my old english bulldog

by chris
(cleveland oh )

My 9 month old olde english bulldogge has bumps on her lips they have a nasty smell it kinda smells like rust and now she has them on her vagina and its swollen.

i've never owned a girl dog before so i don't know if she's going in heat that's why its swollen?




Hi Chris
The 'bumps' you notice on your pups' lips could be any number of things, if they smell bad it could indicate an infection of some sort. Bulldogs are prone to skin irritations and thrush infections can cause redness, soreness and smell bad.

If the bumps that you mention on her vulva are the same, it may be related - or not. The swelling is most likely due to the fact that she is coming into heat. Most dogs do this somewhere between 6 and 9 months, 8 being average.

I would recommend that you take her to your veterinarian for a check up, and get any treatment required for her skin started asap.

As she is likely to be fertile now, or in the near future, be careful to keep her away from any male dogs. Bulldogs can have great difficulty when whelping and even if you intend to breed her, she is way too young right now. I'd recommend reading my Spaying Your Dog page for information on the considerable benefits of having her 'altered'.

Best of luck.