New here and Chin Acne!
Submitted by Miltons Mama on July 1, 2010 - 2:05pmHello all,
Found the forum while researching canine acne and couldn't not join up. You all make up such a welcoming and helpful community, glad to become part of it!
Milton is our first bulldog. He's 7 months old and has had bouts on and off since about 4 months with canine acne on his chin. In the last 10 days or so, his mild, under-control acne went haywire with the pustules opening and oozing, and his entire chin became red and swollen. While we were trying to control it with the cream and soap previously provided by the vet (clean face daily is our regimen) he also developed intermittent loose stools and then suddenly had a couple days where he threw up.
We attributed the loose stools to his desire to eat junebugs (they must be delicious) and worked through that with some pepto and pumpkin, but the vomiting up whole dry food 4 hours after eating it (like clockwork) was a complete mystery to me.
Ran him off to the vet last night and he was given a combo injection of an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory, and we take him back again tonight for another injection. Fecal exam turned up nothing wrong. This morning he's like a new dog, the swelling has gone down in his face and the zits/pustules are all drying up, he is bright-eyed once again (You don't realize how down in the dumps they look, until they're not down in the dumps any more!) and he's playing and eating normally. I've taken him, today, to smaller meals more frequently and he's had two servings of food plus water in between and has kept all of it down.
I'm wondering if it's possible -- or rather, if anyone has ever had a circumstance where -- his acne/infection on his chin was just brewing so bad under the skin that it was making him feel poopy all over? That's the only thing I can think of at this point, as he's never in 7 months had a vomiting issue until this week and he seems SO bright eyed and energetic today after the antibiotic injection.
Vet says he'll be putting him on an oral antibiotic after today to help keep his chin under control for a while and I've read a lot of y'all have had great success with that, so I look forward to keeping him feeling good.
Thanks for any ideas or responses!
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK
Well, first of all
Welcome! Milton is adorabull!!
I think the acne may have flared up because there was something else (GI related) going on. In any stress situation, the teenage acne can flare up.
I assume the vet is going to start Keflex? Don't forget to give some organic yogurt or probiotics with the antibiotics so he doesn't develop diarrhea, again.
When Q went thru his teenaged phase, I used the alcohol-free stridex pads on his face with great success.
Olivia
Great point, thanks for
Great point, thanks for bringing that up! Yeah, I went back and forth in my head about that, was his acne flaring up due to stress, was he pooping due to stress, was one or the other causing stress. The two times he threw up, I had just finished looking at his chin which you could tell was painful to touch it in the last few days, he didn't yelp but was very determined not to let you see it. So the first time he had grumbleguts, I had just finished looking at, cleaning and putting meds on his face. The second time, two days later, I had just finished looking at his face and trying to clean it without disturbing scabs or opening it up.
So I thought maybe his throwing up was a reaction to stress from me having to touch his poor chin.
For the yogurt, how much should he get with his food? Vet says he's going to be giving us an oral antibiotic but not sure which one, or for how long, and he also said he was going to give us something new for his face. Stridex is for helping keep it clean just like on a people pimple, right? That'll be easy peasy I think.
Thank you!!
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK
Tuffy has bad chin acne too....and chronic loose stool
So your theory of the two being related is of great interest to me! I'd love to hear the specifics of the anti-inflammatory that your vet gave Milton. And do you have a photo of his chin acne?
Here's what I know!
We went back today to the vet and he got his second injection. I told the Dr. that Milton hadn't pooped all day (from pudding poops to constipation!) and he said the combo shot he gave him was a bunch of different medicines -- an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory (his poor chin was SO swollen when we took him in), and something to help cut down his bowels from pushing the food along so fast and getting loose poop. He said he thinks his bowels problem is gastroenteritis, but didn't say (and I forgot to ask) if it could be related to his acne. But, whatever medication they're giving him for his face is also helping his digestive tract as far as the antibiotic portion of it seems to go, as Milton ate one cup of dry food today at four separate feedings (4 cups total) plus water and a treat or two, with out so much as a burp or a gurgle.
Today's injection he said was "everything but the poop medicine" because he wants to make sure Milton can make a nice fresh doody for us to take in for a second fecal exam just to make sure there's no parasites.
