Bulldog with really bad skin problem

Justin1982

Hi,

My bulldog that I bought in April (7 months old) has developed a really bad skin problem that the vet cannot explain or treat properly. It started off as loosing hair around her neck over a few weeks. Then bumps started to be felt on her coat about 10 days ago. And since Sunday she has gone down hill really quickly after going back on antibiotics since Thursday - Monday 9th June. She is on a different antibiotic since Tuesday. She was on the first antibiotic about 5 weeks ago now for a week prior to the lumps appearing.

In the last two months she has also gotten bad case of worms (she passed a baseball size lump of noodles 4 weeks ago), has received two rounds of worm doses and pour on for fleas 8 weeks ago and a week ago.

I've spent a fortune at this stage listening to different vets waffle on when they clearly don't know whats wrong with her. Latest is that I have to leave her for a week to see if it clears up on a new antibiotic but she only seems to be getting worse. She is almost at the stage that she can't get up to drink water, seems to be running a bad temperature and has no energy as well as looking awful. Skin scrape came back negative for parasites although she has a staph infection. Vet said that the scabs were not usual ones for a dog and she may have had an allergic to the first anti biotic he gave her.

I really don't buy much of what they are saying at this stage and I can't really afford another round of splashing out hundreds of euro at a time to listen to another vet waffle on about possible allergies to meat or dog food or pollen or whatever else their imaginations can think up.

Any real advice or experience with such a condition? (PS. Don't mention allergies)

Aru

Justin1982 wrote: »

Hi,

My bulldog that I bought in April (7 months old) has developed a really bad skin problem that the vet cannot explain or treat properly. It started off as loosing hair around her neck over a few weeks. Then bumps started to be felt on her coat about 10 days ago. And since Sunday she has gone down hill really quickly after going back on antibiotics since Thursday - Monday 9th June. She is on a different antibiotic since Tuesday. She was on the first antibiotic about 5 weeks ago now for a week prior to the lumps appearing.

In the last two months she has also gotten bad case of worms (she passed a baseball size lump of noodles 4 weeks ago), has received two rounds of worm doses and pour on for fleas 8 weeks ago and a week ago.

I've spent a fortune at this stage listening to different vets waffle on when they clearly don't know whats wrong with her. Latest is that I have to leave her for a week to see if it clears up on a new antibiotic but she only seems to be getting worse. She is almost at the stage that she can't get up to drink water, seems to be running a bad temperature and has no energy as well as looking awful. Skin scrape came back negative for parasites although she has a staph infection. Vet said that the scabs were not usual ones for a dog and she may have had an allergic to the first anti biotic he gave her.

I really don't buy much of what they are saying at this stage and I can't really afford another round of splashing out hundreds of euro at a time to listen to another vet waffle on about possible allergies to meat or dog food or pollen or whatever else their imaginations can think up.

Any real advice or experience with such a condition? (PS. Don't mention allergies)

Bulldogs are notorious for skin problems....

so it could be just about anything at this stage...from deep skin infection to demodex mites...to an immune system problem.

your best bet is to get yourself to a vet who is interested in dermatology and who will do a step by step work up of the issue...ruling out issues as you go along with several skin scrapes etc...it is difficult to get on top of skin problems and can take time to get the correct treatment or to get an answer on what is the exact issue but if you get an idea of the exact problem you will have a much better chance of controlling the problem and hopefully be able to take steps to prevent it in future..biopsies can help.skin scrapes may need to be repeated.if its a deep seated infection it can take weeks and weeks to get on top of with antibiotics.knowing cause is important...no point filling with antibiotics if the infextion is present due to an underlying issue or parasite and will just keep coming back.

You have aquired one of the most expensive to dogs you can get...and im not talking about buying price, I'm talking about upkeep.bulldogs are great at keeping vets in business.
I highly suggest you invest in pet insurance asap...its to late for skin issues as these will be excluded most likely, but your pup may have possible leg,neurological,breathing eyes and or ear problems in the future....all of the above are common in bulldogs...oh and cant forget to mention csections are very common so take that into account if you decided to breed..that wont be covered by insurance.

Vets that are good and affordable are hard to find so id ask on here for recommendations.The fact yours have taken skin scrapes and found out what bacteria is involved is a good sign though.
For skin UCD is good.they have a leading dermatologist working there(rory breathnach)and worth the referral but they are expensive.

anniehoo

Justin1982 wrote: »

Skin scrape came back negative for parasites although she has a staph infection.

