Got a problem with Hus's dog, need input please

[Marty]

Something is wrong with Devin and of course it happens on a weekend.

He got into something and I have no idea what. His entire body is extremely

itchy and he has little itty bitty some kind of bumps/sores all over his head, (only on his head)

like little blisters and one of his eyes was nearly swollen shut. He's been sleeping all

day and all night and when he wakes up, he's body slamming himself itching. I put compresses on the eye, and put antibiotic creme on his head sores and the swelling over his eye is almost cleared up now. At first I thought it was flea bites but I couldn't find a bunch of fleas on him. (He's on Frontline and also Adams spray).

I bathed him this morning in the tub and was busting open these little blister/sore things and he seemed a

whole lot better afterwards, but just wants to mostly sleep. He hates baths but he was very happy to be in the tub this time. He is eating and walking around pooped and

peed and did attempt chase and bite the tires on Dan's car as he was pulling in the driveway, so that part is normal. His gums are bright pink.

I think he must have rolled in ants or got in a swarm of something and no sign of snake bite. We have used a magnifying glass and can't see anything to indicate it.

Hus thinks he got into poison ivy behind the garage where he was hanging out; but I did some reasearch that says dogs do not get poison ivy. He obviously stuck his head where it didn't belong.

Anyone got any idea what I can do for him until the vet opens in the am to make him more comfortable?

I'm thinking of putting him back in the tub and let him soak with some medicated shampoo I have for dogs: I have oatmeal and some other kinds and also bedadine and iodine shampoos. I did wash his bedding.

I have tons of meds on hand but have no idea what to give him. This is Hus baby, his nasty junk yard dog who is 11 years old now.

His accurate weight it 78 pounds and was at the vet just a short time ago and got a clean bill of health.

We very much appreciate your imput.

 

[Denise]

Hey Marty it sounds like fire ants. How's his breathing? If its fine give him a Benadryl. Watch his breathing if it gets bad rush him to the vet. I'm not a vet but thats what we give our bulldogs the minute we see redness or swelling on them.

 

[minisaremighty]

Is it possible he got into a swarm of bees or wasps? I know our dog did that a couple years ago and had little welts all over his face. We witnessed it so we knew for sure though. It was pretty painful. We gave him some baby aspirin, benedryl and cool compresses, seemed to make it tolerable for him.

 

[jayne]

I'll also recommend the benadryl suggestion. My aussie has tons of allergies (bought her from a backyard breeder; I know better now) and the vet recommended as many as two benadryl twice a day. Usually just one now gives her relief. Cool compresses should help too, but I think he'll get almost instant relief if you can give him an antihistamine.

Jayne

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Oh Marty, he's put his head "in" something I think and gotten bitten. Use children's benedryl, adult if it's all you have. I love the childrens cuz the melty things just go on the tongue...called Benadryl Allergy Quick Dissolve Strips! ( Even my vet loves em...easy to get into the pet. I introdiced him to them and for cats he adores it, no clawing! ) For sweet Devon a whole strip and see if he feels any better....if not you can give him one more. Poor darlin, the itching will last a while, so stock up.

 

[luckymeacres]

I would say it is probably fire ants also. Our shihtzu got into some one time at a rest area, and she had little white head blisters all over from them.

 

[Bess Kelly]

If you bathe him again use some baking soda in the water. Try vinegar & lemon juice 50/50 for wipe on. I'm like the others, sounds like fire-ants ---

: you remember those guys from FL, right??

Benedryl probably best thing for med.

 

[Marty]

UPDATE: Great suggestions thank you! I was thinking Benedryl but wasn't sure so thanks for that idea.

We got him out of the tub again with some oatmeal/aloe dog shampoo I had and YES Bess Wow I did think of baking soda and made a paste on his head. The sores are open right down to the pink and so gross he's all tore up there really bad, but I think he did a lot of it himself scratching his head with his paws. This poor dog!

He is feeling so much better again and his swelling is about gone but he got tired and already sleeping with Jerry poor guy. Maybe sleep is the best thing for him.

Yes I do feel he rolled in ants or got stung. We have wasps back there by the garage I have been informed.

We are probably out of the woods I'm hoping the worst is over, but I'm going to take him to the vet in the am if I have any doubts. I"ll see if he still wants to be body slamming around when he wakes up.

You guys are great.

I'll post another update tomorrow.

Mucho thanko

******************

Another update:

He's up and scratching himself to pieces again, oh nuts.........this is going to be a long night

 

[minisaremighty]

So glad he's doing a little better! As far as Benedryl goes, my doctor tells me I can give my 6 year old daugher 3 times the regular dose of adult benedryl and up to 4 times on an initial allergy attack (we have severe food & nut allergies in our house

: :no: ) and it will NOT hurt her. She's about 50 lbs. After an hour, if the symptoms are not better, another 3x the dose. Thank God for Benedryl, I KNOW it's saved all 5 of us in the family from severe attacks on several occasions, we carry it with us at all times. Those strips Debs mentioned are wonderful because they fit in our wallets!

