My dog has hives.....

[racercutie]

I woke up this morning and noticed our dog Nala had hives all over. We have two dogs and our other dog, Paco looked fine. I looked around the house and nothing appeared to be chewed. Looked in the yard and no unusual weeds or mushrooms growing so I don't think she could have gotten into anything in the yard last night.
Our dogs are inside most of the time unless it's potty time or foody time.
The only thing I can think of is that my husband cleaned our hardwood floor with a natural 'green' plant-based cleaner and Nala likes to lay on the floor sometimes.
I gave her a tablet of Benadryl, a cool bath, and called the vet. I was told to give her another tablet later in the evening and if it doesn't subside in ~24hrs or if she developed breathing probs to call them back.
Has anyone else's pet had hives? Her welts are starting to meld together into larger welts. She's looking like the elephant man in canine form.

 

[afm199]

Pit bull? They have the worst skin. Benadryl twice a day will help. Also could be a flea allergy. My pits have always gotten flea medicine to stop the life cycle. If a Pit with flea allergy gets bitten, they will look just like that.

Fleas around where she lives? Neighbors?

 

[racercutie]

Pit bull? They have the worst skin. Benadryl twice a day will help. Also could be a flea allergy. My pits have always gotten flea medicine to stop the life cycle. If a Pit with flea allergy gets bitten, they will look just like that.

Fleas around where she lives? Neighbors?

Yes, she's Am. Staff but out of our two dogs, she actually has a great coat (Paco, our other dog tends to suffer from skin allergies).
Both of them have been on flea control. I was thinking she may have been stung by a wasp or bee since she likes to chase them (she's not exactly the brightest of the bunch, but sweet nonetheless).
Here's her lumpy head AFTER Benadryl:

 

[afm199]

Ooo poor baby. My last Pit was albino ( white fur and pink skin in places) and he had terrible skin problems and similar hives but smaller. Scary looking.

 

[fawndog]

Allergic to flea bites or mosquitoes ?

 

[DaveT319]

How much does the dog weigh? Typical benadryl dosage is 1 mg/ pound. So a 50 pound dog could have 2 25 mg pills twice a day for such a reaction. If one didn't help, give another half now and a full pill in the evening.
Poor thing, hope she feels better soon.
-mrs dave

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

I'd PM Idontdotrix here on the forum... she's been breeding and handling and treating dogs for years, and may know what caused it.
I'd also suggest a cool bath with a betadine wash... it'll help soothe the skin and get off anything she might be reacting to.
Hope the poor baby feels better soon!!

 

[Idontdotrix]

definitely looks like it's from contact

benadryl is safe up to 1mg per lb of body weight in dogs (never ever take this much for yourself)

damp wash wash cloths soaked in johnson's baby shampoo, warm clean cloths to rinse. apply caladryl lotion directly to affected spots for instant relief

poor baby

 

[racercutie]

How much does the dog weigh? Typical benadryl dosage is 1 mg/ pound. So a 50 pound dog could have 2 25 mg pills twice a day for such a reaction. If one didn't help, give another half now and a full pill in the evening.
Poor thing, hope she feels better soon.
-mrs dave

Thanks as I only gave her one 25mg tab. around 8am which did nothing (but would knock me out). Earlier tonight I gave her two discretely hidden inside her favorite cheese. I think her welts/wheals have gone down just a little bit. She's sleeping great!

definitely looks like it's from contact

damp wash wash cloths soaked in johnson's baby shampoo, warm clean cloths to rinse. apply caladryl lotion directly to affected spots for instant relief

Her bath this morning was with Johnson's baby shampoo. Funny thing is that she LOVES baths. I thought it could have been from contact, but wasn't sure.
Caladryl lotion, I believe it for itching, no? She doesn't seem to be scratching or licking at all. Just these strange raised wheals all over since this morning.
I'll just keep an eye on her tonight and tomorrow - thanks all!

 

[Idontdotrix]

yep- the lotion will help reduce those hives as well.

any chance she ate something odd? snuck a strawberry off the counter?

my boy Bullet is allergic to bees-w e found this out when he collapsed in shock at a show. we couldn't find the sting anywhere on his body and man did we have to look- he'd swallowed it and it got him in the throat. signs of a reaction tend to happen where the contact took place- in an all over, it's either something they ate or came into full body contact with.

way to pay attention and get right on it Mom!!!!! hoping she feels better today.

 

[Cyclesuzy]

Bella my pit had the same thing just localized on her head and ears. (Her ears swelled up to little pillows.) We never did figure out why she had the reaction but Benadryl plus some antibiotics and an ointment from the vet, helped her a lot.

It hasn't happened before or since. Poor thing .... hard to see our babies in any kind of discomfort. Hope your puppy feels better soon.

 

[LongGoneJohn]

My pit had the same exact thing. No idea what she did. I had the vet give her a $30 Benedryl shot and no joke, within a day it was all gone.

It looks horrible, but it's really just like us getting dry or cracked skin. Her skin just reacts differently to the allergin, whereas ours dries out (as an example).

 

[racercutie]

any chance she ate something odd? snuck a strawberry off the counter?

We don't leave food on the counter anymore after she stole a watermelon and gutted it the living room floor one day. But, we are missing a car key- key fob though. Theory is she might have eaten it. I wouldn't put it past her.

my boy Bullet is allergic to bees-w e found this out when he collapsed in shock at a show. we couldn't find the sting anywhere on his body and man did we have to look- he'd swallowed it and it got him in the throat.

Oh how horrible. The vet can give you Epi pens/injections as well as Benadryl injections for severe reactions/anaphalaxis

way to pay attention and get right on it Mom!!!!! hoping she feels better today.

She's feeling much better! Though she still had some welts on her lower body, her welts on her head have completely cleared this morning.

 

[Idontdotrix]

woohoo!

watermelon? goofy dogs!

yeah, Bully-man needed injections and intravenous therapy for the afternoon- they let us take him home, sacked out the entire trip for so call back to Sac. poor guy. thankfully epi is available at the feed store in large bottles- I'll be keeping one in the fridge all summer from now on.

 

[fawndog]

We don't leave food on the counter anymore after she stole a watermelon and gutted it the living room floor one day. But, we are missing a car key- key fob though. Theory is she might have eaten it. I wouldn't put it past her.

Oh how horrible. The vet can give you Epi pens/injections as well as Benadryl injections for severe reactions/anaphalaxis

She's feeling much better! Though she still had some welts on her lower body, her welts on her head have completely cleared this morning.

Watermelon farts are caustic, you should get that key fob back soon.

 

[}Dragon{]

We don't leave food on the counter anymore after she stole a watermelon and gutted it the living room floor one day. But, we are missing a car key- key fob though. Theory is she might have eaten it. I wouldn't put it past her.

Oh how horrible. The vet can give you Epi pens/injections as well as Benadryl injections for severe reactions/anaphalaxis

She's feeling much better! Though she still had some welts on her lower body, her welts on her head have completely cleared this morning.

 

[racercutie]

Update: Key fob

Found the car key/key fob!
(in the sofa, thankfully)