Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum so I hope you guys can give us some good advice. I have just got my second male bulldog puppy which we purchased from a respectable breeder. We got him at eight weeks old but when we got him home we noticed a few small bumps on his head, the breeder said he had been fighting with the other puppies and was nothing to worry about. The next day we had him checked over by our vet who is experienced with bulldogs. He told us he had dermatitis and gave him a ten day course of antibiotics that helped control the problem but as soon as he finished the antibiotics the lumps came back but much worse. He also started to lose patches of fur from his face and around his eyes, he was also looking alot pinker (he has a white face so the pink stands out). We have just taken him back to the vet and he has now been diagnosed with Demodex. They took a scraping from his skin. He has been given another two weeks supply of antibiotics and a lotion to bath him in once a week called Aludex. The nurse in the vet said it was the worst case she had seen in a puppy (Alfie is only 13 weeks) and having read up a little about the disease we are very worried what the future might hold for Alfie. We have read in the Bulldog bible that in severe cases sometimes dogs have to be put to sleep because of the pain and suffering. The last two days have been hard, Alfie cannot sleep and is very red(looks like he's been on the sunbed way to long) and he keeps trying to scratch his face causing it to bleed. We are giving him 24 hour supervision and cleaning him with hibiscrub and cotton wool but seeing him in so much pain is really upsetting to both me and my girlfriend. We have just been given Metacam from the vet which should help with the pain and was told all his symtoms are normal but we can't help but worry. Any help/ advice will be so much appreciated.
Has anyone had a similar problem with their dog. With time does it clear up completely or once a dog is diagnosed with it is it with them for life. Also both parents seemed very healthy and happy (that is why we chose Alfie) with vet health certificate.
Best regards, Patrick.

Nearly thirty years ago we had a rescue mutt puppy that developed this.  We were told the same horror stories but persevered.  He lost a great deal of his hair, especially on his head, and developed disfiguring scabs but with regular bathing and good general care he came through and lived until 15.  He never had a fantastic coat but was at least decently covered and looked normal - for a mutt.  Good luck and don't panic.

hi there we have had experience with rumble our dogue.he had it at 8 months old when his first moult started.he went semi-bald around his eyes and muzzle and we were prescribed aludex to bathe the affected patches in,also, a hypoallergenic diet helps and minimising stress too.it took several months to clear up,and he still gets the odd break out if hes stressed,such as the girls being in season,but other than that hes been ok with it.it is known that dogues can suffer with it,and it seems to occur sometimes with the onset of puberty which is when rumbles started.we were told to use some cream which not only soothes but helps the hair grow back,its called dermacton and seemed to sooth his skin.you can buy it online,hope this is of some help,roy.

sorry to hear about your puppy. is it possible to put a buster collar on him? may stop him getting to his face and scratching himself, making it worse. you should maybe take him back to vets if he isnt sleeping, tell them of your worries and ask their advice. perhaps ask about a product called advocate, this is often used in demodex treatments.
demodex itself is present in the skin of all dogs, it only causes a problem when dogs get immuno suppressed. as this indicates a poor immune system he should never be used in a breeding problem.
another thing, you should really let the breeder know that this has happened, they need to alert the other puppy owners and get their bitch checked out.
hope he feels better soon.

Hi Roy,
Thanks for all the advice. We have changed his diet from Purina Beta ( I think thats how you spell it) for puppies to James Wellbeloved Lamb and Rice for puppies. We have been told this is good for bulldogs as it is hypoallergenic. I am now going to order some Dermacton from online to help reduce the itching/ sore skin. He's been scratching round his face and making it bleed. Hope it helps. He is also having a echinacea tablet once a day.
Thanks again for all comments left and I will now be contacting the breeder to let him know.

Hi,
We have got a buster collar from the vet but haven't needed to use it yet but he has started to make his skin on his face bleed so probably will have to put it on him. We have put advocate on him around 10 days ago so hopefully this will only help towards his problems.
I will let the breeder know of this right away. We chose him at 4 weeks old he was the pick of the litter with great show potential, just goes to show how quickly things can change.
Thanks again.

Hi,
Thanks for the info. It's nice to hear your dog lived till it was 15. Hope Alfie gets to enjoy a life half as long as that.

Hi phone up Tania at Bulldog Rescue, she will givwe you advice on this.

A good quality natural neem shampoo will do wonders. Make sure that there are no nasties like parabens or SLS

good luck

Hi, Thanks for the advice. I will give Tania a ring at Bulldog rescue for some advice. Its been a couple of weeks now of using Aludex and no sign of improvement yet. Alfie has continued to loose hair from his head, body and legs but we have been told this is normal and should grow back ( we hope).
But over the weekend we noticed our other bulldog (reggie) who is nine months old has become a lot more red around his face and scratching quite alot. We also noticed a red balding sore spot under his chin so we took him to our vet yesterday who did a skin scraping and to our worst nightmare he has got demodex as well which baffled us as we where under the impression it could not be passed on to other dogs. Reggie was a very healthy example of the breed with know problems at all. The vet has said he must of caught it from Alfie, our new pup. Now we are having to treat them both using Aludex. We know we can't blame the breeder but we are so annoid and frustraighted.

good luck and let me know how you get on,

Have sent you a message.

Hope everything is looking up for you and your dogs?

You might take a look at this website and this dogs story:  http://www.irishretrieverrescue.com/2008pros/monty2.html
and if you find it of interest then the neem genie website is: www.neemgenie.co.uk