Roy-k Staff asked 2 years ago
Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets
Hi.i have a 5-month-old blue french bulldog. He has been itching since i got him, he licks his laws, scratches his legs, and rubs his eyes and ears. He is up to date with flea treatment and has had a skin scrape and has no mites or skin conditions.
He has not broken any skin or got any sores as of yet.
Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets DR GOOGLE:
My vet has told me to put him on a hypoallergic diet, but some sites on google say this is pointless.
Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets WHICH ONE & HOW LONG:
I feed him Purina pro plan salmon for sensitive skin and stomach, he wasn’t eating it dry so i was adding taste toppers, beef and chicken, and fish flavor to make him eat his food. The itching got worse so i stopped doing this and just started adding fruit or veghto his kibble. Should i do the hypoallergic diet, if so which one is the best one? once the trial is done what food do i go back to
Roy-k Staff answered 2 years ago
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets, hi and welcome to vet4bulldog Q & A. From your notes, it does seem as though “bulldog allergy” is the cause of the itch, but there are other reasons for perceived excessive itching.
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets DR. GOOGLE WARNING:
To all our bulldog community, I cannot emphasize it enough, be cautious and skeptical when relying on Dr. google for diagnosis, treatment, and any general medical advice. Your google “pointless” comment is the best illustration of this warning. “Pointless” is nonsensical and incorrect, or possibly worded or taken out of context by the readers. My articles on food allergy and diets should help those of you that want more in-depth information on that subject.
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets DIAGNOSIS:
The proper way to test for food allergy is to conduct an elimination trial with a hypoallergenic diet, preferably a prescription one.
The trial period should be for 8-12 weeks.
CHALLENGE: In order to confirm the outcome, you should conduct a challenge at the end of the trial period with your regular “allergenic diet”. If the challenge provoke itching that was controlled while on the trail, food allergy is likely the diagnosis.
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets RX OPTIONS:
For the trial purpose, you should use a prescription RX diet, there are a few options including
- NOVEL
- HYDROLYZED
- AMINO ACID
Proplan has a new diet called Veterinary Diets EL Elemental, It is an amino acid-based diet, formulated for dogs with food sensitivities. The main difference between EL and HA Vegetarian is that EL is an amino acid with only 134 daltons, whereas the HA Vegetarian is a hydrolyzed diet and about 12,000 daltons.
In contrast to HA Vegetarian, EL is also approved for a growing bulldog and French bulldog puppies
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets TRIAL:
Your food trial mentioned in your Q is counterproductive, the trial demands that you stay on the hypoallergenic chosen diet and that diet ALONE. The allergy is to the protein source, by adding chicken and beef for flavor your trial deems worthless.
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets TIPS & WARNINGS:
TIP: Keep in mind the partial or lack of success to the food trial could mean that your bully might have a mixed allergy or strictly an atopic allergy (environmental), thus the borderline improvement.
TIP: Even if your puppy itch is solely due to a food allergy, the trial could fail. Thus, on some occasions, you might need to try a second different hypoallergenic diet which will require starting the trial once again.
WARNING: Do not add give anything oral during the trial including chewable flea and heartworm preventatives (use topicals or injectable instead).
A lack of improvement or only partial improvement does not entirely rules out food allergy.
WARNING: The trial could also fail if during the trial your bully picks table food that fell on the floor, or received a treat from the neighbor.
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets ITCH CONTROL RX:
If the itch intensifies you might need to add prescription itch control Rx such as short-term steroid, cytopoint, or apoquel.
Answer for Bulldog and French Bulldogs Hypoallergic Diets NON-RX ITCH CONTROL
MULTIMODEL APPROACH / TOPICALS & SUPPLEMENTS: Regardless of the itching underlying cause (food, atopic, other) and the therapy of choice (steroid, cyclosporine, cytopoint, apoquel)) you should ALWAYS combine topicals therapeutics short and long term.
For itch control ALWAYS inculde topical & supplements therapeutics
TOPICAL THERAPEUTICS: Topicals include medicated shampoos & conditioners like my V4B Bully ItchLesss medicated shampoo, and V4B Bully ItchLess Cream Rinse Conditioner as well as medicated gels and sprays.
SUPPLEMENTS: Supplement usually includes fish oil like my V4B Bully Fish Oil Efa Skin-Joint-Immune chews.
BULLY BUNDLES: We also offer economic itch control bundles.
BULLY PROBLEM FILTER: You can check my bully filter that helps match your bulldog and French bulldog common medical conditions with my non-prescription recommendations.
“An Ounce Of PREVENTION Is Worth A Pound Of CURE”
*This guide was compiled courtesy of Dr. Kraemer, a “must-read” for any current or future bulldog and a French bulldog owner