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My American Bulldog has chronic skin sores. Why can't vets diagnose?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Bulldog | Male | unneutered | 8 years and 6 months old | 110 lbs

My dog and I have been battling whatever he has going on. I've been to 3 vets and it's gone from flea allergies to food allergies and back again. I've tried antibiotics, I've cut beef, chicken and corn out if his diet. I just can't seem to figure out what the problem is. he gets sores, they started on his back and have now progressed to his head and neck.. he doesn't itch at them but rolls a lot.. I don't know what to do. His breed is American Bulldog.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Christie Long, DVM

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on July 27th, 2017

Couple of things right off the bat: if you've cut those ingredients out of his diet without using a true hypoallergenic diet (i.e. something like Royal Canin's limited ingredient diets or Hill's z/d, which is hydrolyzed) you can't say for sure at this point that it's not a food allergy. Dallas would need a strict 8 week trial of hypoallergenic food only, and if the symptoms are still occurring after THAT, you can pretty surely say it's not food allergies. Environmental allergies are way more common than food allergies, and unfortunately while antibiotics may help with the infection that is secondary to the allergies, you need to treat the primary disease, which is the allergic reaction. Drugs like Apoquel and Atopica have revolutionalized the way we treat allergies, and can help these dogs tremendously, If you haven't talked with your vet about trying these, please do so. You've treated for fleas, but you need to be sure that your vet also rules out mange and ringworm as well, as these are also skin conditions that look very similar to allergies. If Dallas doesn't resolve with any of these therapies, and mange, ringworm and fleas have been ruled out, it's time to get a skin biopsy for a definitive diagnosis and treat based on that information.

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    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hi there. Sorry to hear that Dallas is having these issues. Honestly, Bulldogs are notorious for having skin issues. The best recommendation I can give you is to get him allergy tested. Instead of going back and forth all the time with you and the vets guessing as to what is going on you need to just get a definitive answer so you can know what you are dealing with. I suggest you look for a veterinary dermatologist in your area and take him there for a consult and allergy testing. You will spend A LOT less money in the long run if you do this. Be sure he has been off all meds (especially steroids) before you take him for an appointment with a dermatologist as medications can mess up the testing. There is no way for me to tell you what is going on with his skin just by looking at a couple photos. Many skin diseases look visually the same which is probably why he keeps having issues. You are just treating the symptoms and not the underlying disease. It could be an allergy (food, environment, fleas, etc), a bacterial or fungal infection or even an autoimmune disease or parasite (fleas, mites, etc). While you are waiting to get him to the dermatologist I recommend you bathe him with a medicated shampoo like this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Veterinary-Formula-Clinical-Care-Medicated-Shampoo-for-Dogs-Cats-Antiseptic-Antifungal-16-0-FL-OZ/24893142 Lather, let it sit on his coat for 10 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. The 10 minute contact time is very important. You can do this every 2-3 days. It is both antifungal and antibacterial. Be careful not to get it in his eyes. You can lube his eyes with artificial tears ointment prior to bathing so if some soap gets in there it will "slide" off the eye. I hope this helps. Sorry I can't give you a quick fix. If you have any other specific questions you are welcome to repost. Best wishes. I know this is a frustrating problem.

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