Small world.
 

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