Put him into a nice warm tub of water (bathtub)..Let him sit in the warm water, make him stand up and try and get some shampoo into the tail pocket. Let it sit for a few minutes to break up the old dead hair and greasy black tarey stuff and then put your finger (with a short fingernail into the pocket and pull out all the old dead hair and black gunk. Then flush it out really good with your shower spray till squeaky clean . If you feel it's infected, put in an antibiotic oitment for a week and then repeat the bath proceedure and clean out again.
My dogs all have very deep tail pockets and I don't shove any gunk up in there at all..I just make cleaning out their tail pocket part of their bath every 3 or 4 weeks and they have never had a problem.
The old dead hair rots in that pocket and forms a nice dark and damp media for growing bacteria which will cause irritation and infection. Putting powders, creams ect. in there just covers up the problem for a short period and in time just makes things worse. Clean it out good and clean (in his bath) every 3 or 4 weeks and you won't have anymore problems..

and have him sit in there for about 5 minutes and then try and flush up under the tail with the shower spray or with a squeezie ketchup/mustard bottle (if you can't do it with a shower spray). After it's been flushed really well, put some peroxide in the squeezie bottle and try and flush it good. I think I would try doing that for several days till he would let me get back there to see what was going on. If he has a deep pocket that the tail is in, there is a way of keeping it clean but first you have to get the soreness out with flushing.
I post what I do, as all my guys have very tight cork screw tails in the next posting but first get any infection or soreness cleared up first..

Thank you Pris, Kathy, & Sherri for all of your helpful & thoughtful suggestions. This board is wonderful! I am glad there are bulldog owners like you out there willing to share your wisdom with us :)I love hearing your suggestions & I definitely use them.
Thanks again,
Vanessa

You asked about the Malaseb things. You can order them on line, just enter Malaseb in your search engine, and you will find lots of pet suppliers that you can order from.

Antibiotics don't usually do much for yeast, but you said you were using Ketoconozole, and that is an anti-fungual, which yeast is. The antibiotics will clear up the skin infections caused by the yeast, just not the yeast.

I understand about being hesitant to have the surgery. You have to make the decision about that. But, having an infection all of the time, and using antibiotics on and on isn't good either. I guess it is one of those things, which is the lesser of the 2 evils.

The anal glands are located on each side of the rectum, and release an oily substance to help with the passing of feces. They can become clogged, and need to be squeezed, (expressed) to open them up again. I know, pretty gross, but the vets are great at doing that, and that is what I pay them big bucks for. Have your vet check them.

Hope this has helped. I am sure you will get a lot more info from other people here. Good luck, and we are sending good thoughts to all of you.

removed due to terrible infection. she is at least 7 maybe more. The tail and teeth removel cost just under $400.00. It was the best thing we could have done. It no longer hurt her and she was a much happier little soul.

Thank you Pris & Kathy for your advice - I wrote it all down so I won't forget anything. I haven't figured out the contour of his tail, but it is really weird. our other bully's tail is not in a pocket like that so I am not in familiar territory lol. I am concerned about the surgery because he is 5 years old & the fact his tail is connected to his spine is scary. I def don't want to cause more problems, so I am going to try to see if I can clear it up first. However, the bully rescue groups seem to do it frequently for tail infections. I will prob contact them too & see what vet they use.
Where can I get the malaseb shampoo/pledgets? I am using a mild shampoo VET Oatmeal & Aloe (from the vet) b/c they had a reaction to Sulfadene and it made them have dandruff so I worry about new shampoos being too strong. I was told only to use Soap-free shampoo esp so the flea meds don't get washed off since they seem to have flea allergies too (I think so anyways -dermatology said no).
I will have the blood test run for the thyroid- good advice! For the yeasty skin, will antibiotics help or should I ask for something else?
One more question, what is expressing the anal glands? You said it could cause a real bad odor, but an odor from where? His tail or his anus? How often do you think I should have it done?
Sorry for more questions! Thank you for all the amazing advice you gave me - I will definitely apply it in our routine!
Sincerely,
Vanessa & her boys

Yes, I have had to have one of my bulldogs' tail removed. Best thing I have done for him. He just did fine with the surgery, and you would never know he had this done. We are going to remove another because of the infections. I don't remember the cost, but whatever it was it was worth it. This is just MY opinion, but I would ask the vet to run a blood test to check his thyroid, because of the skin issues. But, greasy fur and odor may be a yeast problem. Don't let him tell you the dog is too young to have thyroid problems either. Just a simple blood test to rule something out.

I don't know that I would use vinegar under his tail. Again, my opinion, but I would think that would burn. Also, you can over do things by constantly using peroxide. I would try to keep it clean, Desitin is good, and if you are worried about having surgery because of any infection he may have, I would start on a round of antibiotics to clear that up, then strongly consider the surgery. Just another thought, but his anal glands may need to be expressed. That can cause REALLY bad odor. I have no idea if I have been of any help. But I hope things soon start looking up for you guys. Sending good thoughts.

oreo had an extremely tight pocket and so does Oscar. It's important to figure out the contours of the pocket and the only way I've found to do this is to get them in a warm shower and gently explore it with a finger to figure out where it goes. I put Oreo in the shower twice a week and squirt water in, use Malaseb shampoo on my finger to clean it and then rinse with the shower head. Then I dry with a cotton ball and use Bio Groom ear fresh powder, it dries really good. If it's raw or bloody, I use desitin instead or panalog if it seems really bad. In between showers I use a cotton ball with peroxide and then dry or you can use Malaseb pledgets. Oscar's doesn't get the real gooey stuff in it, but we still clean it every other day with qtips, fingers, cotton balls, and peroxide. My vet doesn't like to do tail surgeries because it's an extension of the spine and it's pretty tricky, but I know a lot of people have had tails amputated. If we had of had Oreo as a puppy, I would have seriously considered it, but she was 5 when we rescued her and I didn't want to put her through a major surgery.