Argos's Face Swollen

[Guest ScottH]

We just got back from the e-vet. Argos was fine early this morning, but after coming in from the pen, he looked a little funny. I finally noticed that his jowls seemed to be puffed out. He had a large swollen bump under his left eye. Noreen felt the underside of his jaw was also swollen. We removed his collar in case he swelled any more and started to get ready to head down th e street to the e-vet (about 4 miles away).

After I put on my clothes, Argos ran up wagging his tail, assuming it was walk time. That is when I saw that the red tissue around the ye had swollen up and was pushing out under his left eye.

We were figuring a possible bee sting as it was cool last night and I have seen bees crawling around on the ground waiting for it to warm up. Noreen gave him 25mg of benedryl and off to the e-vet.

This whole time Argos was acting like his normal self, except for a bit more face rubbing than normal.

I snapped a quick shot before we headed out the door. Sorry for the blurriness. You can see the eye and how swollen the face is:

 

He also was sick overnight and vomited out his supper in the early morning hours. I don't know if the two symptoms are related.

The vet gave us a steroid ointment to bring down the swollen eye tissue and instructions to keep a close watch on him. The swelling is going down, so we are in watch mode now. He did eat fine this morning and showed no signs of discomfort eating. We will make sure his belly is okay and we are to go back if he vomits again.

Any one ever had there dogs face swell up suddenly like that? I assume a bee sting would do this. If the swelling keeps going down, we will have to assume that. The vet did say we might not ever know the exact cause of the swelling. She also said that 25mg was a very small dosage. She got called to an emergency and did not give us an accurate amount for our 72 lb. greyhound. What do others give for benedryl in a allergic reaction situation?

Edited September 7, 2009 by ScottH

[Guest FLT]

Aww, poor pup!! I've got my fingers crossed that he continues to improve!

 

I've always been told to give 1mg of Benedryl per pound of body weight, and rounding up slightly is okay. I'd give 3 of the 25mg pills for Drake who weighs 70 lbs if he had an allergic reaction.

 

Kaylee only weighs 65 lbs and I'd prob give her 2.5 pills.

 

Looking forward to seeing other replies on the subject.

[Guest 3greysinPA]

oh no.. poor ARgos.... what happened sweetie?

many prayers for a quick recovery...

 

p.s. i would have no idea how much Benadryl to give him... but i know that others here do and they will answer you soon.

 

many prayers today for your sweet heart... that he is ok and this was just an allergy to a bee sting... or bug bite..

[PrairieProf]

Wow, how scary! No experience with this but sending wishes that he's OK and the swelling goes down quickly!

[DaisyDoodle]

My girls have gotten their faces swollen like that when they've tried to eat wasps and yellow jackets, which are cranky this time of year anyway. They haven't had their eyes involved, though.

 

In case you need it, there is a veterinary opthalmologist in your area (which you probably know about already). I've driven past the office when I've been the the Raynham track. I can't remember the address, but it's on the road that runs from Rt. 24 toward 138, just North of the big I-495 interchange.

 

I think this is it:

http://www.vet-eyespecialists.com/

 

Hope Argos is feeling better soon.

 

DonnaDoodle

[Guest Energy11]

Dosage for allergic reaction on 72 pound dog (50-75mg) every four hours.

 

One night, about two years ago, I went over to Oakly, to give him his nightly vitamin. His face was the size of a Great Dane, and his lips were swollen! Because of my medical and vet background, I knew it was a BAD allergic reaction ... to what, I didn't know, or care, at the time. I gave 75mg of benedryl to an 82 pound dog. He needed it.

 

All the time, I had to be sure his airway didnt' swell, because there was lip and some tongue swelling. He was a lot better within 35-40 minutes. IF I had seen any airway involvement, he would have been at the E-vets. I had to give him two 25 mg of Benedryl, every four hours, for a day, according to Dr. B. Oakly also had vomiting and diarrhea, which Dr. B contributed to the severe allergic reaction. Two days later, Staggerlee came in full of welts! I went outside, and there were fire ants all over the yard, and THAT is what had gotten my dogs. We got rid of the ants with some natural stuff, and the dogs were okay.

