• Poor little guy! 😞


  • Poor puppy!!!!

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

  • Houston

    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..


  • @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.


  • @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?


  • 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

  • Houston

    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..


  • 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. 😞


  • 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!


  • @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.


  • 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


  • 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.


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


  • I'm glad he's feeling better! 🙂


  • 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.


  • 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?


  • 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.


  • 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!


  • 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.


  • Grace, we are going through the same thing with one of our adults right now. If you look for my post "can you spare a thought"…you will see I posted something really similar.

    Did the puppy have a vaccine in the last few days? A lot of times we see a reaction like this after a vaccine.

    In our case, we don't know what triggered Hippo's reaction, and we probably never will. Lots of puppies have this once or twice, and then never again. Sometimes it takes several days before the immune system settles down. It won't hurt to continue the Benadryl for several days to get thru the discomfort.

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