Puffy Bullmastiff Mouth

[dragonwoman]

Very good that you have ditched his plastic feed bowl.

You will also need to stop him using plastic water bowls and chewing plastic toys. Those pimples are infected, and you will need to clear up the infection as other posters have said, but do keep him away from the plastics to lessen the chance of a future re-infection. He is gorgeous!

The brother of a Border Collie I had many years ago was eventually pts with severe allergy issues which got beyond what his owners were prepared to treat. It was believed to have started from them giving him milk in the dairy at milking in cheap plastic bowls, they were advised these had some coating on them from manufacturing which must have penetrated the surface. Think we know a lot more about food grade plastic containers these days but my dogs all have stainless steel bowls just in case.............and I buy vinegar in glass bottles!!!

[Guest _MADCAT_]

Sorry for the delayed reply, I foster cats and kittens and some aren't well at the moment so haven't had a chance to get to the pc properly..

I just got back from the vet ($175 later) and they said he has some sort of allergy and put him on a course of 2x twice daily tablets and 3x twice daily tablets for a week (then ween him off)

They said otherwise he looks in great health and has a great coat (which I was chuffed about considering I shuffle bills around to feed the dogs good food) but she told me to change from Advance Well Being to Hills Complete Diet or something... Is there really a need for change? I don't mind the price if its what he needs but he's been doing well on Advance?

Thanks for all the replies about suggestions!!

Edited to add :

I use a giant plastic tub for water for them - any suggestions on where I can get a BIG non plastic bowl / tub for them that isn't possibly the reason for infection? ie bunnings ? or like one of those really heavy stone type bowls? sorry can't think of the name..

Dora is balled obsessed, she ALWAYS carries a ball in her mouth..

Edited December 6, 2013 by _MADCAT_

[persephone]

Hopefully dog will be feeling more comfortable soon .. I presume the vet sells Hills? That's usually why they recommend it ;)

Love Dora & her mouthful! :)

[Guest _MADCAT_]

Hopefully dog will be feeling more comfortable soon .. I presume the vet sells Hills? That's usually why they recommend it ;)

Love Dora & her mouthful! :)

Yeah they do ;) Pretty much only what they sell.. I get the suggestion but why change when he's doing well on what he's on? *shrug*

He's also had a pooing problem since day 1 - he can't poo solid so they said change his diet for 2-3 months and if its the same to come back and start doing fecal tests.. so atleast I have a few months to save for that trip!

[persephone]

perhaps try him on probiotics (you can use the human ones) . The two things could well be related - some sort of odd way his body works(or doesn't) ......

what happens if he gets more raw soft bone in his diet ? does his poo change then?

[Pjrt]

a cheap solution for a super heavy duty non plastic water bowl is an old concrete wash trough.

or get stainless steel buckets and make a fixture to attach them to something, as in hook them or tie them to a solid structure.

[Erny]

Hopefully dog will be feeling more comfortable soon .. I presume the vet sells Hills? That's usually why they recommend it ;)

Love Dora & her mouthful! :)

Yeah they do ;) Pretty much only what they sell.. I get the suggestion but why change when he's doing well on what he's on? *shrug*

He's also had a pooing problem since day 1 - he can't poo solid so they said change his diet for 2-3 months and if its the same to come back and start doing fecal tests.. so atleast I have a few months to save for that trip!

Personally ….. I'd suggest you contact Augustine's Approved. Had same problem with my boy - perfect poop since feeding the Augustine's Approved suggested diet plus the AA SuperBoost they sell. And all of it is completely natural. Speak to the guy there - he's really helpful.

And/or go the hair-DNA analysis that I mentioned.

I can tell you now that I spent a small fortune (not to mention time) dotting from one commercial food to another, not to mention Vet bills. Things might improve on the switch over (sometimes a little, and sometimes not at all) but never totally right for long and eventually deteriorated back to square 1 and wished I'd done the above two things two years before I did.

