Bulldog allergies... Please help my baby
Submitted by Tootsie the bully on August 1, 2015 - 10:37amMy baby girl has always had problems with her allergies... which I know is a very common bulldog trait. We have been through a lot with her, learning along the way all that we couldnt do with her around. She is allergic to chicken, so we do not feed her any kind of chicken, and she is on a completely grain, wheat, soy free diet. She is about 1 year and 7 months old and still has skin problems. My boyfriend and I do not have the money to keep bringing our little girl back and forth to the vet like we have. We do have pet insurance for her, but it only helps so much. I would really love it if someone could help us with advice on what to do for her to help her with her skin allergies. I do give her benadryl, but it doesn't seem to work like it used to. It upsets me to think that my baby is suffering. Was wondering if there was something that I could maybe add to her diet to help her with her skin issues. She is just constantly scratching and rawing up. I just want her to be a happy, allergy free baby. Thank you !
I guess the first questions would be about environment....
Do you have her on any type of flea medication? What type of laundry detergent or softener do you use on her bedding, or on your rugs, bedding, etc? Do you use air fresheners? Candles or wax burners?
To eliminate the itching, you must find the cause. My first suggestion is to make sure you have her on a vet purchased flea medication (or use Advantage, which is what I use, and buy it at Tractor Supply or PetsMart). Even if you "dont have fleas", she might! One flea causes my German Shepard to itch incessantly, it drives her crazy. She is so allergic to them! So make sure you are using effective flea medication, and that you have totally cleaned her environment of them.
If you use laundry detergent on her bedding, what are you using? Tide is very hard on dogs, not sure why. Don't use softener, it can cause itchies if she has a contact allergy.
Do you give any treats? Supplements? Anything? If so, stop all of it. Give her ONLY her grain free food. My girl is hyper-sensitive to fish and chicken, so I have her on Earthborn Holistic bison grain free and she is doing well. She is also allergic to grass, so I keep her on Claritin and limit her time outdoors. You can get Claritin non-drowsy, try that in place of Benadryl for a week and see if it helps.
Good luck!
Amy and Sophia
Thank you so much! This
Thank you so much! This really helped. I do use Tide when I wash everything so I am going to try and switch to something else! We do give her treats but they are the same brand as her dog food, which is just dried out beef. I also use air freshners and candles. I am a pretty OCD about the smell in our apartment, so I hope that isn't it. I will stop using them and hopefully this helps! I really appreciate it thank you!!
If you have any canine dermatologists near you...
it might be cheaper in the long run to have a visit with one. Otherwise, you can have her allergy tested, we did that with one of our guys a few years ago. It did point out some things we weren't aware of. There is also a new drug out for allergies, it's called Apoquel I believe? People have had a lot of success with it. It's probably expensive, but it lasts for a while.
I think we are going to try
I think we are going to try and look into the dermatologist. Her allergies have always been an issue for her, and we just want her to be a happy, healthy little girl!
Nutrition
What kind of food is your girl bully on? That matters too. We recently put Oliver on Dinovites to go along with his grain free Taste of the Wild. O WOW!!! HUGE improvements in his skin...HUGE! His coat is SO SHINY! It literally glistens in any light. Dinovites is a food supplement for dogs that have skin issues. You can go to Dinovites.com and look around. It is pricey BUT THE EXTRA MONEY was so worth it. He was a mess allergy wise and other immune issues. But now he is SO much better.
Christiane Stine
mom to Oliver