Last night was awful…

[NerdyDogOwner]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Well, we have been home for a few hours, and this is how it went:

Once we got home from the vet Gizmo went "nuts" again, and deliberately falling to the floor face first in an attempt to scratch it. He mostly stays on the doormat since it is nice and rough.
So naturally, the kind "daddy" I am, I helped him and scratched him while he constantly cried. Really tore my heart up listening to him.

I gave him a shower with the shampoo the vet gave me, and followed that up with his medicine (I will tell you guys what brand/type she gave me at the end).
The shampoo seemed to help a lot. He stopped scratching his body, but his face/head was still a problem. I didn't wash this with the shampoo due to danger of getting this stuff into his eyes.

He still screamed and cried due to his itchy face, so I followed the vets advise to go outside with him to keep him occupied on other stuff. Luckily we met several other dogs, and he only once sat down to scratch himself.
We were outside for around 40 minutes, so the medicine started to kick in. He was pretty "groggy" at the end, and I had to really work hard in keep him from planting his butt on the ground.

Once we got home he finally got some sleep. And is sleeping next to me now. Every once and awhile he will whimper and move around a bit, but so far so good.

The shampoo the vet game me was: Virbac Animal Health, Epi-Soothe, I can highly recommend it! Seemed to work wonders!
The medicene: Atarax 10mg. The instructions/explaination in the package was a pretty interesting read. This drug also seems to help anxiety, itching, etc. I guess it's almost the "anti-Basenji" drug!!

PS.
I will upload a video of Gizmo with his condition. I filmed yesterday and a bit today when we got home. I'll let you guys know when it's uploaded.

@Basenjimamma:

Oh, poor Gizmo, and you too..so much for sleep.
Do you think he got bit by spider, ant or anything, maybe even inside his nose?

I really don't think it was a spider bite. It's getting pretty cold here now, so I think most spiders are gone. Also Norway has no real dangerous/venomous spider spices. But I am thinking a bug of some kind. Maybe those black beetle bugs that spray "stink" he did find one earlier that day, but I didn't think he got close enough for it to spray him.

EDIT:

Ok the video is uploaded. If you pause it real quick at the fist picture/frame, you can really see how his lips are swollen, as well as his snout. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNerdyDogOwner#p/u/0/evM7FD7Dk4o

[renaultf1]

Poor little guy!

[vickilb]

Poor puppy!!!!

I feel so bad for him. He looks like he just wants to be sweet and cute and can't stop itching!!!

[Basenjimamma]

Poor Gizmo.
I agree on that shampo being great, I have used it extensively on our very allergic Westie, in the past..worked wonders.
I hope he is feeling better as the day progresses. Did the vet give you an indication as to how long this might last?

I know you probably don't have any poisonous anything, Sweden sure doesn't,but what else can it be? Maybe a plant, do you have nettles around your walking path? The sting and make me swell up like all get out, you never know?

Best wishes for a quick recovery, so Gizmo can be Gizmo again..

[Kananga]

@NerdyDogOwner:

Ok the video is uploaded. If you pause it real quick at the fist picture/frame, you can really see how his lips are swollen, as well as his snout. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNerdyDogOwner#p/u/0/evM7FD7Dk4o

Poor guy.

He looks awfully miserable. Hopefully the drugs help and gets back to normal.

[Janneke]

@NerdyDogOwner:

Ok the video is uploaded. If you pause it real quick at the fist picture/frame, you can really see how his lips are swollen, as well as his snout. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNerdyDogOwner#p/u/0/evM7FD7Dk4o

Aaahw.. poor thing…
Is he feeling better already?

[NerdyDogOwner]

Well yes and no…

He isn't scratching as much, but thanks to me...sigh, I am such an idiot...I gave him his second dose WAY to early.
I just thought "well it's evening now, so here is the second dose"....without realizing it was only 3.5 hours since I have him his first.

So....he has puked a bit. But on the flip side, it seemed to have helped doing so. He quickened up, and was actually a bit playful.

His vomit did consist of mainly food, and a lot of it! So this helped me in realizing I should adjust his feeding times a bit farther apart to avoid overfeeding him.

Naturally he didn't want to eat any food since he puked it all up. Like drinking beer after being totally wasted the night before....yuck!
So I gave him some bread with peanut-butter, which he loved.

On a happy note it seems like his rash bumps on his head are almost gone. I think him not scratching has dampened the irritation, just like when you scratch on a mosquito bite makes it worse.
So the medicine has really helped in that area. At this rate I expect everything to be fine tomorrow.

He is sleeping on the floor, which I upped the heat on. It's like a sauna in here, but he is happy and that's what counts. :p

[Basenjimamma]

You know once our schnauzer mix threw up, she felt much better too, maybe this was a good thing, even though throwing up is never fun..

