Expert: English Bulldogs ( Marie ) e-mail me at mpmaltese@gmail.com - 2/2/2010

Question
QUESTION: hey how are you, thanks for taking the time to read this. I have a english bulldog boy and a girl. He is 2 years old and i flew him over from the states when he was a year and a half and now im living on the gold coast, Australia, warm and humid at the moment. he has been having some skin problems lately. his legs and chest and belly all have sore and he is starting to lose hair. also its giving him ear infections and overall he just gets depressed, there not itchy. my baby girl is 14 weeks and she goes everywhere he does, and does not have any sores. he is on Eukanuba sensitive skin dry food and i give him omega 3 1000mg twice a day for his shedding. i took him to the vet and they said its enviromental, ive done the best i can to get rid of weeds and anything else. she gave him antibiotics and they cleared it up but now he is going down hill again, any advice would be appreciated im gonna book him into the vet again tomorrow. thanks MITCH

ANSWER: Hi Mitch,  Give your Bulldog some Acidophilus ONE of a  (1-3) Billion CFUs per day for at least 100 days.
This is a very safe probiotic found in most health or vitamin stores.  ( Made for humans but pets take it , too)  HIDE in some low fat cottage cheese or some wet canned dog food.

Also, look for some Baby cornstarch powder - ( yes, the kind for babies...must be cornstarch)
Place some of this powder on a DRY wash cloth and pat it onto the areas in question.
This will help to keep the areas dry and less Moist.

Put your boy on a GRAIN-FREE food - the Eukanuba is not too wonderful...
Look for something like Innova EVO or WEllness Core:
Do a 50:50 mix of your old food and the new food for 3 weeks.

Here is a list of some grain-free foods;
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free



HOPE this helps....

Grain-free will Reduce the ear infections...I hope!

Marie Peppers LPN MA

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey im in australia and them products arnt really availiable. the vet recommended Eukanuba but most vets dont know bulldogs. is this food ok http://www.nutroproducts.com/ncdry-lbalr.shtml the only grain is rice and it is easy to get, thanks so much for your fast response and great help.

Answer
You can find the probiotic in your country... Look in the human vitamin section for Acidophilus.
Ask someone to help you....
As for the food - yes - rice is ok - JUST watch out for Corn..
CORN is the big allery problem for dogs.

Good luck

Marie