According to the shelter staff, Mochi (pronounced "mo chee") lives up to her name! This super sweet little girl was surrendered to the shelter as her skin issues could not be resolved. She'll be evaluated at the shelter tomorrow and likely to be sprung. If anyone's up for fostering a very affectionate girl that will likely need a special diet, please contact me. More information on her will be posted tomorrow.
8 comments:
just wondering what causes these skin problems with Bull Terriers-I have a all white male BT who we adopted almost 6 months ago and we also are fighting skin problems with him...Any help or info would be appreciated!
Good luck to anonymous!
Mopchi has such a sweet face, I hope a foster comes available for her.
:) martine
We also have adopted white bullies (all from Rescue!) :-) and have always had a few skin issues too. Most haven't been too bad, but we found that bathing with Colloidal Oatmeal Soak (this stuff can be found at any drug store) really helps soothe their itchy skin and those awful itchy feet/toes they get. We do that 1-2 times a week. Sometimes we just fill the tub with a few inches of slightly warm water with the oatmeal soak, and let her itchy feet soak for 5 minutes. Don't rinse! Just dry with a towel. Also avoiding any grains in their food and snacks/treats helps. Sometimes grains seem to make them more prone to itchy problem skin. Some say feeding a raw diet works wonders too. And we use 'unscented' baby wipes each time our bully goes outside, and especially when they roll on the grass.
Hope that helps a little. I'm sure there are many others on here who know more solutions! Personally we don't like to use any chemical treatments or sprays or anything that they can lick right off and get sick.
P/S Hope Mochi is doing well too!
I believe that the root cause is a compromised immune system as it can make a dog more susceptible to allergies or disorders that cause skin problems.
My basic first aid is to remove all grains from the dog's diet (many BTs are allergic to corn, wheat and other grains), switch to a raw/easily digestible homemade diet and boost the immune system with supplements such as Fish Oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin C and probiotics.
Prednisone seems to be vets' first treatment of choice, however, it's a steroid and it suppresses the symptoms and the immune system. The latter can lead to skin/ear infections which are then treated by antibiotics which can upset the flora and fauna of the digestive system by killing off the good bacteria as well (this can be helped with probiotics). Can you see the endless cycle here?
As one poster pointed out, oatmeal baths and Epsom salt feet soaks can help soothe itchy/irritated skin and feet.
A wonderful nutrition resource is Dog Aware: http://www.dogaware.com/
A great email list if you want more information about raw/homemade diets is: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/raw4bullies/
Good luck!
Just wanted to thank all of you who responded to my question regarding my Bully "Capone's" skin problems!!! We actually have ANOTHER vet appt today to discuss whats next for the poor guy!!! If I get any good info I will post it in hopes of helping any other precious bullies with this issue!!!
Capones Mom :)
wow. she does have a sweet face. let me know if she is submissive with other dogs and not too rowdy. wondering if willy might accept an itchy girl in his life!
dorey
this is just a update on my last message regarding why bully's seem to have so many skin issues-well as I mentioned in my last post-we had another vet appt and are very excited to start a new treatment which is a immune booster-it is given by shot once a month-our vet has done quite a bit of research on this and is very encouraged with the treatment/results he has seen so far-if any of you would like more info regarding it - I would be happy to give you the info on it....thanks for all your helpful messgaes and thoughtful words!
Capones mommy
Capone's mommy--- Please update us with info on what exactly this treatment from your vet is. what kind of once a month shot is it?
i'm sure there are others interested who have similar problems with their bully's skin issues.
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