Scare today from the dog

[Mr & Mrs S]

Hmmm... this was strange. Early this morning Mrs. S went for a walk today down by the lake and the dogs (Zeus and Lola) were playing in the water and having a good time. No harm right.....

Well at around 11:00hrs we noticed that Zeus (our biggest dog 80 lbs) had hundreds of raised bumps on his skin that were very noticable. But the little dog was not affected at all.

We quickly gave him a bath and he was in good spirits and seemed to be fine. But we saw that it seemed that he was covered with a strange raised rash.

By 12:45 hours his muzzle area was severly swollen...
You could see in his eyes he wasnt feeling well..
We were about to load him in the truck and make a run to a Vet to see what the heck.... Mrs. S took a photo and called our Vet we normally use and he looked at the photo and told us to give him two Benadryl spaced out an hour between each dose and call him back 50 minutes after the last dose was taken and give him an update.....

Well I just so happened to have some on hand so we done as instructed and watched him very closely.

After the 50 minutes was up after the second dose we were able to report that ALL of the bumps from the rash were gone and the swelling in his face was going down rapidly.

He told us while we are traveling to always keep Benadryl on hand for him and keep childrens Benadryl on hand for the smaller dog.

Good thing it worked becasue now it is storming outside and we would have been out trying to get to the Vet in this storm.

I just wanted to share this information with you because I know that many of you are like us and travel with your four legged friends.
Might help you out one day. Some of you probably already no this but there might be a newbie out there and this might help them out.

Were all good now, piled up watching a movie and listening to the rain ping on the Airstream....

[oh2bcarefree]

How awesome your vet was to take the time for you to send a photo of your dog. Less stress for everyone concerned!! We also have used benedryl with our dogs... bee stings and allergies.

Great happy ending!!

Tina

[TBRich]

Hmmm...Scary! Guess we need to add that to our first aid kit. Did the vet say what was going on?

[SteSpot]

That is a very scary story. Lucky for us our boxer won't go near the water. But it is a good idea to carry benedryl in case he gets into something else. My daughter's dog was bitten by a rattlesnake and that is what they gave him and he recovered without the expensive antivenom. paula

[clancy_boy]

Allergic reaction to something, it can happen to humans too. Benadryl is a must in my travel tool kit - even when I travel overseas. Baby asprin and baby benadryl for the dogs are in our camper, never know what they get into that they have never experienced in their lives before. Believe me - they will find something new to get into every time.

Thank you for the post.

[overlander63]

Cookie, our Peek-A-Poo, had an allergy to one of her annual shots. She would swell like a balloon, and we had to give her Benedryl to counter that. Something else to watch for.

[DKB_SATX]

I'm glad to hear that Zeus responded well to the benadryl. We keep it for our dogs as well, but so far we've only used it when one of them is too nervous... Chloe is terrified of thunderstorms, for example.

It's definitely a useful thing to have around... the easiest form we've found is little gel caps that we give with a dab of peanut butter... the dogs slurp that down without any problem at all.

[Goal15]

J&E:

glad the benydryl helped get Zeus back to his old lovable self. Wonder what caused it? I dipped my hand in the lake water on Sunday morning but had not ill effects. Sand fleas?

Glad that you got rain. We could use some all over the state.

Dana

[CanoeStream]

Orally administered benadryl is an excellent primary treatment for allergic reaction if you have to drive any distance to get emergency care. Realize that the oral route will result in a 1-2 hour delay before it takes effect. This applies to human or canine. This becomes important if EMS or an epi-pen is not readily accessible for smaller body mass ratio to surface area individuals (applicable to a child or dog). For instance, a child stung by a fleet of Man o' Wars or jellyfish is in much more trouble than an adult. No 911 response close-by? Give benadryl and haul 'em off yourself to an emergency room.

It takes a while for benadryl to absorb and be effective. Give it early. Allergy to benadryl is uncommon but not unknown. Be sure and tell the treating ER physician or vet if you've given benadryl.

Be careful. Benadryl is a CNS depressant. I wouldn't give benadryl if EMS was within reasonable reach. (that definition is totally up to your judgement)

When I've been faced with severe upper respiratory allergies, I've hated the next-day effects of 50mg -- really kicks my a** and I always feel horribly tired. A dog or a child? I'd probably go 25mg (split tabs and give 12.5mg for a very small dog or child). Alcohol or head injury involved? You're on your own but less would be better in such cases. Lay persons cannot save every severe case. Not to lay a bummer on you but death is not out of the question if we are pushed to such straits.

[azflycaster]

I took a Benadryl when I was stung by a bee at a rally and it stopped the swelling after a while. The bee was hiding in a can of refreshment and stung me on the bottom of my tongue. It was not a pleasant experience.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

I took a Benadryl when I was stung by a bee at a rally and it stopped the swelling after a while. The bee was hiding in a can of refreshment and stung me on the bottom of my tongue. It was not a pleasant experience.