 

I would bet your Argos tried to catch a bee. Oakly does that all the time, and if you were a bee, you'd sting too. Looks like you are on the right track. Swelling of the lips, tongue, and mouth area, are always worrisome. You did the right thing by taking him to the E-vets.

 

I keep injectable Benedryl here now. I was trained to use it as a paramedic. No matter, having Benedryl around (not the allergy/sinus kind), but the regular or generic is a first aid must.

 

Love and hugs to you and Argos! Poor baby!

[Guest RooRoo]

OMG!! Poor Argos, WTHeck? The portion of his eye that is red and puffy looks so sore! Wonder what the heck happened. And the vomiting... hmmmm... maybe it was in fact an insect. I hope it's nothing :hope I wish I had some advice for you guys but you know we're going to keep sending positive thoughts until he's back to normal!

 

to Argos

 

Maria

Rizzo & Kiwi

[Guest mhall]

Poor guy! I hope the swelling goes down quickly and that he feel better soon. No more bees Argos!

[Guest ScottH]

Poor guy! I hope the swelling goes down quickly and that he feel better soon. No more bees Argos!

 

He is doing fine. The swelling continues to go down. The eye is almost back to normal. Maybe by this afternoon, it will be.

He has not exhibited one moment of pain through out the morning.

We are suppose to head over to Noreen's sister's house for a cookout. I think Argos will have to accompany us. so we can keep an eye on him.

[Guest Energy11]

Poor guy! I hope the swelling goes down quickly and that he feel better soon. No more bees Argos!

 

He is doing fine. The swelling continues to go down. The eye is almost back to normal. Maybe by this afternoon, it will be.

He has not exhibited one moment of pain through out the morning.

We are suppose to head over to Noreen's sister's house for a cookout. I think Argos will have to accompany us. so we can keep an eye on him.

Good idea taking Argos to the cookout. You might want to bring along the Benedryl, just to have, in case the swelling starts up again. Have a good time!

[Guest mhall]

Poor guy! I hope the swelling goes down quickly and that he feel better soon. No more bees Argos!

 

He is doing fine. The swelling continues to go down. The eye is almost back to normal. Maybe by this afternoon, it will be.

He has not exhibited one moment of pain through out the morning.

We are suppose to head over to Noreen's sister's house for a cookout. I think Argos will have to accompany us. so we can keep an eye on him.

 

I bet a little taste of whatever's on the grill at the cookout will prove to be the cure

 

[Guest longdoglady]

Slightly off topic but am I right in thinking the US Benadryl contains Diphenhydramine? Here in the UK Benadryl contains Acrivastine so I do not know if it is safe to use on dogs. I had to rush Anna to the vet for the same thing when she bit a wasp, she was given a steroid injection as they said antihistamines only work well in dogs if given immediately. They would not advise me on an antihistamine to use if it happened again.

 

Edited to add: Get well soon Argos and stay clear of all flying, buzzing, stinging beasties.

Edited September 7, 2009 by longdoglady

[Guest Energy11]

Slightly off topic but am I right in thinking the US Benadryl contains Diphenhydramine? Here in the UK Benadryl contains Acrivastine so I do not know if it is safe to use on dogs. I had to rush Anna to the vet for the same thing when she bit a wasp, she was given a steroid injection as they said antihistamines only work well in dogs if given immediately. They would not advise me on an antihistamine to use if it happened again.

Wow! I did not know the US version and the UK version didn't contain the same ingredients! Yes, USA Benedryl and it's generics contain Diphenhydramine. That is the active ingredient. You might want to order some from the US to keep on hand over there, just in case.

 

RE: a SEVERE allergic reaction: Epinepherine is "first line," (first used) in a bad allergic reaction with humans, Benderyl (Diphenhydramine) "second line," used second, steroids, "third line."

 

I SWEAR by Benedryl as soon as the incident happens, and it helps later on as well. The Benedryl pulled my Oakly out of what could have been VERY bad. Good Luck!

