Part american part old english bulldog persitant paw licking, ear scratching allergies

[Robert Dominelli]

If anyone here has had bulldogs with severe skin conditions can you post what worked for you? Poor Brutus is a paw-chewing ear-scratching mess.
Vet recommended he have no meat whatsoever and we bought Iams vetrinary formula skin and coat +
but that just turned his skin irritation from pink to a dark reddish-brown colour...and similar colored leaky eye-snot.
Northern Ont

 

[2BullyMama]

.... no meat? please get him off the Iams it is really not a good food.

Avoid grains and white potato..... look into a high quality grain free food -- Taste of the wild, Orijen, Acanca, Earthborn, Fromm are a few that many members have great results with.... also, The Honest Kitchen and Nature's Variety

 

[cali baker]

I would get him off the Iams too! follow with what Christine has suggested above...those are all great brands. You might want to think of a supplement also, like Nuvet labs...here's a link to read up more on them: http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...nts-and-medicines/19192-nuvet-supplement.html

 

[Vikinggirl]

If anyone here has had bulldogs with severe skin conditions can you post what worked for you? Poor Brutus is a paw-chewing ear-scratching mess.
Vet recommended he have no meat whatsoever and we bought Iams vetrinary formula skin and coat +
but that just turned his skin irritation from pink to a dark reddish-brown colour...and similar colored leaky eye-snot.
Northern OntView attachment 92824View attachment 92825View attachment 92826View attachment 92827

Hi Robert, I have been experiencing similar allergy problems as you with my male EB Dozer. I don't have a lot of experience with just skin problems, but Dozer is allergic to Chicken, Salmon, Beef and Salmon. He presents with symptoms like Goopy eyes, itchy paws and excessive licking, to the point where his paws become swollen and it changed to a reddish brown colour, he scratched his chest raw, and he also has yeasty ears. With all of Dozers allergies, I have done lots of research on different foods, which is actually how I found this site. I also researched the sources of where dog food comes from and about additives, preservatives and chemicals that are added to both dogfood and commercial dog treats. My dogs came to me from the breeder on Royal Canin, which I discovered is not a very good food, it is rated as a 3 Star food on the Dogfood Ratings on the Home page. The Iams that your vet recommended is a horrible food, and is rated as a 1 or 2 Star food. I also discovered while I was researching Dogfood and Nutrition, that both medical doctors and veterinarians only cover 1 chapter on Nutrition, so they are not that knowledgable on Nutrition. Their education is focused on Diagnosing and treating diseases, not on Nutrition. They also sell these foods, ( my vet sells Royal Canin in her office), and I discovered that they get kickbacks from the food companies for selling them in their office. While vets are good at diagnosing and treating diseases and skin problems, they usually push these Prescription Foods, like Royal Canin, Hills and Iams, and they also over prescribe medications for allergies and skin issues like Antibiotics, Prednisone and other Steroids. These medications help in the short term and only temporarily work as long as they are on them, but really shouldn't be used for long term management of allergies. I have changed Dogfood 4 times due to allergies. I've been through all the Fromms proteins, chicken, salmon, beef Frittata and the last one was Lamb and Lentil, which I still feed to my female Blossom, and she does well on. What I did with Dozer two months ago, is I put him on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Vegan Kibble for a month, plus we took him off all treats, fruits, vegetables and supplements. He vet said that this was okay to do, but for no longer than a month, because there is no protein in it, and Dozer would lose muscle mass and weight, which he did a little bit. The idea of doing this is to detoxify his system from all proteins and then put him on what they call a Novel Protein, which is a protein, that he has never had before. Examples of these would be Kangaroo, Venison, or Rabbit. I put Dozer on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Kangaroo, and he did improve a lot, but still was licking his paws, and still had some yeasty ear problems as well as goopy eyes, but not as much as he had before. I made the mistake of putting him on the Rabbit formula, and he blew up with all the symptoms again, and with black soft poops.
I just started him this weekend on Earthborn Holistic Coastal Kibble which is a Grain Free White fish based food, which I've heard good things about. It really is just trial and error to find what they tolerate, and it can take up to a month before you see any improvements or benefits to a food change, as it can take up to a month before the old food leaves their system. I plan to feed this last kibble for 3 to 4 weeks and see how he tolerates it, and if he has any reaction to it, if he doesn't improve, then this is sort of the last protein I can give him, since chicken, salmon, beef, lamb and rabbit are all out. I'm hoping the white fish will work out for him. If this doesn't work for him, my last two options are to try the Honest Kitchen dehydrated mix, and add my own protein source, or to put him back on the Natural Balance Vegan kibble and if he can't have any protein, then I will add protein sources such as Beans, kidney beans, cottage cheese, and Eggs. He did very well on the Vegan, food, but it wasn't good for long term, because he lost weight due to it having no protein at all, but it may be okay if I add other sources of protein.

Once I have him on a kibble that he tolerates, then I will slowly add back his fruits like strawberries, cut up apples, bananas, blueberries, and watermelon as treats, and I will add back his veggies like cooked broccoli, carrots, green beans and cauliflower. I will also start him back on his supplements , we give our guys plain unsweetened yogurt on their morning kibble for the Probiotics, which is good for digestion and it boosts the immune system. This is good because allergies are caused by an abnormal response of the immune system, so by boosting it, you help with fighting allergies and infections. We also add apple cider vinegar to either their drinking water or their evening meal. Their are many benefits to ACV, such as it is a natural anti bacterial and. Aural anti fungal, which again boost the immune system, and it is a natural anti inflammatory which helps with joints and muscles. Most diseases including Arthritis, are caused by inflammation in the body. ACV also balances the Ph levels of the blood, keeping a healthy Acid/Alkaline Balance. I like adding these supplements as well as Kelp and Omega Fatty Acids, because they are natural and inexpensive, and have no side affects
and can help with keeping our dogs healthy.