Need BW brain power

[nalabear]

We got Reo last winter. We bathed him several times with no issues. Then for some reason during the summer within a couple hours of his bath he would get hives all over his body (it looked like he was one giant hive). They would last a good two weeks then disappear. Benadryl didn't work. Shots from Vet didn't work. So we limited his baths because of this over the summer. Well here we are in the fall and he really needed a bath. Well its been 48 hours since his bath and no hives. Not a one. It is the same dog soap we have used for all of his baths. Nothing added or taken away and same bottle even.

Any suggestions as to why he got hives in the summer but not in the colder weather? I am so confused.

 

[Stub]

was he outside while wet after the bath in summer? Maybe pollen or something he was allergic to stuck to his wet fur afterwards and caused a reaction, which is not now in the air anymore?

 

[CrazyCharlie]

Was he let outside while still wet? I know that when our dogs are outside and wet in the summer the bugs attack them like crazy I guess wet dog smell is really attractive... So then they have what look kind of like hives, but they are just bug bites.

I don't wash them in the summer unless they REALLY need it because of this.

 

[nalabear]

Thank you for the responses.

I was thinking an allergie or possible bug bites but wasn't sure. But now I am.

The bugs loved him this summer. He always had one or two bumps a day, never in the same place, except after baths.

I don't recall letting him out right away after a bath but that may not have stopped the bugs from biting if he still had the wet dog smell. Defenitely something to look into for next year.

Thank you

 

[violetashlee]

I dont have any suggestions as to why it happens in the summer, but not winter, but I wanted to let you know that this happened to Violet once after a bath. The hives came so quickly and they were hives on top of hives and her entire body was covered in layers of hives. I took her to the ER and they had never seen anything like it. I requested and Benedryl and antibiotic shot. The gave it to her and told me "I dont think it will help b/c it doesnt appear to be an allergic reaction" Surely, it didnt help. So the following week I took her to the regular vet who did a skin biopsy and it came back a "drug toxicity". Odd b/c she was not on any drug but her thyroid meds, and I KNOW she didnt get into anything toxic either.

This did happen in the spring time (though I never considered the time of year having anything to do with it). And the vet maintains that it was a drug toxicity. So, the only way I can think of how that would happen is that I tended to clean the dogs the same day I cleaned the house and maybe having contact with the house cleaners caused the toxicity. The vet didnt seem to think it was related to the bath, but I disagree b/c with in a couple of hours of the bath, she was a hivey mess. Whatever. I switched my household cleaning products to "green cleaners" and only wash the dog in gentle non-soap shampoos and have never had the problem since. The other thing is that the ER vet said it COULD BE (but no one really knows) that because I "scrubbed her really good" that day and I could have caused perforations in the hair follicles. So, that is another thing I do differntly, I scrub her VERY gently during bath time.

It was never determined what happened exactly, I only know she had a drug toxicity which was impossible, so, I made a few changes and it never happened again.

Good Luck.

 

[BoozerBaby]

I am ashamed to say I got upset with my Boozer when he was about 2 yrs old and I shouted at he to go lay down,he went and did as I shouted for a few minutes THEN came back to ask if he could get on the couch and OMG he was covered with these huge hives,I freaked out run him to the vet $ 300 to find out they were hives probably because he was never yelled at and it made him to nervous he never got yelled at again.

 

[srennie]

Our first boxer got hives if I used conditioner on him. I'm guess it clogged his pores or there was something in the conditioner that he was allergic to. Our 2nd boxer got hives during the forth of july with the fireworks...stress induced. Our 3rd (current) boxer gets hives if she lays in the sun too long. Sometimes they last for days, sometimes they go away in a matter of hours. Boxers and hives!!!

 

[nalabear]

wow, and I thought hives were just from an allergic reaction to a food or a contact allergy. What an eye opener.

Reo still has no hives from his bath which has been wonderful for both of us The hives upon hives is almost what it looks like. The first time he got them we went to the vet and as the vet was looking at him they continued to get worse. They didn't know why either but nothing worked to stop it. I was told that if they didn't go away in a day or two to come back but they never could solve the problem and they didn't think it was because of the bath. We even cut down some of our low branches on our trees so he couldn't rub up against them. and completely cleaned the yard of all bushes to no avail.

I guess we shall see what next year holds for him and this problem.

 

[violetashlee]

wow, and I thought hives were just from an allergic reaction to a food or a contact allergy. What an eye opener.

Reo still has no hives from his bath which has been wonderful for both of us The hives upon hives is almost what it looks like. The first time he got them we went to the vet and as the vet was looking at him they continued to get worse. They didn't know why either but nothing worked to stop it. I was told that if they didn't go away in a day or two to come back but they never could solve the problem and they didn't think it was because of the bath. We even cut down some of our low branches on our trees so he couldn't rub up against them. and completely cleaned the yard of all bushes to no avail.

I guess we shall see what next year holds for him and this problem.

One more thing that I just remembered about this incident (it was 3 years ago so it comning to me in pieces) is that the ER vet also said if I think it was related to the bath, sometimes the top layer of the soap can get bacteria and cuase problems. Try putting the soap in a tub a skim off the top prior to bathing her. I did that for a while, but I no longer do it.

Just another idea if the problem persists next year - warmer weather perhaps = more bacteria that can grow on the soap???

I hope it doesn't happen to him again as it can be frustrating when the vets look at you like "I dont know, but I don't think it was the bath" when you know it happens right after a bath??? It kinda puts the ball in your court to try to figure it out.

I also thought that hives were only related to allergies, but I asked for a Benedryl shot and it didnt help, so I dont know. And a correction from ym first post - I asked for a Benedryl shot and a STEROID shot, not antibiotic. It was the weekend, and it was so bad I didnt want to leave the vet without trying. Then the following Monday, I tokk her to the vet where they did the biopsy. She remained a lumpy mess for about a week to 10 days before it all went away.

Kelly