[Guest kydie]

Poor pup, get well!

[Guest greybookends]

Sheana had that happen a couple of years ago. I put the gang out for the last turnout and when Sheana came in her WHOLE head was swollen She could barely open her eyes and her jowls were so swollen I thought her lips would split. We rushed to the evet which is about half an hour from me. I called the vet to let them know I was coming. I walked in the door and they took her straight in the back before I could even get her signed in. They were afraid in might be a snake bite. We never found out exactly what it was but we suspect either a spider bite or bee sting. They gave her a benedryl shot and she was fine.

[Guest GentleHugs]

Could Argos could have possibly gotten ahold of a toad? I only ask because a few nights ago, LuLu came in from last turn out and got sick. She was so sick in fact, we had to do CPR on her to get her breathing again. The next night - almost the same thing happened only she hived, had a swollen muzzle, threw up, etc.

 

Come to find out she got ahold of a common toad and toads are toxic. Another friend of mine just emailed me and said her dog came in the other night acting the same way LuLu did and they've had a toad explosion where they live as well.

 

You can read the thread in Toad Toxicity - LuLu here in H&M.

 

Just be careful that it's not a bufo toad though. Luckily we don't have bufo toads where I live but another friend of mine lost her non grey a few years ago to bufo toad poisoning.

[Guest GentleHugs]

Could Argos could have possibly gotten ahold of a toad? I only ask because a few nights ago, LuLu came in from last turn out and got sick. She was so sick in fact, we had to do CPR on her to get her breathing again. The next night - almost the same thing happened only she hived, had a swollen muzzle, threw up, etc.

 

Come to find out she got ahold of a common toad and toads are toxic. Another friend of mine just emailed me and said her dog came in the other night acting the same way LuLu did and they've had a toad explosion where they live as well.

 

You can read the thread in Toad Toxicity - LuLu here in H&M.

 

Just be careful that it's not a bufo toad though. Luckily we don't have bufo toads where I live but another friend of mine lost her non grey a few years ago to bufo toad poisoning.

 

If you have seen baby toads in your yard lately and you have a curious or nosey dog - be careful.

 

Sorry for the dup post...... I hit the sent button twice when I meant to edit my post.

Edited September 7, 2009 by GentleHugs

[Guest kimberllee]

Poor Argos! Lots of hugs and scritches sent his way!

[phall]

Poor Argos! That eye looked awful! I hope he's doing much better tonight, Scott.

 

Pat

[Guest Fasave]

Sounds like Argos is on the mend. I hope he continues to do well. This happened to Ave once and it turned out he had an infection behind the eye. I can't remember the exact term but he too was acting fine and eating but if you tried to open his mouth, he screamed. The poor guy couldn't yawn for almost two weeks because the infection was so close to his jaw. They think it might have happened by somehow puncturing the roof of his mouth by chewing on something. He was pretty young at the time. Keep us updated. Sending good thoughts your way.

[RobinM]

Coming into this late. SOory for the upset but glad to hear Argos is on the mend. Hugs to you both.

[Guest ScottH]

By the time the cook out was ending, the swelling was almost gone. Here is his sleepy face at the cookout.

 

 

He did vomit again, but he had been after the grass all afternoon. There was a lot of grass in there! Just to be safe, we will have him on a blander diet for a few days. If he vomits again, he will be off to see his regular vet tomorrow.

He did eat his supper with a lot of gusto though. We'll see how he does overnight. At least the swelling is all but gone. He does now have a visible bump on his muzzle that I think the swelling was masking. I believe that is where he was stung/bit.

 

Thanks for all the positive thoughts for Argos!!!

[Guest RooRoo]

I'm so glad Argos is doing much better! That picture is A-dorable!!!!

[Guest Energy11]

LOVE the photo! Oakly vomited and had diarrhea for about a day after his fire ant incident. Hope Agros continues to improve. He looks good in the photo! Hope you enjoyed your picinc, him, too! )))

[jamngrey]

wonderfull news.