That's more common than you would think. I know several people that have been stung in the mouth from drinking a bee.

[casa3805]

I used to have severe allergic reactions to fire ants. And they are becoming active with the new rains. Benadryl is normally the prescribed "fix it". Doesn't work as well for me so I have to use Loratadine (active ingredient in Claritin) Had to take one of our dogs in with similar symptoms and the Vet told us it was probably fire ants. I now have to work pretty hard to keep them out of the yard. I would bet he got into a fire ant pile, based on the symptoms. Hard to believe those tiny little suckers can hurt so bad. Glad it turned out well! Still wish we had been at the rally..

[Lily&Me]

Hmmmm, Benadryl for dogs.

Wish I had thought of that when Lily had a reaction to one of those anti-flea-and-tick applications you run along their spine.

We were on the road at the time. I did call the vet, who told us what to watch for if she needed doggie-ER, otherwise to wait it out and avoid that particular product in the future.

We have added a bottle of saline solution to our first-aid kit, for flushing eyes and especially Lily's, whose tend to fill with sand when she plays on the beach.

Our pets, our babies.


Maggie

[Mr & Mrs S]

Sorry it took so long for us to report back, we came home today and had to unpack the camper. Yuck!

Well when we woke up this morning we checked on Zeus Man first thing, he was fine very mild swelling on the right side of his upper lip. But we have noticed that it looks like something might have gotten him on that side. Snake bite? I just dont know.... Ive had dogs bitten by snakes in the past and swell up till they look like they will pop, but I have never had a dog that had hundreds of bumps all over his body like Zeus had yesterday. We give the Vet a call this morning and he says he believes it was a allergic reaction to something he may have gotten into. Mrs. S and I have thought about it over and over and we just cant figure it out.
The Vet said even if it was a snake bite that the Benadryl is still good to give them, but if the symptoms worsen after the dosage then bring them to the Vet.
Now looking at him we cant tell anything has happened at all. Just a small mark on the upper lip.

All is well, just wanted to share the info with everyone, might help someone else along the way one day. I know we will keep it with us at all times from now on.

[Stefrobrts]

So glad to hear your buddy is doing well, what a scary thing to happen on a trip!

We also keep benadryl handy for our dogs. We had a dalmatian who was allergic to everything, and it helped him when he'd have an itchy outbreak. Just last week our younger dog was on a benadryl regimen for a couple days because it was time for her shots. Because she had a reaction in the past, the vet has us start her on benadryl before she comes in for the shot, and then day and night for the next three days just to be safe. She also breaks her shots up so she gets them a couple weeks apart.

Ask your vet, but ours recommended 1 mg per pound of weight, so a 25mg tablet is perfect for our 24 and 28 lb dogs.

She also gave me this advice - when you buy it, either get the authentic benadryl, or if it's a generic/store brand check the label to make sure there is no added medications. Some add aspirin to their formula, which would be very bad for dogs!

[Mr & Mrs S]

Forgot to tell everyone thanks for the well wishes.
Our dogs are like children to us. Im sure all of you are the same with your pets.

Thanks for the heads up on the off brands Stefrobrts, thats good to know.


You know something that I found odd yesterday, when the Vet told us to watch him for 50 minutes after giving him the second dose and report back to him.

We watched him very carefully, and I remeber being at the forty minute mark and there were no changes what so ever and I was getting really worried and by the time Mrs. S picked up the phone to ring the Vet to give the report ALL the bumps were gone and his face was loosing the swelling rapidly.

You know most Vets would have said half hour or on the hour but know he said 50 minutes and bam thats what it took.........So tell me he hasnt used that trick before.....

Guess the man knows what he's talking about, I sure was in question for a long while. Guess he showed me

Glad he did though. Since he didnt charge us a thing guess Ill have to stop by and buy him lunch one day.

[Nuvite-F]

Like a lot of you, we carry Benadryl in our dog care kit and have used it a couple of times. Our old Bichon (we think--he was a stray) used to have periodic allergy attacks for which our vet recommended Benadryl. (He has since gone to the happy hunting ground at a ripe old age somewhere in his teens, in people years.)

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

When I've been faced with severe upper respiratory allergies, I've hated the next-day effects of 50mg -- really kicks my a** and I always feel horribly tired.

I don't know your age, but note that Benadryl is contraindicated in geriatric patients (e.g. Virginia Geriatrics: Medications to Avoid in the Elderly ) Us older folks don't metabolize the stuff quite as quickly resulting in higher peak levels and resulting side effects. I used to take 50 mg at bedtime when suffering from a cold but today would be reluctant to take 25 mg--like you say, the stuff really gives me a hangover.
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