 Barked: Sun Jan 27, '08 7:12pm PST |
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my Rocco had chronic staph infections on his skin for years; the hair would fall out in round patches (resembling "coins") until he was almost completely bald. the vet would simply treat him with keflex. i was tired of pumping him full of antibiotics and afraid of his becoming immune to such a common antibiotic, so i found a new vet. he now goes to Banfield (at PetSmart) and we LOVE his vet. she is actually one of the two people (a married couple) who run the clinic and is great to work with. she recommended trying a prescription antibiotic shampoo on Rocco once a week (we really only bathe him every 2 weeks) and the staph infections have been gone for almost 2 years!
Rocco also had entropion, where the eyelids roll into the eyes. his was so severe that he was extremely lethargic and had to be forced to eat, drink, and go outside to "do his business". he was taken to a vet an hour away (this was before finding Banfield), and the entropion surgery was performed, as well as getting him neutered. his eyes aren't perfect, but better. his temper is also better without the testosterone being in his system.
now we have chronic bacterial eye infections being treated with basic antibiotic cream from the vet, placed directly in the eyes when needed. when the eyes aren't "goopy", we flush them with "long-lasting" eye drops (vet recommended) morning and night, and this seems to keep them under control.
my husband and i believe the eye infections stem from the constant yeast in his wrinkle over his nose (typical bulldog issue). no matter how much we clean it, it is always there. the vets have tried ketaconazole pills (anti-yeast), rec0mmended applying monistat on cleaned wrinkle, and even sold us vinegar-based wipes to clean them with (which Rocco HATED). nothing worked. then i found out that corn in dog food actually encourages the growth of yeast, and, of course, his nutro beef and rice dog food had corn as a major filler. so i switched him to blue buffalo fish and sweet potato formula about 3 weeks or so ago and his face looks less red, and he even licks his feet less, at least when we are home. it contains no wheat, no corn, and no soy (wheat and soy are major allergens to dogs). they also use no antibiotics to treat their meat products, nor steroids. check out their website www.bluebuff.com and the site i was introduced to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ i was told to try to stay on foods in the 4 to 6 star range. the site will give you reasons as to why they rate food with what ratings, and what ingredients cause what problems. blue buffalo is a 4 star, but it is the best i can get in my area, as the only pet supply store here is PetSmart. and with Rocco being the pickiest dog on the face of the earth, i'm just happy he will eat an all-natural, organic dog food 
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So thought i would ask all of you bully parents to see if you have used anything to treat or be proactive about common skin problems with your bully and if its worked ?
