Ouch a Bee

With Summer comes bees and with bees the furkids may get stung. We have already had this happen this year, while taking a walk Wickkett stepped on a honeybee in the clover and it stung him. Poor guy did not know what happened but he knew it hurt he stuck his foot straight up in the air. So its a good time to share some valuable information about stings in dogs. As with humans dogs can be allergic to them and need immediate vet care a few things to watch for

• 1. Difficulty breathing
• 2. Difficulty swallowing
• 3. Swelling spreads beyond sting area
• 4. Other signs of an allergic reaction (or the more severe condition, anaphylactic shock) are collapsing, vomiting, diarrhea, pale gums, trembling or weakness, pale gums, excessive drooling, a fever or agitation. If you notice any of these call your vet!

A few things you can do at home to treat the sting

• 1. Remove the stinger, the best way is using a credit card to scrape out the stinger tweezers can squeeze more venom into your dog when you take it out.
• 2. Make a paste of baking soda and water diluted enough to stick to skin. This mixture not only helps with pain relief but helps to dilute any toxins.
• 3. Relieving swelling can be done with an ice pack, ice in a plastic zip bag wrapped in a dish towel and alternate 5 minutes on 5 minutes off.
• 4. Many vets use this human allergy med at a dosage of 1 mg per 1 lb. of dog body weight. Tablets are 25 mg each, which would be the dosage for a 25 lb. dog. A 50 lb. dog would need two tablets, a 12 lb. dog would need half a tablet, etc. But call a veterinarian FIRST; you need professional advice.

As with any injury please consult a veterinarian first. From our latest incident the baking soda paste worked wonders, after it staying on the sting for just a bit Wick stopped wanting to lick it I also gave him benedryl which really helped as it never really did any swelling.