A negative parasite result doesn't mean your dog is negative for parasites. Skin scrapes are so subjective and whilst your vet can do a good "scrape" they mightn't actually capture the parasite themselves, especially if you're talking about the likes of Demodex canis, which is a burrowing mite. If it's "scabies" Sarcoptes scabiei,slightly better. If your vet is considering a parasitic cause then treatment should be given and time allowed to take effect regardless.

Skin issues are a pain OP and you need to be patient I'm afraid.

wrote:

(PS. Don't mention allergies)

Halfway through your post I was thinking allergies.

Aru wrote: »

Bulldogs are notorious for skin problems....

so it could be just about anything at this stage...from deep skin infection to demodex mites...to an immune system problem......

....your best bet is to get yourself to a vet who is interested in dermatology and who will do a step by step work up of the issue. skin scrapes and found out what bacteria is involved is a good sign though.
For skin UCD is good.they have a leading dermatologist working there(rory breathnach)and worth the referral but they are expensive.

+1 Fantastic advice from Aru.

Justin1982

Sorry, the pictures of her didn't post properly....Grrrrrr!

So on Thursday morning, the dog was in bits. I was afraid to touch her as she her body looked like she'd come back from a tour in Vietnam and got caught in an ambush. Literally looked like she had been shot about 30 times on one side with the sores splattered all over her (in particular on one side). And her face looked a mess with these huge sore looking growths all over.

Anyway, I rang the veterinary clinic again that day while in work and spoke to the vet. Told him I felt that she should have been given a steroid on Tuesday when she went in and got a anti bacterial scrub and new anti biotic and that she might need a IV line to get fluids into her in case she died of dehydration. So my girlfriend brought the dog back into vet on Thursday when she got home from work. Saw a new vet in the same clinic who agreed she should get a steroid injection. So her condition seems to have stabilized and the sores are slowly getting better and she is walking around fairly ok today and drinking.

Que rant about vets!

I find it absolutely retarded the way the vets treated her though. Unfortunately, I work long hours and can't take time off work at all so I am relying on my girlfriend to bring the dog to vet. In fairness I'd be lost without her but at the same time she has no experience with animals or dogs until I got one a few weeks ago so she is not really able to question the vets logic or determine whether what they are saying is good or bad.
In this clinic, the dog has seen at least 4 of the 6 different vets that work there. To their credit I acknowledge that this is probably a rare condition which is hard to diagnoze but I find it unbelieveable that on two seperate occasions the clinic failed to give the dog a steroid to help her. The dog was getting worse each time and they didnt give her one. They had some silly reason like the dog could have a rare condition that they might want to test the dog for in a few weeks and the steroid would prevent the test working. That may be but it seems obvious to me that the risk of not giving her the steroid when she was in bits already was much more than the risk of her having this rare condition that they would test her for in a over a weeks time. I mean like it looked like the dog was dying and they didnt give her a steroid which has subsequently really lifted her since getting it.
Also the one time I did go into vet in the evening when it was getting to emergency status in my mind, a new vet decided it would be a good idea to pull off all the scabs the next day when we left her in with them. When she got home all the sores had been opened up and she looked dreadful. It was after that that she really went downhill and I feel they just opened up the sores to further infection. You wouldn't go pulling raw scabs off yourself if you were in bits the same as the dog was. They obviously are part of the healing process. And lastly, I can't believe that the vet gave the dog another two week dose of the first anti-biotic when the dog's sores only started to appear at the end of the first weeks dose of the same antibiotic before that. Did it not occur to him that it was not helping her and she could be taking an allergic reaction to the antibiotic?

Justin1982

Aru wrote: »

Bulldogs are notorious for skin problems....

Vets that are good and affordable are hard to find so id ask on here for recommendations.The fact yours have taken skin scrapes and found out what bacteria is involved is a good sign though.
For skin UCD is good.they have a leading dermatologist working there(rory breathnach)and worth the referral but they are expensive.

I had considered contacting a veterinary department of one of the universities but seen as the dog is now recovering appreciably I probably don't have to.

I did realize that Bulldogs are brutal for health problems but I did as many checks as possible on the mother and father before buying her. They are both over two years old and haven't had any problems so far so her genes shouldn't be too bad . She was loosing a little bit of hair on her neck but nothing to really worry about. It was just that my girlfriend was convincing me that something really bad was wrong with her and she needed to go to the vet. Anyway, the latest vet has said he is fairly confident that she was allergic to the antibiotic she was given. Said she probably didnt react too badly to it the first time because she took it along with a steroid. But when she got it the second time she reacted really badly to it as she didnt get a steroid with it.

