If My Dog is Sick, What Should I Do?

By Ryan Betz

So now you have searched for that carefully bred and healthy Bulldog puppy born of healthy bloodlines and bred by a reputable and knowledgeable breeder. Success! Congratulations on your successful and careful search! However, even superb Bulldog specimens can, and from time to time, get sick. Just like the rest of us. If nothing else, even these dogs will occasionally get the sniffles from the common cold. Dogs get colds? Yes they do.

So your new beloved pooch has now come down with one form of ailment or another. What should you do?

Of course the easy and safe answer is always to get your dog to a competent vet. I say again, competent vet. If you have read other portions of our web site you have already seen me explain that not all vets are created equal. Well, it’s true, and I can tell you from experience that the more veterinarians I meet, the more concrete and steadfast in that my belief becomes.

But the vet office is closed, or too far away, or too expensive, or you prefer to be a do-it-yourselfer whenever possible. Now what?

Okay, now the second best answer is to immediately contact somebody else that is knowledgeable and competent in matters relating to the beloved Bulldog breed and the various ailments that can occur. Like that knowledgeable and reputable breeder you bought the dog from in the first place. But then if you bought your dog from a pet store, out of the newspaper from a backyard breeder, or on the internet and had the pup shipped to you from a puppymill…..well then, you are completely out of luck there, and in my opinion should have done a better job of searching for your new dog.

So, now where do you turn? Online chat groups? Some random breeder whose site you found online? A book? Where do you turn now?

Sometimes you can get good advice from the online chat groups, and that is what they were originally intended to be there for. However, if you decide to go that route you need to be really skilled at sifting through all of the bad advice in order to ferret out the good advice. There are so many people on these groups that post that really do not know a lot, but want to feel self important and puff up their chests. So they will generally bombard you with various things that they heard worked well for a dog that their Aunt Susi’s best friend’s uncle Tony’s third cousin did for his dog. But someone there might actually know something of value to pass on that they actually do have firsthand knowledge of. Good luck to you in figuring out which advice to actually follow.

Choosing a random breeder online to fire questions at is pretty pointless most of the time. Even if this breeder truly is knowledgeable and reputable you typically will not get an answer back. Instead you might get a suggestion of going to your vet, which really may be the best advice, or ask your breeder, or a question asking you what your breeder told you to do. Why is this? Well, for one this breeder does not know you. Two, even breeders have busy lives, just like everybody else. Three, breeders are generally pretty busy taking care of and training their own puppy buyers. Four, the breeder will not want to hand out advice to a random stranger and then be sued because the advice did not work and the dog died or something else went terribly wrong. So don’t get mad at this breeder for either ignoring your needs and wants, or just telling you to go away. It’s just common sense.

Books are good. A vast amount of knowledge can be garnered from books. I like books. Books are our friends. But are you good with books? No, I do not mean can you read? Of course you can if you are reading this. I mean, have you ever picked up a medical journal and read it? Did you understand it? If you did, are you skilled enough to be able to follow the treatments and procedures that you will have to apply from the knowledge passed down to you from the books? Are you even truly skilled at properly and accurately diagnosing the troubles your dog is having and finding the proper portion of the book to read, let alone the correct book? If you can do all of that, are you skilled at surgery if that is called for, or able to get the proper prescription drugs? No, most of us do not fall into that category. If we did, we would all be licensed veterinarians.

So what now? Where to turn? Do I always have to run to the vet every time my dog gets the sniffles?

No, you do not always need to run to the vet, but sometimes you do have to. The key to all of this is knowing when you have to. The best place to start is with your personal comfort level. If diagnosing and treating your dog yourself makes you nervous and scared it is time to go to the veterinarian. Of course, don’t forget your checkbook. Sad, but true. We’ve all been there. Veterinarians are not evil, but they are often a necessary evil. There is a difference.

However, there are things even the most squeamish of us can do ourselves when it comes to medically treating our beloved dogs. Here is the disclaimer part though….. We at Betzbulls do not claim, and will not claim any responsibility ethically, morally, or financially, in any way for the misuse of any “advice or knowledge” given by us on this site. You the reader are responsible for your own actions, and solely responsible for the health and wellbeing of your dog..