If your dog's poops are right, I'd suggest that's why he is sporting the skin issue and potentially doesn't need antibiotics (which can add to upsetting an already upset stomach as well - depending on the dog).

Edited - added words to para to make sense of what I was expressing.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Erny

[Nic.B]

I am amazed at the difference in different foods for my large breed Fern.

I have all of my dogs on VIP grain free and raw, previously they were on canidae salmon. I trialed them on the VIP grain free and they are doing well on it (much cheaper) so I am sticking with it for now.

Though when my mum was minding the dogs she fed then some of her supercoat. The other two were fine but Fern lost so much weight, it passed right through her system. She developed a rash on her belly, and a nasty yeast infection in her ears and feet.

If Fern has any foods that dont agree with her the same thing happens. She only developed the yeast infection on supercoat though. Funnily enough my mum and dad's retriever also had reoccuring yeast infections in her ears, I suggested changing from supercoat to another dry and no more ear infections! weird.

Be careful when buying products sold by some vets. My Kelpie had some dental work done last week, I bought some aquadent for Bella's water while she recovered which was $50. It was $24 on line when I checked. You can save lot's of money if you check out prices etc :)

Erny, you always offer such great advice :) and explain your thoughts so well.

Your dogs are gorgeous!! Absolutely beautiful

[Guest _MADCAT_]

Pimples/acne, can occur as a result of hair follicle inflammation. This can progress to small ulcerated sores. I'm not a Vet, but "small ulcerated sores" is what it looks like to me and they do look irritated and angry. Mastiffs are one of the breeds prone to this, but this doesn't mean it should be considered "normal", IMO.

Thing is, if the follicle/s rupture, it can turn into furunculosis and so this does require some attention.

*snipped*

A hair-DNA test would reveal imbalances within the body and natural herbal supplements to assist the body heal itself would be beneficial.

Hopefully dog will be feeling more comfortable soon .. I presume the vet sells Hills? That's usually why they recommend it ;)

Love Dora & her mouthful! :)

Yeah they do ;) Pretty much only what they sell.. I get the suggestion but why change when he's doing well on what he's on? *shrug*

He's also had a pooing problem since day 1 - he can't poo solid so they said change his diet for 2-3 months and if its the same to come back and start doing fecal tests.. so atleast I have a few months to save for that trip!

Personally ….. I'd suggest you contact Augustine's Approved. Had same problem with my boy - perfect poop since feeding the Augustine's Approved suggested diet plus the AA SuperBoost they sell. And all of it is completely natural. Speak to the guy there - he's really helpful.

And/or go the hair-DNA analysis that I mentioned.

I can tell you now that I spent a small fortune (not to mention time) dotting from one commercial food to another, not to mention Vet bills. Things might improve on the switch over (sometimes a little, and sometimes not at all) but never totally right for long and eventually deteriorated back to square 1 and wished I'd done the above two things two years before I did.

If your dog's poops are right, I'd suggest that's why he is sporting the skin issue and potentially doesn't need antibiotics (which can add to upsetting an already upset stomach as well - depending on the dog).

Edited - added words to para to make sense of what I was expressing.

Will definitely be looking into this more!! Thank you for giving me an alternative to just being "his food".. I'll be very much so looking into Augustine's Approved !

Will call some vets and get some quotes soon and save up! :)

I am amazed at the difference in different foods for my large breed Fern.

I have all of my dogs on VIP grain free and raw, previously they were on canidae salmon. I trialed them on the VIP grain free and they are doing well on it (much cheaper) so I am sticking with it for now.

Though when my mum was minding the dogs she fed then some of her supercoat. The other two were fine but Fern lost so much weight, it passed right through her system. She developed a rash on her belly, and a nasty yeast infection in her ears and feet.

If Fern has any foods that dont agree with her the same thing happens. She only developed the yeast infection on supercoat though. Funnily enough my mum and dad's retriever also had reoccuring yeast infections in her ears, I suggested changing from supercoat to another dry and no more ear infections! weird.

