What is Skin Conditions (Bulldogs)?
All breeds of dogs can develop skin issues but Bulldogs are predisposed to developing them. Their wrinkles may be cute but they are breeding grounds for bacteria and yeast due to the moist conditions. If you do not keep your dog’s wrinkles clean, and even if you do, he can develop severe skin issues. Prevention of skin infection is the best sort of treatment you can offer your Bulldog. You should take a visit to your veterinarian to discuss the best way to care for your Bulldog’s skin.
Bulldogs are prone to all types of skin conditions and infections. If your dog’s skin looks irritated in any way, take him to your veterinarian for an evaluation.
Symptoms of Skin Conditions (Bulldogs) in Dogs
Symptoms of this condition may include:
- Severe itching (licking, chewing, scratching)
- Hair loss, partial or complete
- Hyperpigmentation
- Scaling of the skin
- Skin lesions (eyelids, flexural surfaces, axillae)
- Superficial pyoderma (very common in skin folds and wrinkles)
- Secondary infection
Types
The types of skin conditions in Bulldogs vary depending on the location of the irritation on your dog. However, most of the conditions are diagnosed as starting from pruritus which then turns into a secondary skin infection. The condition may make his skin excessively dry or may make it more moist than normal. This, in turn, can be a superficial infection or one that penetrates deeper.
Causes of Skin Conditions (Bulldogs) in Dogs
The wrinkles of your Bulldog are ultimate breeding grounds for bacteria and yeast due to the moist, dark conditions. The ears are also a common breeding ground for the organisms. Your dog will typically present with severe itching. This will often change into licking, chewing, and rubbing of the entire body, especially around the eyes, muzzle, ears, between the toes, and groin.
Diagnosis of Skin Conditions (Bulldogs) in Dogs
When you arrive at the veterinarian’s office, she will start her diagnostic process by collecting a verbal history from you. She will want to know when you first noticed the skin abnormalities, if your dog has been displaying any of the typical symptoms of a skin issue, and if you have tried to treat it with anything over the counter or not. As part of her diagnostic process, your veterinarian will need to rule out other possible causes that can produce a region of skin with similar symptoms like the one he is presenting with. While the location of the skin issue will give the vet much needed information about your companion’s condition, she will want to rule out possible causes that may be associated. She will also want to know if you have fed him anything new lately, if he has had any changes in his routine or home that could cause stress, if he recently injured himself, or anything else information-wise that may be helpful to know about his situation.
Your veterinarian will then continue by performing a full physical exam on your dog. While it may be obvious where the lesion is and the symptoms it is causing your dog, she will want to do a full evaluation of his entire body system. This will allow her to check for other areas of sensitivity that have not yet developed into a skin infection but are susceptible to it. She will also check for evidence of parasites during her exam to see if they are a contributing factor to his symptoms. Your veterinarian may want to clean the area of skin to allow her a better look at the lesion. Clipping the area will remove excess fur from the region which will remove some of the related irritation.
In addition to diagnosing and treating the skin and possible infection, you will also need to investigate the cause of the initial symptoms. During her examination, if she found evidence of fleas or other ectoparasites, she may explain why this may be causing his symptoms. If it is in a location where there is a skin fold, she may take a skin cytology sample to verify what type of bacteria or yeast is colonizing in the area. Further diagnostics may be recommended depending on the suspected cause of your dog’s condition.
Treatment of Skin Conditions (Bulldogs) in Dogs
Ideally, the best treatment involves treating the lesion and preventing more from appearing. Bulldogs need their wrinkles wiped daily, or more frequently, to keep them dry and prevent bacterial overgrowth. If you do not begin a prevention method, such as cleaning, more skin lesions will appear. If your dog is licking or scratching in a specific area that leads to the lesion development, you must stop the need to lick and scratch in order to break the cycle. Proper treatment involves addressing the underlying cause. Your dog may stop licking for a while, but if there is an underlying cause, it is only a matter of time before he begins again.