My sister has a Bassethound who also got a really really really bad skin condition a few years ago when he was about 8 months old. I ended up having to fund her vet visits although I didnt live near her so didnt get to go with her to vets. I remember paying mad amounts of money for different vets she went to and each time the dog got worse and worse. On one occassion the dog was bad for a week after being at one vet. So she brought him to another vet who kept the dog for a half day, did some crap treatment, charged me EUR 350 and straight away the dogs health went into freefall and nearly died. The dog was an awful sight. I thought we should get him put down as he was suffering so much for so long. But my mother brought him to a vet in Tullamore in the end, who gave him one injection of something (I dont know what it was. The mother didnt have the sense to ask) and he started to recover immediately. So my faith in vets is at an all time low now.

I'd love if they just told me "I don't know, go somewhere else. Now give me the 80 euro you owe me thanks" rather than just guess, talk **** and experiment with my dogs life.

SingItOut

What food are you feeding her on OP? The reason I ask is because my terrier suffers from skin conditions (hot spots) and it seems to be a wheat allergy she has. On one occasion her whole face swelled up and she could barely breath. It's taken at least two years to figure that much out on my own though through illimination diets, if it turns out to be a food allergy you'll have to do the same I'm afraid. Hopefully your dog will be sorted out soon it's horrible seeing them in pain like that

tk123

SingItOut wrote: »

What food are you feeding her on OP? The reason I ask is because my terrier suffers from skin conditions (hot spots) and it seems to be a wheat allergy she has. On one occasion her whole face swelled up and she could barely breath. It's taken at least two years to figure that much out on my own though through illimination diets, if it turns out to be a food allergy you'll have to do the same I'm afraid. Hopefully your dog will be sorted out soon it's horrible seeing them in pain like that

+1 I was going to ask the same. My friend's dog has skin issues and ear infections as well and is going in for scrapes and skin biopsies next week. They won't entertain my suggestion that it's his food

SingItOut

tk123 wrote: »

They won't entertain my suggestion that it's his food

Their vet will most likely tell them that it's a protein issue and to put the dog on a low protein food :rolleyes: my vet tried to tell me the same, luckily I knew better! Ear infections are a pain to treat, a cairn terrier I had before constantly got Kanker in her ears. Could your friends dog have Kanker?

tk123

SingItOut wrote: »

Their vet will most likely tell them that it's a protein issue and to put the dog on a low protein food :rolleyes: my vet tried to tell me the same, luckily I knew better! Ear infections are a pain to treat, a cairn terrier I had before constantly got Kanker in her ears. Could your friends dog have Kanker?

Their groomer told them it was too much protein, vet blamed red meat :rolleyes: Be interesting to see what the new vet says it is.

Whispered

When my boy had demodetic mange he got a staph infection on top of it. It was treated with antibiotics but the main thing was to keep the skin as clean as possible. To this end I had a medicated shampoo, prescribed, which he was bathed in every two days. His bedding was changed and boil washed twice a day and he wasn't allowed get at all dirty when he had open sores. We had a load of kongs and other chews to discourage scratching.

I also used various supplements, both vitamins and homoeopathic to try boost his immune system. (under vet supervision to ensure nothing reacted with the medication he was on).

I know it's not helping your dogs underlying problem, but it might help the healing process now that the condition seems to be getting better.

Did you get any answers as to what it might be? If not, I'm just wondering why you're adamant that it's not allergies.

orchidsrpretty

Hi op, can't see the pictures but what you've described sounds a little similar to one of my boxer dogs, albeit a lot worse. She had such terrible trouble since she was a pup. The various vets I brought her to didn't have a clue and said she had everything from scabies, mange, to all sorts of allegeries including being allegeric to grass...

We decided to try see if we could fix it ourselves as was getting worried about the amount of times she was taking steroids. We tried all combinations of wet food, raw and nuggets.
We pretty much have it under control now. We came across hills prescprtion z/d ultra allergen plus food. Not 100% on exactly how it works but Apparently there is something in the food that the stomach doesn't register as "food". It's amazing how much of an improvement this has had. She is a much happier dog and hasn't had to take steroids for a long time.

Hope you can get it sorted. It's horrible when your doggie is ill and can't tell you what's wrong.

diannesaloe

i have some very good suggestions but i can publish them here if you still are having trouble with the dog let me know and i'll advise you the best i can

DBB

There is nothing to stop you giving advice, as long as you don't promote or advertise your own products or services.