Be careful when buying products sold by some vets. My Kelpie had some dental work done last week, I bought some aquadent for Bella's water while she recovered which was $50. It was $24 on line when I checked. You can save lot's of money if you check out prices etc :)

Erny, you always offer such great advice :) and explain your thoughts so well.

Your dogs are gorgeous!! Absolutely beautiful

I won't ever buy food etc from vets, I'm more so a PetBarn or online type of person ;) I can't pay full price on my wage while trying to afford living by myself!

Thank you for the compliments, they are rather dashing haha

Edited December 9, 2013 by _MADCAT_

[LOLAFOLATA]

Hi Madcat

Our Mastiff girl gets this occasionally. I found with her it usually flares up during periods of high stress.

She's had flare ups since but as soon as I notice the bumps appearing, I bathe with warm salt water and maintain a much stricter bowl cleaning regime. They haven't seemed to progress to open sores if I get onto it quickly.

I wouldn't change diet if you haven't had any problems prior to this. Listening to too much dietry advice with my lot, I chopped and changed foods trying to give them the best and did more harm than good. Stick with what works for you & your dogs within your budget.

I use stainless steel feeding dishes and buckets for water. These need cleaning thoroughly every day - amazing how much slobber they leave in the bucket

[Guest _MADCAT_]

Hi Madcat

Our Mastiff girl gets this occasionally. I found with her it usually flares up during periods of high stress.

She's had flare ups since but as soon as I notice the bumps appearing, I bathe with warm salt water and maintain a much stricter bowl cleaning regime. They haven't seemed to progress to open sores if I get onto it quickly.

I wouldn't change diet if you haven't had any problems prior to this. Listening to too much dietry advice with my lot, I chopped and changed foods trying to give them the best and did more harm than good. Stick with what works for you & your dogs within your budget.

I use stainless steel feeding dishes and buckets for water. These need cleaning thoroughly every day - amazing how much slobber they leave in the bucket

Frank has never had this problem before. He's had pimples but NEVER like this, I think because I live in a town house and its cement and bark it's just causing him stress and his immune system is out of whack. Unfortunately I had 2 weeks to find a house due to personal reasons so I had to take the first available.. So now I'm trying my hardest to find a place with some land!

I walk them daily and it's starting to cause me health problems too just stressing daily about everything, Then Frank gets sick and I'm just a walking stress ball. It's so hard with 2 cats and 2 bullmastiffs to find an affordable rental.

But thank you for the reassurance it gets better!!

Will definitely be upping my daily cleaning even more!

[Whiskered]

Hi Madcat

Our Mastiff girl gets this occasionally. I found with her it usually flares up during periods of high stress.

She's had flare ups since but as soon as I notice the bumps appearing, I bathe with warm salt water and maintain a much stricter bowl cleaning regime. They haven't seemed to progress to open sores if I get onto it quickly.

I wouldn't change diet if you haven't had any problems prior to this. Listening to too much dietry advice with my lot, I chopped and changed foods trying to give them the best and did more harm than good. Stick with what works for you & your dogs within your budget.

I use stainless steel feeding dishes and buckets for water. These need cleaning thoroughly every day - amazing how much slobber they leave in the bucket

Frank has never had this problem before. He's had pimples but NEVER like this, I think because I live in a town house and its cement and bark it's just causing him stress and his immune system is out of whack. Unfortunately I had 2 weeks to find a house due to personal reasons so I had to take the first available.. So now I'm trying my hardest to find a place with some land!

I walk them daily and it's starting to cause me health problems too just stressing daily about everything, Then Frank gets sick and I'm just a walking stress ball. It's so hard with 2 cats and 2 bullmastiffs to find an affordable rental.

But thank you for the reassurance it gets better!!

Will definitely be upping my daily cleaning even more!

