Skin problem with my Eng. Bulldog. Please help! :(

[Andres_Boston]

Hello,

I've an 11mo. English Bulldog and I belive he has an issue with his skin.  Currently, the skin (wrinkles) around his nose is extremely red, and has some little bumps (almost like warts).  We clean him daily and I'm not sure what else to try.  the food that he eats, is Blue Buffalo - Blue Wilderness (Puppy) http://www.bluebuffalo.com/dog-food/wilderness-puppy and there's no wheat in his food. He does tend to go to the carpet and his bed to rub his nose.

[TattooGurl]

You know I had this dog years ago a German Pointer and he would get these red bump on his nose and he would always rub and lick. Oddly enough it turned out he was sensitive not to his food but to his water. The bumps would only show up where the water would splash his face when he was drinking. My tap water was too hard so I got a water softener and magically the bumps went away and he never got another again.

[Jerry_NJ]

We have our Westie on a Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish no grain kibble as his main dish.  He has been on it for about a month, and while he is a picky food eater, he as eaten this with little or not complaint.  He is missing some chewing teeth so he does like a splash of water, I use water out of the tap at about 125 degrees, which cools by the time the metal dish hits his "table".  His fur is beautiful but he still has problems with licking his paws raw and some chronic ear itch problems.  

I just started two days ago using Zymox OTIC HC 1% (hey, I can get 1% HC for 1/10th cost in a Walmart brand, or use Benadyrl ointment.. yes I have tired those for the ear flap and didn't get results).. but on the first day of the Zymox which is a thick liquid one puts into the ear canal as well as the flap showed promising results immediately.  He has been on it for two days and does very little ear scratching. Some of his problem is Yeast related we can smell it soon after he has a medicated shampoo bath.. we hope improvement in the ear will reduce the smell, the brand claims it will.  Zymox has the highest user rating I have seen on anything on Amazon - and with over 1000 responses that's amazing in itself, I remain hopeful on this product working.  

As for the licking, I also purchased some Bittler Lime by 4 Paws which seems to be about a strong a lick deterrent as can be purchase over the counter, and he licks on.  I think he likes the taste... we'll see.

I may be getting too old to own a dog, this Westie is a lovely dog, but what a battle with health problems, just like us old folks but the dog is only middle age now, what does the future offer?

I may post the above as a follow up on  my previous posts on the subject, but put it down here as a possible lead to a solution.. good luck.

[LoveMyBostons]

I have a boston terrier who was always red around his nose. We tried benadryl which helped with the itchiness but made him too drowsy. He'd get scabs from itching his little face. We even had a biopsy done of his facial skin. The results of that were inconclusive, just suggesting an allergy. It couldn't determine if it was environmental or otherwise though.  

My vet suggested doing a food trial. That wasn't an option because the dog can eat only ONE kind of food for 6 weeks - nothing else. No treats. My dog is on 4 daily pills and there would be no way to hide them in food if we did the food trial.

I ended up switching him to Natural Balance duck & potato food. Charlie hasn't had a red face since. I suspect Jerry's right. Your dog probably has an allergy/sensitivity to the protein (chicken) in his food. I'd suggest trying a new protein and seeing if that makes a difference. They have some crazy stuff out there - bison, rabbit, salmon. Just be sure to introduce it slowly - my vet recommends spanning a food switch out over a week.

[Jerry_NJ]

I am not familiar with the bumps but our Westie has skin problems, dermatitis/yeast - has a bad odor too.  We use a medicated shampoo at least once a week that contains something to actively fight yeast infection - I forget the name of the active ingredient, Koe .. something along that line, I'm sure help will show up.

I think you are doing the right thing diet-wise, but it may be necessary to test different protein sources.  I assume the "wild" line has wild type meat/fish. We think our Westie may be allergic to chicken, maybe even beef, so grain free food is a good start but many not be the whole answer.

I am now trying a new ear treatment... for our Westie that has a chronic ear itch and odor, smells like yeast.  I'll post on the results of that effort, just started yesterday evening, second treatment coming up in a hour.  I see some improvement, but think it a bit early to judge.