I definitely recommend everyone keep Benedryl on hand in their critter 1st aid, it can be a lifesaver.

:

 

[Sonya]

I say the benadryl also...when brutus gets stung, he gets an adult dose of benadryl, he is 95 lbs. A regular adult dose is 50mg, the over the counter stuff is 25mg, so 2 pills. You could definately give Devin 2, the same Brutus gets. Radar also gets benadryl when his skin allergies act up (allergic to grass - imagine that), he only gets 1 pill, 25mg, he is 45 lbs.

Brutus got stung once by a crapload of hornets...he got so sick, swelled up, throwing up, acting all wierd. We were on vacation. I called the nearest vet and he said to give him 4 times the adult dosage...which is 8 pills, I was nervous about that, so I only gave him 6, in about an hour, he was almost normal...except tired. It is hard to overdose on benadryl...Doubling or even tripling the dosage is usually ok, even for a person. Although it's not recommended, but if you had a very strange situation that warranted it, I'd do it.

Hope he's feeling better.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Howz the boy this morning Marty? I hope you upped his benedryl dose if he kept scratching. It's hard to OD on it and it makes em sleepy so less scratching. Poor darlin may need a bit of prednisone. Prayers and light comin!

 

[Sandy S.]

Any chance he laid or rolled in insulation. A lot of people don't think about a dog doing that but they will. We had one that was in the garage and we had a roll of the pink fiberglass insulation and he tore it up making a bed out of it. Poor guy for about 4 months his whole nose was sores from the fiberglass. A few itchy spots and sore on his body too. Wasn't a whole lot we could do, brushed him to get any out of his fur, bathed him, benedryl and then antibiotics on all open sores when they came up. It took a while for all the fiberglass to get out of his body.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

Marty, it did sound like fire ants to me too with the itching and the little blisters, but you aren't supposed to have fire ants in Tennessee. How is he this morning? What did the vet think?

 

[Marty]

I can't find any ants but I did find a lot of hornets or wasps and some prickly bushes things where he was hanging out with Hus by the garage on Friday night. Truly a junk yard dog.

He's much better but sleeping a lot. Very little swelling now and he's not itching his body, just his head also I put cortisone creme on it. The baths must have helped so I'll do another later just in case. He's been out, chased the mail truck so that's a good sign. If he tries to kill the meter reader, that's a very good sign. Now he's flapping his ears so I put a round of ear mite meds in them. Geesh......that dog.

I called the vet to talk to them but they are closed for some reason. I don't get it, they just took their vacation 2 weeks ago so don't know why they are closed now. I don't want to bring him to a strange vet because Devin bites and attacks and our vet knows just how to handle him and he has all his records and knows him etc. and its not an emergency. I left a message for them to call when they get back and they might want to see him anyhow. But if he does not continue to improve, or gets bad again, we will take him to the emergency clinic in Chattanooga.

Someone mentioned prednisone. I've got a lot of that.......

wondering why I should give it?

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I said predisone Marty. This happened to bith Glacia's dog (ground bees) and my Fia (red ants). We instantly used the benedryl and the Indie dog was fine, sift fine hair. Fia has a harsher coat like Devon and she was digging herself raw so my vet put her on a light dose of predisone and the usual decreasing regimine for 10 days. Ask your vet for sure before using but I recommended it because of it's corticosteroid use....read this:

Basic Information

Prednisone is a synthetic corticosteroid used for many conditions in both human and veterinary medicine. Its anti-inflammatory activity is approximately four times that of hydrocortisone. Corticosteroids are extremely effective anti-inflammatory drugs because they affect the inflammatory process at so many different levels. Prednisone is rapidly converted to prednisolone in the liver and in most instances, these drugs are considered to be roughly equivalent. Corticosteroids have strong beneficial effects but a definite potential to cause negative side effects if abused. Prednisone may be given by injection, orally or topically.

Dogs and Cats

Prednisone is used for a wide variety of conditions in both dogs and cats. It may be used in emergency situations including, anaphylactic reactions, spinal chord trauma, and many forms of shock. It is used in the management and treatment of immune mediated disease such as immune mediated hemolytic anemia, or thombocytopenia: many CNS disorders: some neoplasia: dermatologic diseases: allergic reactions such as asthma, hives, and itching: inflammatory orthopedic diseases: endocrine disorders including Addison's: respiratory disease with an inflammatory component, inflammatory bowel diseases and many other conditions.

I hope he feels better soon, poor doggie and poor you.

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