If this condition goes untreated, your dog may develop papules or pustules around the lesions. This would need antibiotic therapy as it can be indicative of a skin infection. If this is the case with your dog, the veterinarian will send you home with a prescription for an oral antibiotic. Medications to be applied topically to the lesions may also be sent home depending on your dog’s needs.
If ectoparasites are the cause of or a contribution to his symptoms, your veterinarian will suggest a type of flea prevention or other medication to take care of the parasites.
Recovery of Skin Conditions (Bulldogs) in Dogs
Prevention is your best treatment option for skin conditions in Bulldogs. However, even with thorough and repetitive cleaning, some dogs are still prone to infection. Keeping your dog’s skin as healthy as possible can be obtained with a good, balanced diet as well as skin supplements such as a fish oil. Your veterinarian may also recommend you use specific wipes on areas of excessive moisture or even a medicated shampoo to keep bacteria or yeast from growing. If you take care of your dog’s skin properly, he should be able to have fewer issues than others of his breed.
Skin Conditions (Bulldogs) Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
My brindle English Bull Dog has for the 2nd time developed patches of hair loss that scab underneath. The 1st two spots have started on either side of his forehead. He rubs his head in the snow along our walks as I’m sure it’s itchy. I’ve also noticed in the past week that he is licking his paws also. He gets regular baths and I clean his face folds daily. The vet put him on Rhumadol last November. What are other creams etc that could help relieve his condition at present? I have an appointment at the vets in one week. Wondering if there is anything I could use till then?
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My granddog Macy was relatively healthy until last spring she had a false pregnancy and the vet recommended having her spayed. We proceeded and ever since then she has been progressively deteriorating with baldness, severe yeast infections, her eyes have become cloudy and stopped producing tears. We have changed vets, went through 6 rounds of anti yeast medications, antibiotics, and medicated shampoos. She shows small signs of improvement while on medicine but as soon as she finishes the meds she goes right back to horrible condition. She get so sick that she will barely lift her head, barely eat. I have been searching for answers and came across the hormone issue which makes sense to me based on her scenario of declining after the false pregnancy and spaying. I cant get her current vet to address these issues he is more focused on skin allergy or food allergy. Any suggestions would be helpful
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Have an American Bully, with itching and bad smell.
Has been to 3 vets. Treated for yeast, bacterial infection and used medicated shampoo, wipes, frequent baths and 2 recommended no grain diets. He is 1 year old. He has oily, gunky skin if not given frequent baths. Any other thoughts or help with this.
We had a similar problem, for a year I researched as many possibly solutions..very strong order is a give away to yeast..our dog developed resistance staph bacteria infection..I did however find products that helped immensely VETSFORBULLDOGS...DR.KRAMMER..Look it up..the shampoo and vitamins healed his loss of hair, cleared up his alien growth in his ears,the stores and smell..I gave him a bath for a month everyday...good luck
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I have an 18 month old English Bulldog. She has bumps all over and hair loss. Some of the bumps she has scratched and are bleeding or scabbed over. I sprayed the areas with hot spot spray hoping it will ease the pain and she will stop itching. When she goes outside she likes to roll on the grass or in the dirt, which I think gives her a little relief, although I'm not sure if that is making it worse or not.
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My 4 year old English bulldog developed a dirt like substance buildup along the belly region and in armpits. Shes recently began scratching in the last few days. We have changed food from whitefish and potatoes to lamb and rice. Is this most likely the cause? And will it clear up in it's own of we switch bacbu
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my dog has rash on his groin area,licks and scratch his feet and every thing flaking on his back i guess dandruff some loss of hair and small red bumps in his sides and under belly with red round circle indetween his back legs
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i wash him with antibantibacterial wash and hot spot shampoo but Benadryl works for him some time
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I have an 8 month old english bulldog and he recently developed a bump/ball in between his front foot toe and is also developing a pink rash in between his rear foot toe. He also has a red ball/bump above his nose in between the skin flap and nose. I had never cleaned it since i bought him and when i cleaned it the ball started bleeding. I hope you can give me advice for these issues and their causes thank you!
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