Hello, we are new to this forum my names Chris and my frenchbulldog is named Lewy. Iāve had him since he was 10 weeks old, Heās now 4 years old and will be turning 5 this coming February. Basically heās been having problems with what I guess youād call hives? On his outer front shoulders and hips, his fur looks rough and bumpy and if you feel the rough areas you can feel bumps making his fur look raised and rough. They are small to dime sized bumps, I canāt really tell if the bumps are red they seem skin colored but they are hard to see under his coat. He may also get one or two small ones on the top of his head and a one or two dime sized ones on his back but mostly his outer shoulders and outer hips look really rough. They donāt bother him and he doesnāt fuss about them. Weāve been to the vet twice, they never really are any help or have much to say about it and itās a greatly reviewed vet in my area. They basically have just prescribed him medication two times now, temeril-p and cefpodoxime, one of which is a steroid. I forget which one, but I do know steroids are bad for him and I will not be giving him anymore of that medication. The first time it was prescribed the bumps went away and then returned about a month after he finished the prescription. We went back and it was refilled and we tried again, same results. They want to put him on a safer, daily pill called prednisone which Iām against. I know thereās got to be another way to handle these flare ups naturally. Iāve tried some of my own methods but they havenāt been successful. Iāve been giving him a 25mg benadryl a day, along with coconut oil rubs and a teaspoon orally which he loves. Iāve also been doing oatmeal baths where I fill the tub, grind up oatmeal to dust, add water to the oatmeal in a bowl and then directly apply the oatmeal to his body and let him relax for a bit before wrinsing him off. Unfortunately none of this has helped and the bumps remain. His diet consists of natures balance puppy kibble chicken flavor (he wonāt eat bigger kibble) one cup per day served with a scrambled egg and either freshly cooked plain chicken breast or a 90% lean plain cooked hamburger patty. After his meal he gets 4-5 carrot sticks, about 10 blueberrys and then cookies as a reward. Sometimes pineapple or strawberry instead of blueberries when we buy them. I realize itās not the best kibble in the world but the other food I serve with the kibble is plenty nutritious for him as a package deal. Iāve been feeding him this way since he was a puppy and Iāve never had any problems. Heās 32 pounds In extremely healthy athletic shape, he loves to swim (with his vest) and we play long distance fetch everyday. Heās happy and has non stop energy for fun and games. Heās not fixed if that matters. Iāll attach some photos of how the bumps look. I love my dog, heās with me 24/7, heās my service dog as well and I take extremely good care of him so itās frustrating I canāt figure this out. Please, if you can help us and lend some advice he and I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
