allergies for french bulldogs

[David Larson]

Hello all, I would like to know if there are any owners who have experienced allergies with their frenchies? My Lucy has frequent outbreaks of skin inflammation that my vet and myself think are food allergy related. She has all the classic symptoms, paw licking, scratching, and severe inflammation of the skin in the neck and leg pit(armpit?)areas. The vet has allowed me to give her Benadryl which seems to provide no relief at all. I am in the process of working toward a grain-free diet in order to eliminate that as a cause. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[Dean P Rushworth]

Hi. Mr Leopold my frenchie has suffered allergies all of his life. I did the allergy test to find out that he in fact was allergic to. Lets just say this. The list was large. Most importantly I found he was highly allergic to dust and to some types of grasses. Needless to say this makes for an interesting experience. Regarding his food. After the tests and his low tolerance of most, lets say normal dog food. I found most successful and positive either. Horse meat (readily found and bought by Italians for themselves) and Tuna. I mix this with brown rice and selected vegetables. Regarding the shampoo. The best I have to say is a Neem oil based product. I also found Chamomile tea wiped over his face and in particular his eyes has had great results. Tshirts will be Lucys saving grace. Mr Leopold has worn them during difficult times. It stops them from harming themselves so much with their scratching.

[Jonni Bailey]

I feed my Quigley. Orijen. It's great. But occasionally (2 times) he seems to come in contact with something that gives him a lumpy inflammation on his skin as well. I think it is when we take him to our horse ranch. I am suspecting he is eating bit of horse manure and there is something in the manure, a supplement or possibly even the hay itself. Just sharing to see if it helps you uncover your problem.

[Jay DeHaan]

I have the same problem My 18 month old has skin allergies, and got them when he was about 7 months old, he also has the acne problem down around his groin area w/ the pustules. I got an allergy test done, and he is allergic to many things, mostly food. The only thing he can have is an all vegetarian food. He is constanly breaking out with welts all over his body. The benedryl is a waste of time. The dog has been on every type of medication under the sun. The doc has no idea what it is he is absolutly stumped. My next step is to get a skin biopsy as a last resort. My suggestion is to get an allergy test, if you already have not, though it is a little pricy. I think mine was like $150 - $200. Get a second opinion. and if something works out for you please let me know.

[Anthony Caggiano]

I'm reading all of these posts and I know what you are going through my frenchie started off with all of these problems from stomach problems to hives,paw licking, red bumps and alot more. Finally after a year we a starting to control it, the food that works best is the vet prescribed royal canin venison and potato it smells terrible but it solved the stomach issues completely. Next for the allergies we started him on benedryl that helped very little then my vet put him on temaril p and that helped alot and he was doing great on it but the vet told me its not good to keep them on it for life so I sprung for the blood allergy testing which is not even half the price as the dermatologist and actually came up with good results. I had a serum made from the results and I have been giving him shots for the last week every other day and he seems to be doing great.

[Christine Guzobad]

The best GRAIN FREE food for my guys has to be EVO the ancestrial diet. Give your dogs meat it is what their bodies need. Not grains

[Roxy & Stella]

Hello,

We are familiar with severe allergies to the point of bald spots, scabs, and chewing paws until quicks bleed into nails. While all of this was happening, we tried everything. Special oatmeal baths, food changes, benadryl & claritin. Nothing seemed to help but we wanted to try all routes before getting a blood test for specific allergens. (It was expensive but worth it). After the blood tests came back, Stella is allergic to trees, grass, ragweed, dust mites, etc. This info was helpful, and after that we decided to do order the allergy injections which hyposenstize her to her allergens. She has just started a few weeks ago so not much progress as of yet. Just something to consider talking to your vet about. HTH

[Diane]

Our Poppy had the same thing. Boy what greif. We put her on duck and potatoe and she has now just a little bit a itching on her paw. Her hair is growning back in the bald spots. So there is hope.

[Megan Naro]

We now have our Wrigley on Steriods. This is his second outbreak with allergies. We tried different food and that was not the cause. It seems to be the lawn treatment that is used around our neighborhood. I

[fran and dari]

Megan,
A very important habit to get into, is wiping Wrigley off EVERY time you bring him in with a damp cloth.. better yet, at the end of the day, in addition, set him in the bathtub/shower and rinse him with clear water. this gets off allot of the things that are irritating him..

Keep a packet of unscented babywipes or a wet washcloth by the door, so it is handy.. wipe him down.. It makes a huge difference..

Has your Vet suggested Benedryl(up to 3x a day) rather than the steriods?