Jack turns one!

I am happy to post that a proud parent of another English Bulldog with the same problems recently sent me an email and pic of his dog - Jack, celebrating his one year birthday!I am so happy Jack is doing well, and that simple things like lemons and lots of "time outs" have helped him out! Ryan - keep in touch!

- Tracey

"Hey Tracey just wanted you to know Jack turned one yesterday! Something we were told would probably never happen. Just wanted you to know he has been healthy now since March. He still gets his lemon when I can tell he needs it. Was going to send you a video but the way he acts when I give it to him people might think I was killing him! Such a big baby! Anyways hope Stella is doing well and thanks again for all your support with Jack. "

NEWSFLASH! Nectarines Work Too!

Well we knew the acidic ingredients in lemons were good for clearing out Stella's phlegm that is produced thanks to her very small trachea. However, who knew bullies loved nectarines too? Well - they work just as well, if not better since it is probably much more enjoyable from her point of view. Warning - a very large poop also happened after she was chomping on the nectarine - I think all that fruit juice got her going! However, it seems to have really helped our clear out a ton of phlegm! If anyone knows of ill effects of dogs having nectarine juice let me know, otherwise - highly recommended!

Stella and Amy napping

IMG_0352.JPG, originally uploaded by Amy Goldberg.

The girls are happy to be home from the beach and on their own couch again!

Health Update and Thoughts on Spay Surgery

I wanted to write a quick update on Stella, she's doing great so far, although the warmer weather definitely gets her more out of breath sooner.


We probably give her the equivalent of about a half a lemon every other day or so, and she bites it, licks it, plays with it until there is literally nothing left but a lemon peel. So if you are wondering how much actual lemon juice she gets - squeeze out a half a lemon into a squirt bottle and see if you can get that down your Bulldog's throat. Of course, lots of that juice comes out the sides of her mouth while she is playing with or biting the lemon.

I never cease to be amazed at the amount of phlegm she spits up after the lemon juice and a bit of activity, and how much better she sounds and feels from getting it out.

Another dilemma we are going through is whether to spay her or not. Surgery is always risky with these dogs, but with her and her extra small airway, we are especially nervous. We know its the best for her long term health, but we have run into 3 different bulldog owners in the past 3 weeks who lost their first bulldog during spay or neutering surgery. Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this process and decision? If so, please post. We don't have any intention of breeding her, never did, but I am really worried about an "elective" surgery, vs. just putting up with the once every 6 months heat cycle. Our vet has told us it could be detrimental to not spay her, as they can develop issues from remaining "intact" and not reproducing, which I believe. But for now, she doesn't have any surgery scheduled.

What a mug!

Canidae Dog Food

Just for reference - this is the new dog food we are feeding Stella (and Rufus) ever since she had her hives break out. So far so good - they both love the food and they are doing good on it. http://www.canidae.com/

A few recent pics

Here are some really cute new pics of me and Stella - we both love to sleep!

Tell Your Bulldog Story

If you have a bulldog with the same challenges as Stella, primarily the hypoplastic trachea, but all breathing related issues are of interest - then send me your story! Lets help get the word out there on how to help our beautiful friends have a better quality of life! Send me a picture of your dog and his/her name, age, what the issues are, and any tips or tricks you have found that make things easier! And if you are using the lemon to help your bully - post a video!

The Entire Lemon Treatment!

OK - I finally got a Flip video camera and have captured the entire process of getting our bulldog Stella to bite the lemon halves, and how the lemon juice then breaks up her phlegm, allowing her to breathe easier! Its kind of gross - but it beats the hell out of having a bulldog with pneumonia or just not feeling well. The phlegm she spit up in this video is relatively small compared to what I have seen come out of her. After a few of these events, she is generally feeling and breathing MUCH better!

Rufus and Stella Chillin at the Office!

Stella at the office

Another Kinda Gross Reference

Just a nasty reminder of the wonders the lemons work for Stella - here is another picture of a recent spit up she had of phlegm. She usually spits up a few of these before she is feeling all better. Last night I was up with her at 3 a.m. as she was awake and seemed to not be able to rest well. The minute I got out of bed, she jumped down and ran for the stairs to head to the kitchen, wagging her tail faster than you can imagine. She knew I was going to go down and get her a lemon, and she started biting it and licking it immediately - I swear she knows its good for her, and sorry to sound dramatic, but I think they help keep her alive and happy.

Stella Update! Long Grow the Lemon!

