Good Bloggie!

Looking for a portrait painter for your Frog? Check out the blog and the work of the artists, Dan and Rebecca Collins.
artdogblog

Here are samples of their work featuring, what else! Frenchies! (Click on the link above each image to read about the work.)

Jack Russell and French Bulldog

Here’s looking at you kid

French Bulldog portrait

And find Frenchie-specific goodies at their CafePress store:
Frenchie items

If you’ve been a reader of our blog, you know we support the work of The Rabies Challenge Fund and their current research to prove protection from a rabies shot lasts longer than the one or three years currently required by most states. The picture below should be a convincing argument. This is our Pascal, an hour AFTER being rushed to the vet for an emergency epinephrine/antihistamine shot. Up to this point, he had not had a severe reaction to any vaccine. This was his first rabies booster shot.  (Yes, the same Pascal of eating our vacation fame.)

Pascal after his first rabies booster.

Luckily, the booster was administered in the morning and we were able to run him back to the vet for treatment to combat his adverse reaction. It only took a couple of hours for his face, head, and body to swell dramatically after the shot. (Sometimes it can happen right way, sometimes with 24-36 hours.) A larger danger was the swelling inside the body, which can block airways. Not caught in time, our little guy could have suffocated. Adverse reactions can also cause coma, shock, seizures, cardiac failure, and, unfortunately, death.

He did recover within a few days, but now, anytime a vaccine booster shot is administered he also gets an epinephrine/antihistamine shot at the same time.

In fact, rather than play Russian Roulette with an adverse reaction, we now have the vet administer an epinephrine/antihistamine shot along with the vaccination for any dog who has demonstrated a severe reaction, or one we think might have one. An adverse reaction is much more common than you would think. So many people find our blog after their dog or puppy has had an adverse reaction. By blogging about our experiences, our hope is that we are helping to prevent future reactions for other dog and pet owners.

Here are our personal guidelines, when it comes time for vaccines:

• Discuss our concerns with our vet before any shot is administered.
• Set up a morning appointment time or drop them off in the morning.
• For dogs that have lesser reactions, give them Children’s Benadryl (diphenhydramine) prior to the vaccine, as this might be enough. (Check with your vet for dosage amount.)
• After picking the dog up, we watch them closely for any swelling or problems. After 24 hours we feel they should be in the clear, but still are on the lookout for any problems for the following week. (Later reactions can occur up to 45 days post-injection.)
• At any indication of swelling or vomiting take them back to the vet, or an emergency vet clinic.

Here’s a picture of Pascal, fully recovered. Because the swelling was painful, he rubbed his face till pigmentation came off. Took awhile, but most of it finally came back in and he is as a handsome as ever. Our story ended well. If your dog has, or ever does have, an adverse reaction, we hope yours ends well, too.

Pascal recovered.

To learn more about The Rabies Challenge Fund, visit their site here.

To learn more about Vaccine Adverse Reactions in dogs, visit this link here and here.

To read more of our prior posts on this topic, go here, here, and here.

A $24 million dollar settlement fund is being set up by manufacturers and sellers of tainted and recalled pet food from 2007. If your pet was unfortunate enough to eat some of the pet food contaminated with poisonous ingredients from China, you have till September 13 to opt out of the class action lawsuit. According to the suit, you may be compensated for documented expenses, and may receive an additional $900 for other economic damages

The last date to make a claim through the class action suit is November 24, 2008.

The lawsuit includes Canadian consumers. They will be handled on a different timeline and through different channels.

Visit the site below for more info and to download the full list of companies and brands of food involved.
Pet Food Products Liability Settlement

For more about the settlement and recall incident, visit this link:
USA Today

(Our sympathies and condolences to anyone who’s pet was effected by this food.)

By now, if you live in North America, you’ve been to the US parent club site for Frenchies: The French Bull Dog Club of America.

(Etymology Note: Why is there is a space between Bull and Dog in FBDCA’s name? Because this was the proper spelling of bulldog in 1887, the founding year of FBDCA, and the first French Bulldog club ever formed. Many modern compound words start as two separate words. With constant use and time, the space often disappears creating one word.)

Now, what about that promised trip around the world? Are you seated in a comfy chair? Then let’s go! How about a quick trip to Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, or possibly France? You can do it and see some of the top Frenchies of various countries while you’re at it. Check out the links of Frenchie clubs around the world.

Send us a postcard!!!

Australia - French Bulldog Club of NSW (New South Wales)

Austria - Österreichische Club für Französische Bulldoggen

Belgium - De Koninklijke Belgische van de Franse Bulldog

Canada - The French Bulldog Fanciers of Canada

England - The French Bulldog Club of England

Denmark - Bulldog-Klubben

Finland - Suomen Ranskanbulldogit ry

France - Le Club du Bouledogue Français AND Cercle Europeen Du Bouledogue Francais

Germany - Internationaler Klub für Französische Bulldoggen e.V. - IKFB

Lithuania - Lietuvos prancūzų buldogų ir mopsų mylėtojų klubas

Montenegro - French Bulldog, Mops, Boston Terrier Club of Montenegro

The Netherlands - Hollandse Bulldoggen Club

New Zealand - Southern Bulldog Club

Norway - Norsk Bulldog Klubbs

Russia - French Bulldog Club Russia

Spain - Club Español de Amigos del Bulldog Francé

Sweden - Fransk Bulldogg Klubb Sverige

Switzerland - Schweizerischer Klub für französische Bulldoggen

USA - French Bull Dog Club Of America

..if a Frenchie could chip wood?

For the past few months, one of our out-of-state Frenchies has experienced mysterious hot spots and allergy issues he didn’t here in Texas. (A big surprise as we live in the area not-so-jokingly called “Allergy Capital of the World.”)

He was breaking out on his face and back, and his strange maladies had his owners, his new vet, and us puzzled. Then one day his family mentioned the landscaping wood chips in the backyard. Light bulbs went off! Could it be the wood chips? Wood chips can contain dyes, bug repellents, or anti-fungal agents. The wood chips were cleared out and once they were gone, the strange breakouts and hot spots were gone within a couple of weeks.

Wood chips must have been popular with the builder for landscaping, because other neighbor’s dogs who ate the chips, were getting sick from them, as well.

The amateur sleuth conclusion: there must be a chemical or preservative in those chips which was making all these dogs sick.

Did a little wood chip research:
• Wood chips with Black Walnut can be toxic to horses, plants, and humans.
• Some dogs can have allergies to cedar chips, which is often used in pet bedding.
• Stachybotrys mold can grow in wood chips.
• And of course, avoid Cocoa Mulch. (The same dog-dangerous chemicals found in chocolate, theobromine and caffeine, is in Cocoa Mulch.)

So if you use wood chips in your landscaping, check carefully for wood chips which aren’t treated or dyed. Could save some head scratching for both you and your dog. (And some vet bills, too!)