So, I need some brainstorming... Bulldog allergies.

My male AB is not doing well. It's nigh impossible to keep weight on him and his coat and skin are a mess. Underside is pretty much bald and nipples are swollen from constant scratching. He used to get hotspots every few days but I actually haven't seen one pop up in awhile (knock on wood). He's been to the GP and to a dermatologist who put him on a regimen of allergy shots and regular bathing, plus a medicated lotion for his wrinkles and feet. Changed his food from a limited ingredient lamb formula intentionally to a WORSE quality food because sometimes Bulldogs don't process the higher protein well and do better on lower quality food...as backward as that seems. It didn't really do anything, neither for the better or for the worse, so there's really no point in keeping him on it. GP vet did bloodwork and he's had other tests done, everything has come back normal except of course the allergy tests, where he's allergic to **** near every grass, common tree out here, and human dander. Allergy shots don't seem to be doing much. We cut the spacing of them back to try to build up his tolerance, still doesn't seem to be doing anything after several months and several thousand dollars.

He actually looked amazing for awhile, coat was thick and shiny, and white...and then completely crashed and was worse off than he was before we did all of that.

Any ideas on what to try next, short of turning the poor dog into Bubble Boy?

[Emily]

Have you thought of finding and feeding him local, raw honey? I've never done it but man do people swear by it. I know it has to be local and it has to be raw and unfiltered though.

Other than that... man that sucks. You have my sympathy.

Originally Posted by Emily

Have you thought of finding and feeding him local, raw honey? I've never done it but man do people swear by it. I know it has to be local and it has to be raw and unfiltered though.

Other than that... man that sucks. You have my sympathy.

I honestly wouldn't even know where to get any of that in the southern NV area. This isn't the best place for fresh, local anything, at least not that I've ever managed to find. Suppose it wouldn't hurt to post a Craigslist ad and ask around.

Also wanted to mention that the weight issue seemed to happen only after he had surgery to remove a foreign object from his stomach. is there any possible complication that could have come from that type of surgery to cause that issue, or would that all purely be coincidental and likely related to the allergies? Doesn't seem like there could be, but...

[CharlieDog]

I'm not sure what to do about the hotspots/allergies, but satin balls work miracles for putting weight on dogs. Knox has been dropping weight lately because Indy was in heat and food apparently isn't as cool when there's bitches in heat around.

She's finally coming out and he's eating again, but I'm supplementing him with satin balls because he's a naturally thin dog that careens right into skinny when he doesn't eat.

[Kat09Tails]

Take what records you have and go to a different vet dermatologist - don't waste anymore money at a GP vet. Also bloodtests for allergies are kind of worthless.

[chaospony]

Nothing helpful to add but I have a cat who is allergic to the world so you have my sympathy.
It sucks big time when the world is one giant allergen

Originally Posted by Kat09Tails

Take what records you have and go to a vet dermatologist - don't waste anymore money at a GP vet. Also bloodtests for allergies are kind of worthless.

He's been to one, the other tests done by the GP were to determine if there was an underlying internal issue causing the weight problem, aside from allergies (dermatologist said the allergies shouldn't be causing it).

[Kat09Tails]

Originally Posted by SevenSins

He's been to one, the other tests done by the GP were to determine if there was an underlying internal issue causing the weight problem, aside from allergies (dermatologist said the allergies shouldn't be causing it).

Do you keep a journal of how his allergies are? Does it seem to cycle? Have you had his thyroid checked?

Ugh... this has gotta be frustrating for you both.

Originally Posted by Kat09Tails

Do you keep a journal of how his allergies are? Does it seem to cycle? Have you had his thyroid checked?

Ugh... this has gotta be frustrating for you both.

I was keeping notes for awhile but now it's pretty much same old, same old. Nothing is really getting "worse" and nothing is getting better. Full panel thyroid done last year, looked fine.

I'll definitely try the satin balls as a supplement (for some reason I always forget about those) and hope there's nothing in them he's allergic to, to see if I can bulk him up a bit because I literally have to feed so many meals per day of so much food right now that he can hardly process it all.

[CharlieDog]

If there IS something he's allergic to, leave it out, or substitute it for something else, which is what I did for Enzo. She doesn't seem to do well with oats, so I gave her rice instead.