Hives

[blue girl]

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with a dog getting hives....yesterday I came home from church to find my 1yr old Gemini (lab/boxer) looking very strange--the fur along her sides was kinda sticking up (like when she gets her hackles up). After a closer look I realized she had bumps, which I thought might be bug bites, but then noticed she had them all over her sides and on her chest. I looked at my Pet First Aid book and it sounds like she may have gotten bit by a spider or stung by a bee and was having an allergice reaction. I gave her some Benadryl and a cool hose-down. Later in the day the hives had spread and by night time her whole body was covered, even her face. Poor girl looked pathetic and didn't want to play with her puppy friend at all. We gave more Benadryl before going to bed and this morning they were all gone (except for some redness on her chest), but she vomited some dark yellow stuff. She didn't want any breakfast and again did not want to play at all. I had to go to work, so I left her in the dog run with a little bit of food and water. I'm thinking she's just getting the 'poison' out of her, but wondered if anyone else has had this experience and if I should be concerned about anything else taking place.....Sorry for such a long post!
Thanks, Blue Girl

[areias]

Hives can be caused by almost anything, but I would suggest giving a call to your vet. Did you notice any bee stings or anything? An allergic reaction is very common, hives can also be caused by stress, although it dosen't sound like this is the case. Did he eat anything he shouldn't have, or did you switch foods recently?

[sanford8916]

My Lou Lou had hives a few months ago, I woke in the middle of the night to her face being so swollen that her eyes were almost swollen shut. I took her to our vet at 4am, he gave her a couple shots and sent us home.We ended up giving her benadryl too and then the poor baby got a yeast infection! Went back to the vet for some more meds. She never threw up but was very sleepy for a couple days, she wouldn't play with our other dog for a few days either. Make sure she is drinking plenty of water! Hope she feels better soon!

[blue girl]

thanks for the replies....I think it must have been a spider or a bee sting. I'll see how she's doing tonite and give my vet a call tomorrow. How would I know if she gets a yeast infection from the benadryl??

[VTJess03]

Belle had some hives, or bumps that looked like hives. I had just given her a bath and I think that I didn't get all the shampoo off her and she reacted to it. I'll be more careful next time (and have changed shampoos, too). The good thing about allergies is that once the source is gone, the reaction will usually clear up by itself (as long as it's not a severe one, of course). I took her to the vet and he gave me some of the surgical scrub that he uses for his hands before surgeries to bathe her with, and it cleared up the reaction in no time. From now on, per his suggestion, I'll be using a mild shampoo with few fragrances, etc (like baby shampoo). Just be sure to figure out what the cause of the reaction was for sure, if at all possible, and keep that away from Gemini in the future.