I am new to the French Bulldog Forum and my Frenchie needs help please

[turkeypets]

Hi i am happy to be a part of this forum to help my Frenchie Hansel live a better life and share my experiences with having owned two Frenchies since 2003. My current Frenchie named Hansel has been having the worst skin problems of his life since October 2023.
He had fleas last year i think it was August. Well, we have all our pets on Frontline for him and Revolt for the kitties.
I will attach a picture or two of his skin, i have been taking them every month. I have tried Zymox shampoo, then Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiseptic and Antiifungal Medicated Shampoo, then Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiparasitic & Antiseborrheic Medicated Dog Shampoo, then Davis Maximum Chlorhexidine 4% Shampoo now for a week. I just gave him his second bath with the Davis, his first was last week March 25. When i bathed him then i did it once, the directions say for best results repeat after the first time, so i did it twice this morning.
Here is what his skin looked like Februrary 29. This is what he has been having but he has had some spots that look black that was back in January.
The vet has had him on Clindamycin and then Simplicef with Prednisone back in January and Februaury , then Cephalexin in March with Predinsone and gave him a shot of Cytopoint on February 22. I saw his skin get better but not that much.
I decided to try a shampoo that my vet didnt recommend to see what would happen, the Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiparasitic & Antiseborrheic Medicated Dog Shampoo it has Salicylic acid, coal tar, sulfur and oatmeal in it. His skin looked better than ever after a bath with that shampoo. It shedded the yellow around the spots and i didnt see as many new spots anymore. Then about a week later i started seeing new spots and used the shampoo again but it didnt help.




This picture is from September last year.



This picture is also from September last year.

Im really worried about Hansel calling the vet again this week to make another appointment.
She insists this is an allergic reaction from fleas even though we have him and the cats on flea and tick medicine for three months she says it could take months to a year to kill them all in the house.
Im praying somebody sees this post and recognizes these spots on his skin and can give me some advice.
We had him on Pure Balance Lamb and Fava bean in the summer last year.
Then his skin started and i switch to Pure Balance Salmon and Pea. Now I have Hansel on Natures Balance Limited Ingeredient Dog Food Salmon and Brown Rice. We never fed him Salmon until all this started we thought it would help with his allergies and skin but maybe its making things worse, im looking to switch the Nature Balance Limited Ingredient Duck and Potato.
He was on that in the past and i cant remember him having any skin bad problems when he was on it.

 

[Loops1522]

It looks like a hot spot to me. If so the way I treat them is by washing the area with dilute hibiscrub then dry, very important to make sure its dry. Next I dust on a little flowers or sulphur powder or green clay powder with a make up brush and leave it do not put cream on as you are effectively sealing in the moisture. Repeat every day until clear. Once healed you can rub a tiny amount of coconut oil in to soften the skin.

 

[Cbrugs]

Have you taken him to a dermatologist? Has the vet done any skin scrapes?
You’ve definitely tried a lot of different shampoos and foods. I like to use Nustock for skin issues but the best thing to do is find the cause.

 

[turkeypets]

It looks like a hot spot to me. If so the way I treat them is by washing the area with dilute hibiscrub then dry, very important to make sure its dry. Next I dust on a little flowers or sulphur powder or green clay powder with a make up brush and leave it do not put cream on as you are effectively sealing in the moisture. Repeat every day until clear. Once healed you can rub a tiny amount of coconut oil in to soften the skin.

Thank you! but he has too many spots to do that id be bathing him in it.
I switched him to Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Duck and potato, getting him away from seafood.
And he has received a double bath(as directed) with the Davis Maximum Chlorhexidene shampoo.

 

[turkeypets]

Have you taken him to a dermatologist? Has the vet done any skin scrapes?
You’ve definitely tried a lot of different shampoos and foods. I like to use Nustock for skin issues but the best thing to do is find the cause.

no not yet last time we were at the office the vet mentioned that was an option, we went through it with our previous frenchie, way too expensive.

 

[Cbrugs]

no not yet last time we were at the office the vet mentioned that was an option, we went through it with our previous frenchie, way too expensive.

You could try an at home allergy test that you then mail in to the company and they provide an analysis. However, they are not necessarily accurate but could provide you with a baseline.

Also, I would stay away from food that has potatoes in it. And add in a good probiotic if you aren't already. And try the Nustock. If it is any kind of infection, that should help clear up the spots and grow the hair back. Then start off very slowly with an elimination diet to see if you can find the issue.

 

[turkeypets]

You could try an at home allergy test that you then mail in to the company and they provide an analysis. However, they are not necessarily accurate but could provide you with a baseline.

Also, I would stay away from food that has potatoes in it. And add in a good probiotic if you aren't already. And try the Nustock. If it is any kind of infection, that should help clear up the spots and grow the hair back. Then start off very slowly with an elimination diet to see if you can find the issue.

thank you i wasnt aware that there were home kits. I was concerned to about potato, it slipped by me when i bought it that it does have regular white poato in it. He has has sweet potato before and was okay. Thank you!

 

[2bullymama]

Agree with Citty -- get potatoes out and try to avoid chicken/beef, they tend to be allergens for many dogs. NuStock stinks but it really works! it could be a staph infection which you will need to strengthen the immune system... a probiotic is needed to help there.

 

[turkeypets]

UPDATE: He returned to the vet April 4 and had his second Cytopoint shot . I also have been bathing him with DAVIS Maximum Chlorhexidine 4% for a couple weeks and he is doing much better! Anybody having a problem like we did with his skin ,use this shampoo as directed, bath once then immediately bath again. The first time we bought the shampoo we applied it only once and waited the 15 minutes. Then a week later we applied it, waited 15 minutes then rinsed, then immediately did the same thing again. He had to soak for a half hour but i saw a big improvement in the next few days. More so than when we bathed him once a week prior. Thank you very much to everyone that reached out to us in this post!