Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I go by trusty and I own a 1 year old English Bulldog named Jazmine whom I love to death!!

I have a problem that I hope some of you can help with. All dogs that I have owned...well... clean themselves. Jazmine, I've noticed cannot. Through all of my research prior to purchasing Jaz, I have never read anything about this. She is so stocky, she cannot reach around like most dogs. Is there something specific I should be doing?

Here is a pic of my Jaz!!

>>I go by trusty and I own a 1 year old English Bulldog named Jazmine whom I love to death!!
>>
>>I have a problem that I hope some of you can help with. All dogs that I have owned...well... clean themselves. Jazmine, I've noticed cannot. Through all of my research prior to purchasing Jaz, I have never read anything about this. She is so stocky, she cannot reach around like most dogs. Is there something specific I should be doing?
>>
>>Here is a pic of my Jaz!!
>>

This is something that's rarely discussed, but in managing allergic dermatitis for one of my dogs in this area, I developed something that works well for all my dogs now. I comb each of my dogs daily, one at a time on my lap which I cover with a big bed sheet spread over my outstretched legs and tied around my neck. The last thing I do in the grooming time to is to swab with tissue containing apple cidar vinegar. On the females I do first the vulva and then the anus. On the male I do only the anus.

I found this actually controlled the allergic dermatitis on the female with that problem. The male had been "scooting" on the rug, and yet didn't have an anal gland problem. He stopped the scooting when I started this daily routine. The other female has a fold of skin at the vulva, and was at risk of developing chronic infections, but that hasn't happened, and I really feel like the daily cleaning with the vinegar is the reason.

On a female, be sure to swab the vulva BEFORE swabbing the anus, unless you're going to use a fresh tissue, because you definitely do not want to carry bacteria from the anus to the vulva.

You would think apple cidar vinegar would sting, but it doesn't. I've been doing this for several years, and the dogs don't mine it--nor does it make the skin look irritated. I've done it on my own skin, too, when something itches. Not a cure-all, but does help some things, and there's little risk of harm from it.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

Hey!

One thing my mom always said that she loved about Bulldogs was that they're so short, they can't lick themselves

I don't think that her inability would hurt anything. Our English that passed away a few years ago never had anything itchy or infected back there. One thing she did love, though, was getting her butt scratched! Right above the tail on her back; it was bliss!(well, for her, anyway!LOL)

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Lesya & Sophie

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.
-Helen Keller