He says depending on how his chin progresses overnight after the second injection, he will give him a third injection tomorrow and then is debating putting him on Doxycycline for his chin, which makes me think that he thinks it may be a staph infection. (I have had MRSA before and it's the only time I was ever given doxycycline as an antibiotic). He says if he goes on the Dox, he'll be on for up to a year.
On our vet paperwork it only says "combination injection" so I don't have the exact medications, but I'll ask the Mr. to ask tomorrow when Milton sees the doctor.
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK
Thanks for letting me know the specifics
Sounds like you have a very good vet. We have a vet appointment for Tuffy tomorrow and we'll see what he says. Tuffy's chin is red and was pussy and oozing but now it's scabbing over. It's not entirely swollen but parts are so I'm not sure if he'll give him an injections shot...maybe just oral medication. The last time he put him on Cephalexin and it cleared it right up...but now it's back!! I hope that Milton's tummy is feeling better soon and that his chin acne is a thing of the past! My vet did say it's common with dogs until they turn a year or so....
We call our vet Dr.
We call our vet Dr. Doolittle, and we mean it very very endearingly. He's been a vet for literally about 50 years, he's quite old now and doesn't do surgeries any more but does *supervise* them and he's had a Bully of his own plus there are two or three others that we know frequent his practice. He has just always worked magic with our fur-kids, we feel so lucky to have him.
My husband took Milton in this a.m. and forgot to ask about the specifics of the shot but he does want to put him on Doxycycline orally for his acne, which he did go on to say that even if it didn't start as a staph infection, it sure was looking like one after some of the pustules opened up. :( He said those can get systemic and he may have just been feeling icky all over from the infection. We're supposed to keep an eye on his stools now to see if they stay soft.
We go back on the 19th for a follow-up unless something changes sooner, and then we get to schedule his neuter. I'll let you know anything I can learn! Meanwhile I hope Tuffy keeps looking so handsome, he's just gorgeous. How old is he?
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK
What are you feeding Milton?
Four cups a day is a lot for a seven month old bully.
You may want to re-think the amounts he is getting. What is the recommended amount that his kibble said to give?
I use to feed Kofi dry, but she never had more than three cups.
Blue Buffalo and per vet's instruction
He's getting Blue Buffalo puppy and the vet said to feed him up to four times a day up to one cup each time, because he's growing very fast and he's going to be a big boy. He just weighed in at 47 pounds at 7 months and the vet says he is not in the slightest bit overweight, and that he should still be able to eat up to 4 cups until he's got another 10 pounds on him or so. He eats between three and four cups a day depending on the day.
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK
Clarification
To be clear, that's in multiple feedings throughout the day, not cups and cups at a time. He was occasionally getting 1.5 cups per meal at 2-3 meals a day and the vet suggested smaller portions more frequently but same amount overall. When we brought him home at 3 months old per breeder's instruction he was getting 1-1.5 cups per day twice a day, which worked out to 3 cups more often than not. Both his mother and father weighed in at the high end of the breed standard and Milton is currently expected to do the same. The vet is already saying he may be larger than 55 pounds, heading towards 65, and that we will do our best to not let him get too big because of the strain on his body -- but at 47 pounds at 7 months he is just built like a tank and still has a LOT of skin and feet left to grow into. The dr. reinforced that he is not showing signs of obesity at all right now.
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK
Well, he's a beautiful boy.
Every bully is different. Some here take their bullies off puppy food quite early. You may want to do a search just to be well informed of your options.
I hope I don't sound critical, as a first time bully owner I have made many mistakes.
I continue to search and compare since I am a novice at this.
Glad to have you and your guy here with us.
I'd love to see photos of Milton
Tuffy is supposed to be a big boy too. He was the biggest in his litter and the breeder says he's going to be large. He's 49 lbs at 8 months and I he still has lots of wrinkles to fill out! Here is a photo of my big guy!
Pics!
I posted some pics of Milton in the General forum and will try to get some up to date ones tonight. :D Although they aren't that old, the ones I posted.
Milton's Mama -- Tinker AFB, OK