Just a quick update to let everyone know we have abandoned our regimen of Benadryl - it just seemed to not really do much in the long run. What DOES work is a constant lemon half as a fun toy that she gets a few good bites on every few days. Seriously, I can't begin to convey how much this simple treatment helps her, and how amazed I am that more vets haven't heard about it for helping difficult breathers. We also have her on a new food that is a simple protein source, and she seems to have much better results with this than the last round. She still vomits up fresh food right after eating when she is getting "phlegmy" - or is too active right after eating, but if she is feeling clear from her lemon treatments and isn't trying to wrestle Rufus or the kittie, she is holding it down pretty well!

Benadryl for Breakfast and Dinner!

After a quick visit with DocSide vets tonight, and reviewing how well Stella was breathing during her treatment for her hives, Dr. K has given us the green light to try keeping Stella on the Benadryl over the next few weeks to see how she does. We will give her approx. 1 gr. per 1 lb. of her weight (38 pounds) twice a day. I will report back on how it does for her. Right now she is snoring away peacefully, happy to have her nails trimmed and be on the path to breathing easy! (we hope).

I hope everyone likes the switch of the blog to a white background - I have a feeling it will be easier to read for everyone.

We love Benadryl!!!

OK - I don't know if its the Benadryl or not, but our bulldog Stella has never been better! She is not puking up after eating or drinking (which she often does, especially if she plays right afterwards), not getting phlegmy, not hacking up phlegm, not getting as out of breath, and in general seeming to be feeling great! Now we are still weaning her off the steroids she was on for the allergic reactions, and tapering down the benadryl doseage, so I will post again in a week or so and report on how she's doing. However, if her problems were partly stemming from some sort of allergy which was causing the excessive phlegm, which then was causing her to have difficulty breathing and may have even been a factor in her pneumonia, well, then I will have to consider discussing long term benadryl options with my vet. If anyone else has had luck with benadryl and their bulldog, let me know!

Allergic Reaction to ???

Last week, Stella woke up sounding especially raspy and gurgly, so naturally we got the lemon out (she had been running about like a crazy bulldog the night before). We started steaming up the bathroom and getting her to bite the lemon to hopefully get out the phlegm that was giving her problems. After last January the last thing we wanted was another round of pneumonia. Then I noticed something crazy. Stella's chest started to look like there were marbles under her skin, lots of them!

We shortly realized she was having an allergic reaction to something and rushed her to the vets, not wanting to risk anything with her already troublesome trachea. After $350, some IV steroids and fluids and antihistamines, she was good as new! They sent us home with some additional steroids and sent us to the Safeway for benadryl.

After trying to determine what caused the allergies, we suspect it may have been her food - we changed from Nature's Variety Lamb to the Venison - as the manufacturer suggest changing the protein for the dog, and of course they enjoy the change in flavor. Now I know venison is supposed to be one of the best proteins for dogs with allergies, but unless she got into a fight with a spider or something, its the only thing that might have caused it. We have her back on the lamb and she hasn't had any more outbreaks of the hives. Either way we will keep an eye out and I will repost if we ever determine for sure what caused it. If anyone else has had issues with venison causing reactions, or any other substance - please post and let us know!

Stella and Rufus survive Thanksgiving!

Thanks to lots of lemons, and a diet of boiled chicken and white rice, Stella has survived another Thanksgiving! Due to all the activity she was having, we had given her too much canned food vs. her hard food, in an attempt to keep it down better (she tends to throw up a bit more on the hard food than the canned food) - but it turned into a bad case of diahhreah (Sorry Super 8 Room 111). The chicken and rice always does the trick though - so we managed to only have a few troublesome events.


We are currently looking into getting some home oxygen therapy to give Stella when she gets really bad - I will post to the blog to report whether it seems worth it in the long term (initial costs are going to be around $300-$400, and you do need a perscription from your vet). Our vet is going to talk to the Oxygen company about the dosage and how to train us to use it since its for a dog not a person - should be interesting! Anyhow - here is a recent pic of the cuties chilling out at the grandparents house over Thanksgiving.

Recent pictures of Stella and Rufus.

A Visual Example

For everyone who has been commenting on Stella's lemon treatments and how they keep her breathing in good shape - I wanted to share a real world example of what she spits up after she gets a few good squirts of lemon juice. Sorry, its pretty gross, but its a sight for sore eyes when I see it, as it means she's getting it out of her trachea, and its not going down into her lungs!

Paintings of Stella

Here are some new paintings I did of Stella - for an upcoming show at a new Wine Bar our friends are opening in Annapolis. Come by if you are in the area! The Purple Tooth should be opening for business in early October, and make sure you tell the owners Emmy and Maureen you heard about it on my blog!