When we send a puppy home with new buyers there are certain items we suggest they keep at home for an in-home veterinary kit. A plastic tackle box from a sporting goods store makes an excellent container to stow it all away and is even portable for those weekend car trips to the hills or wherever. Good basic items to keep in the kit and their uses are as follows;

• Stethoscope….Even a cheap one will suffice, and you don’t have to have a perfectly trained ear to use one. However, it is nice to know if there are gurgly or wet sounds in a dog’s lungs.
• Thermometer….I suggest a digital thermometer, for rectal use. The digital ear thermometers are a nice idea, but completely inaccurate. A temp of 100 to 101 degrees is the normal range for a dog.
• Snot ball…..also known as snot ball sucker, and also listed as Ear/ Ulcer Syringe by veterinary supply outfits. Obviously for sucking snot from a runny or clogged nose. Be careful with this not to over-use and irritate the sinus tissue, therefore causing inflammation, and thusly difficulty breathing. Also be careful not to jam it too far in the nostril, or even accidentally into an eyeball of a struggling dog. I strongly suggest you completely refrain from using it in a dog’s ears. You do not want to rupture an eardrum. Stay out of the ear, and let the professionals do it.
• Hydrogen peroxide….to clean cuts, punctures, and scrapes. Keep it away from mouth and eyes.
• Anti-biotic wound cream
• Cotton gauze
• Cotton pads, 2”x3”, 2”x2”, or 4’x4’ squares
• Cloth type medical tape….be careful never to wrap or tape too tightly.
• Tape scissors…..the blunted end of medical tape scissors is the best to use when cutting a bandage off. Using desk scissors can cause further injury.
• Children’s Triaminc Cough and Cold or Chest……for when the dog gets the sniffles from a cold or upper respiratory infection. Be advised that if the nasal discharge is pussy looking, yellow, or green the dog has developed a secondary infection and needs to be seen by a veterinarian to make sure the lungs are still clear and to be prescribed an antibiotic. Go to the vet. Do not mess around with these infections, as they can quickly infest the lungs and turn into full blown pneumonia, then death.
• Benedryl…..for allergic reactions to bee stings, spider bites, and such. Every Bulldog I have ever known is allergic to bee stings and can quickly die from them. Read the directions on the bottle or box to determine dosage for the weight of your dog. I prefer using liquid rather than pills because I believe the liquid acts a bit faster. We actually have gone further in this case. Our veterinarian has provided us with the Benedryl injection for immediate action, but you do have to get it from a veterinarian. Whenever you have to administer Benedryl for something such as a bee sting, keep track of how much you gave the dog, and when you gave it. Then get the dog to the vet as soon as possible so follow-up care of further Benedryl dosage and a steroid booster shot can be administered. Do not mess around and decide to wait to see what will happen. Usually what will happen is the dog will die.
• Eye wash
• Visine or Artificial tears
• Quality evaporative ear cleaner…..be selective in choosing which one. Not all ear cleaners will evaporate and the dog could develop an ear infection from it.
• Dog aspirin…..if you can not find dog aspirin then you can use a half tablet of Bayer aspirin. Only Bayer though, as it is the only pure aspirin. Never ever give a dog Advil or Tylenol and such.
• Bag Balm….apply to dried and cracking nose to moisten the tissue.
• Irrigation syringe…..to flush out punctures or wounds for cleaning. Irrigating wounds with saline solution is best. Using tap water is not advised. Distilled water if fine, but needs to actually be 100% distilled so as not to introduce contaminants and further infection.
• Pill splitter
• Pill gun
• Various size syringes of your choosing…..always handy to have for a multitude of things like administering Triaminic and Benedryl.
• Lemon juice….to cut the phlegm in an overheated dog’s mouth and throat.
• Pepto Bismol
• Kaopectate
• Acidopholus…for diarrhea You can get this from dog supply vendors or health food stores.
• Tweezers
• Penlight

As breeders our medical kit is much more extensive, but the above items will give you a good start and be very handy in a multitude of situations.

If your dog suddenly becomes ill with diarrhea, vomiting, and is drinking an excessive amount of water and then vomiting that up too, get the dog to the vet. Do not mess around giving it things for the individual symptoms. Most likely the dog has swallowed a foreign object that is now lodged in the stomach or intestines. In some cases these are signs of a liver malfunction or disease, and needs to also be tested by a vet and treated.

If your dog bloats, get it to the vet.

If you suspect poisoning, do not induce vomiting or administer Pepto Bismol or anything else. Just get the dog to the vet.

For dogs, just like the rest of us breathing and blood pumping machines, many things can go wrong, and there are a multitude of virus’s out there. You can’t save the world, and you can not isolate yourself or your dog from the world, but you can practice diligence and common sense. Paranoia can be a dangerous thing if taken too far, but a little doesn’t hurt. Be careful with your dog around strange dogs. You have no idea if a strange dog has even been properly vaccinated, or is a carrier for some other virus. As much fun as it is to let your dog meet new and strange dogs, just use some caution and common sense. Think before you act, or fail to react. This is one of the reasons we do not like dog parks. An ounce of prevention goes a long ways.