Hives, are they being caused by heat?????

[pennypenny]

We have a one year old boxer who has had hives on and off since we got her as a puppy. We thought that they were caused by food, so we changed her food to Limited Ingredient Diet/fish and potatoes. She stabilized on this and went a good deal of the winter with no hives. Then I got a heating blanket, and the funny thing was whenever she sat on it with me, she was covered in hives wherever the heat was. We thought it was the shampoo somehow and have tried MANY different kinds to try to stop it, including very expensive prescription shampoos (rinsing for an eternity!!). As long as she did not get near the blanket, she was fine. She is okay with regular blankets, or the same blanket if the heat is off.

Then it started getting warm outside again. Each time she lays in the sun outside, the side facing the sun breaks out in hives. Yesterday was very warm, 10 minutes in the sun laying on the cement patio, and she was covered with hives only on the side facing the sun. Benadryl helps knock them back down, but I am at a loss. Is it the heat? Or still the shampoo residue heated up?

Any ideas at all? We are at a loss and not able to splurge for extensive allergy testing at this time.

 

[BoxerRiggo]

hmmm...thats interesting.
the only thing that came to mind was when you were takling about blankets, i have to use ALL clear or somthing similar to wash Riggos bedding becaues of his sensitive skin/allergies.
we actually see an allergist/dermatologist for immunotherapy (allergy shots) and I have never heard from him that heat can CAUSE hives but heat DOES make them worse. A cool rinse in the bath can help soothe a dog when they have hives, and then we always use oral steriods/antihistimine with a bad outbreak. Maybe it is just somthing random caused by an enviromental allergen? who knows. we had the expensive skin testing done for allergy shots and know many of Riggos allergies but I am still learning all of the many things in the environment he is truley allergic to since they obviously can't test for everything.
i know it can be frustrating, you are not alone
best of luck,
courtney and riggo

 

[djheitz]

People can be allergic to sunlight...can dogs?

 

[Cami]

Dogs CAN be allergic to sunlight. I've read about it being referred to as Solar urticaria or Solar dermatitis. I stumbled upon this info at various times throughout the years researching mast cell tumors, allergies, hives, etc...
You said:

We thought that they were caused by food, so we changed her food to Limited Ingredient Diet/fish and potatoes. She stabilized on this and went a good deal of the winter with no hives.

One would assume that a dog in your area in the winter would receive less exposure to the sun. You may be onto something. If you Google the two terms I included you should be able to find more info on it. Make sure to include canine or dog in your searches as it also refers to humans. It is pretty rare but not unheard of! There are various HUMAN treatments including desensitization. I don't know what is available for dogs though aside from antihistamines. Have you tried giving Benadryl PRIOR to sun exposure?

I would for sure follow up with your vet. IF this is the case it can be quite serious.

 

[rena]

I have a 10 year old boxer female. Every time she lays in a patch of sunshine (inside or out), she gets hives. They typically don't last more than an hour. I think she has figured it out herself, she usually doesn't stay out too long anymore and haven't had whole body hives in quit a number of years. However, even 10 mins laying in the sun results in hives on her head. I typically don't see them from just heat if she has stayed in the shade. Now the interesting bit is she typically doesn't get them if we are walking or playing on a sunny day - they just come out from "sun bathing".

 

[pennypenny]

Thank you for your replies so far.

The sun exposure is an interesting idea, especially since Rena has a boxer who has the same type if issues. Penny my boxer also does not seem to have a problem when she is running around like a nut playing not in the sun. I will watch carefully to see.

However, this does not account for the heating blanket. If it is on and heated up, she will get hives where she is laying on it. If it is cool and she lays on it, nothing?

I do use a no fragrance, no dyes etc. detergent on all things in this house due to my own tendency for itchy skin. What I have been meaning to try is to see what a hot water bottle (rubber) placed against her skin for about 15 minutes will do... She certainly won't mind since she LOVES sun, heat, etc.

Any others with similar issues I would love to hear from. Penny is such a wonderful puppy, I am desperate to help her! She recently ingested some rope, and pieces of my son's toy. Surgery set us back over $3,000 to get the blockage out. Between that, her spaying surgery a few months before that, a fence for the yard for her to play in, etc. Allergy testing on top of that is crazy out of the question right now!