How Do You Treat French Bulldog Skin Fold Dermatitis?

French bulldog skin fold dermatitis is an infection that occurs in a pocket between two folds. Dogs with numerous folds on their bodies such as French bulldogs, Pugs, and Shar Peis are on a higher tendency to suffer from this condition. That’s why it’s essential to keep these body parts clean of moisture and dirt.

What are the common symptoms of French bulldog skin fold dermatitis?

You can easily spot this condition in your dog because red skin and smelly odor are the first signs of an infection. Other symptoms include :

• sore skin folds,
• scratching, rubbing and biting the affected spot
• yellowish discharge and pus coming out
• painful folds in touch

French bulldog skin fold dermatitis commonly occurs in overweight dogs and dogs with short noses that have excessive skin folds around their noses.

How to prevent your Frenchie from skin fold dermatitis?

You can prevent your dog from this condition by regularly cleaning and drying his folds. Yeast and bacteria search for dark and oily spots on a dog’s body to overgrow. Since the French bulldog’s tail pocket can also develop this condition, you have to pay attention to this spot as well.

Your vet might prescribe you an anti-microbial shampoo or saline water for cleaning the folds. In case of developed infection, it’s essential to prevent your Frenchie from further licking and scratching the spots. Severe and bleeding wounds will also require antibiotic treatment.

To pick up the moisture from the French bulldog folds, it’s recommended to put cornstarch inside of each one after cleaning.

Pay attention to your Frenchie’s tail too

In extreme cases, some Frenchies may require surgical treatment to remove deep facial folds to prevent inflammation and microbial build-up in the future. To clean your French bulldog’s tail pocket, we recommend you use a cotton ball and medicated wipe. Wipe the tail pocket and make sure you’ve removed all debris and moisture. Some Frenchies may have multi-layered folds that even create a corkscrew shape.

Severe skin fold dermatitis on your Frenchie’s tail is very painful, so tail amputation would be a permanent solution to this condition. Even though owners find it difficult to opt for this option, their dogs get rid of unpleasant odors and recurrent infections forever.

French bulldog’s paws can also be affected

It’s also important to mention that French bulldog dermatitis can also occur on the paws. Therefore, the best option to prevent your dog from infection would be to wash his paws with water daily. Using vet-approved paw balms is also important because cracked and dry paw pads are often the trigger of an infection.

As one of the best paw balms for French bulldogs, we recommend you check the following Paw Protection Stick. It comes in a practical pack and can be applied to your dog’s nose too. The balm contains  olive oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, beeswax, VE, and lavender essential oil.