Hoping to hear good news of a long, good nights sleep tonight..

[AJs Human]

I'll be clear here before I even start: I was an EMT for 5 years working with humans. I have seen this…in people...it is definitely hives. They are miserable. You can push them around because it is an accumulation of fluid under the skin, the body's mechanism to surround whatever it is his immune system is reacting to.
It's miserable to have them (personal experience) and worse to watch your dog with them because they don't understand what's wrong. Petting and touching are intolerable because that makes the hives itch even more.
Please watch him for anaphylaxis. Basically, this is when the trachea, brochii and lungs react in the same way his skin is reacting in your video, with the further complication of dilated blood vessels, which lowers the blood pressure, sometimes dangerously. Anaphylaxis will present almost exactly like asthma. If you see even the beginning of this, get him emergency care as soon as you can. Anaphylaxis is life threatening.
Also, check with the Forum experts about keeping Benadryl (diphenhydramine) available and what dosage to give him and check about interactions with the meds your vet gave you. If you have to use it, it will make him sleepy, but I can't think of any better antihistamine than that.

I hope you can figure out what he's reacting to. Poor little guy.

[nobarkus]

I made the mistake of picking up Ringo (92-2007) once when he had bumps all over him after a hike around some bushes and trees at the beach. He must of been miserable because he bit me pretty good. Put a hole right through my finger nail. Ouch!

[Kananga]

@AJs:

Also, check with the Forum experts about keeping Benadryl (diphenhydramine) available and what dosage to give him and check about interactions with the meds your vet gave you. If you have to use it, it will make him sleepy, but I can't think of any better antihistamine than that.

I've always been told 1mg per lbs when it comes to Benadryl and canines. So for an adult B, around 20-25mg. Pretty much every vet I've dealt with has recommended the same dosage.

I've actually used Benadryl for long car rides to help reduce motion sickness. It just makes them drowsy and they nap instead of getting all worked up. It's a great thing to keep around since it can be used for more than one thing.

[snorky998]

Sounds like a bee/wasp sting in or near the mouth.

Once the reaction starts, the body's immune system actually escalates the situation. AJ's human has good info in her post. Anaphylaxis, or symptoms very similar can occur from a sting on the face, throat, or in the mouth, when normally the dog doesn't react so sever when stung on other parts of the body.

Hope Gizmo is feeling better. If hives continue to come and go in greater and lesser severity, but not go away, you may consider a round of prednisone and benedryl for about a 10 day period. Most Vets will do this with a phone call request so it saves you the office visit charge. If this is the routine your vet puts Gizmo on, be prepared for a much larger intake of water, and frequent pees (or perhaps occasional accidents in the house) until the combination is out of his system.

Best wishes

[NerdyDogOwner]

Well just woke up 1 hour ago, and all seems fine! I looked over to his crate, and there was Gizmo looking back at me with his happy eyes, and curious look.

Went out for his morning walk, and he was himself again. Playful, exploring, playing with the leaves blowing around him.
I am man enough to say it actually brought a tear to my eye seeing him like this again.

And once we got back, he ate up, and just wanted to cuddle. He seems VERY relived that it's over.
I do see some very small lumps here and there, but he is not reacting to them. It could just be the drug is still in his system, but I am hopeful that it's over.

[phoenix3]

Poor little guy !! Glad he's feeling better and hope he NEVER has to go threw that again

[Janneke]

I'm glad he's feeling better!

[AJs Human]

That's great news. It always feels good to see your loved pet feeling better after an ordeal like that.

Keep a watchful eye, though…you still don't know what caused all the trouble.

[Grace]

Oh my gosh- I have a puppy that is broken out in hives and your story sounds like the night we had! I am unnerved and so is she. What was your final outcome? My vet gave prenizone and gave her and iv drip of cortizone. We live in the Midwest and it is winter. She had a different type of food- kennel food- the night before and a piece of bacon- could this be the problem? More importantly- when will it go away?

[thunderbird8588]

Hi Grace,
hope your puppy is soon better.
My last Basenji once had an allergic reaction were his head was so swollen that his eyes couldn't open properly. The only thing i could pin it down to was a Pigs ear that he'd eaten the day before (i'm just wondering about the bacon?)
Fortunately it didn't happen again but i never gave him pigs ears again either.

[Grace]

How long did the reaction last? Without Benadryl, she is in pain, cries and goes from wild to unsettled relaxation! Thanks for your help and advice!

[thunderbird8588]

Poor Puppy, that sounds awful. When we had Benji i didn't know about Benadryl and the vets were closed so we waited untill the next day and everything was back to normal.
He didn't seem to be in any discomfort apart from looking a bit odd.