Sorry to hear you've been having a stressful time Madcat. You've got him on meds for his infection and there has been lots of advice given on future prevention so I don't have any more advice to add. Just wanted to say I hope things improve for your situation soon and its lovely to see pics of your gang again. I quietly stalked your thread in the photos forum and missed seeing Dora grow up. Frank and Dora are gorgeous!

[Nekhbet]

I used betadine in the little squeezy tube for my bordeaux and malaseb wash to wipe it down with if it was dirty. He had bad pimples when I got him as a pup from stress but it cleared up :)

[Guest _MADCAT_]

Hi Madcat

Our Mastiff girl gets this occasionally. I found with her it usually flares up during periods of high stress.

She's had flare ups since but as soon as I notice the bumps appearing, I bathe with warm salt water and maintain a much stricter bowl cleaning regime. They haven't seemed to progress to open sores if I get onto it quickly.

I wouldn't change diet if you haven't had any problems prior to this. Listening to too much dietry advice with my lot, I chopped and changed foods trying to give them the best and did more harm than good. Stick with what works for you & your dogs within your budget.

I use stainless steel feeding dishes and buckets for water. These need cleaning thoroughly every day - amazing how much slobber they leave in the bucket

Frank has never had this problem before. He's had pimples but NEVER like this, I think because I live in a town house and its cement and bark it's just causing him stress and his immune system is out of whack. Unfortunately I had 2 weeks to find a house due to personal reasons so I had to take the first available.. So now I'm trying my hardest to find a place with some land!

I walk them daily and it's starting to cause me health problems too just stressing daily about everything, Then Frank gets sick and I'm just a walking stress ball. It's so hard with 2 cats and 2 bullmastiffs to find an affordable rental.

But thank you for the reassurance it gets better!!

Will definitely be upping my daily cleaning even more!

Sorry to hear you've been having a stressful time Madcat. You've got him on meds for his infection and there has been lots of advice given on future prevention so I don't have any more advice to add. Just wanted to say I hope things improve for your situation soon and its lovely to see pics of your gang again. I quietly stalked your thread in the photos forum and missed seeing Dora grow up. Frank and Dora are gorgeous!

Unfortunately my fiance and I broke up at the start of the year, so I've had a rough time since then with life in general... I missed most of dora growing up too since we were on and off so I'd see her every now and then - I even had to give Frank away at one point because I had to move in with my folks but thankfully I was able to get my boy back (with A LOT of stress and headaches, I gave him away for free and the new owner made me pay him money to get him back.. but he's my boy and I wanted him back)

Also had to sell Cloud who I miss daily. So now I have Dora, Frank and my ex's cat Meowington. It's a hard situation, not looking for sympathy, just nice to express how much I miss my ex sometimes. *shrug* life I guess.

Also foster cats and kittens for a rescue group and my first foster was Peggy a disabled cat who I adopted straight away, she was born with deformed front legs because her mum was 6 months old when she had a litter of kittens *sigh*

Love Miss Meowington <3

I used betadine in the little squeezy tube for my bordeaux and malaseb wash to wipe it down with if it was dirty. He had bad pimples when I got him as a pup from stress but it cleared up :)

I'll definitely buy some and keep it on hand if it flares up again!

[Nekhbet]

actually that deformity in cats is recognised, it's not due to age of the mother it's usually due to inbreeding. It's called Radial Hypoplasia and a woman in the USA was actually breeding them on purpose

I found iodine to be the most useful, slather it on and keep it free from dirt. It soaks into the skin, I use it myself for the same reason.

[Guest _MADCAT_]

actually that deformity in cats is recognised, it's not due to age of the mother it's usually due to inbreeding. It's called Radial Hypoplasia and a woman in the USA was actually breeding them on purpose

I found iodine to be the most useful, slather it on and keep it free from dirt. It soaks into the skin, I use it myself for the same reason.

Serious!?!?! The lady the rescue group got her from had quite a few cats like that so it makes sense!! didn't realise that was the issue! man I hate people

Thanks for the tip! it's mostly gone now and looking SO much better but will buy some to keep on hand if it flares up again!