Please some insight! How serious can an allergy get?

[Domi's Mom]

I posted something awhille ago but no responses, maybe i wasn't very clear. I am wondering if first are boxers allergic to turkey? The vet told me that its ok for some dogs but for boxers there is too much protein. Second how serious can it get, before we took our domi to the ER last night his whole body was covered in bumps...seemed serious and his little eyes were swollen. Since last night the bumps are only coming back every 5 hours or so and he is only getting at most 10 little bumps as apposed to about 100. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and we continue to give him the benadrill as direction but I am not sure if his allergy has to run its course or if i should still be concerned. Last, I am hoping that it is a turkey allergy as if it is not I am not sure what I would do becuase he has never had a problem until now (5 months) and I don't know where I would be begin to find out what is causing the problem. I guess I am just worried because the bumps keep coming back and I am not sure if he is still getting the reactions because of something else or like i said because the reaction must take its course.

 

[Makena'sMom]

allergies

I'm not sure about boxers being allergic to turkey but my puppy had a recent allergic reaction when she ate a bee. It was so bad that she not only broke out in a million hives but also was throwing up. The emergency vet told us that allergic reactions in dogs where they are throwing up are the most severe reactions that they can get. He gave us prednisone and benadryl and told us to keep her on the medicines for 24 hours after the hives disappeared. He did warn us that if the hives went away and came back that we should go to the vet again. You may want to just give a call to the vet to let them know that they go away and reappear even if there aren't many hives that return.

 

[craZ4HERKIE]

I don't know how long an allergic reaction can last. Herkie broke out in hives once...was entirely covered, the ER vet did a course of benadryl and prednisone. His hives never came back. If Domi is still breaking out tomorrow, I'd put in a call to his regular vet to see if they have any insight..or if maybe they should see him. I hope Domi is feeling better soon.

 

[gmacleod]

Well, yes a boxer can be allergic to turkey. Or to any other meat, fish, grain, plant, etc And then there are the environmental allergens...

As to how bad can it get - same sort of range as for people. A dog that is severely allergic to something, at it's worst, could go into anaphyllactic shock and die. That is the extreme though, and would be highly unusual after a single exposure. It can (and has) happened however with more than one exposure - you could do a search here and find one or two threads, I'm sure.

If your boy is repeatedly breaking out in hives though, I wouldn't think that the turkey is the (sole) cause. The allergic reaction shouldn't last any longer than it takes for any turkey to clear his system - which isn't likely to be more than 24 hours. It's more than 24 hours that this has been going on? Now, he could be allergic to turkey, but I'd be inclined to at least suspect something environmental that he's getting constant exposure to. What's different in your house or yard right now? Christmas tree and decorations? Flowering plants? Those are possible causes too.

If the hives are responding to benedryl, that's good. But if they keep reappearing for longer than, say, 48 hours then I think you need to look at an environmental cause and eliminate it.

 

[Domi's Mom]

We've been giving him the benadryl every 8 hours as directed and last night he started breaking out with about 3 hives and we gave him another pill and since then (about 12 hours) we've seen nothing. I am baffled and almost hoping it is the turkey because otherwise I would have no idea what it would be. From what my family is telling me my aunt gave him a pretty decent piece so I was just thinking it was taking a little longer to clear his system. He has never had any problems with cleaning solutions (all the same) the christmas tree, all treats and food are the same. Can a 5 month old just develop a reaction to something he has come in contact with before??? Stressing!

 

[gmacleod]

Can a 5 month old just develop a reaction to something he has come in contact with before??? Stressing!

Yep, he can. Actually most allergies (including in people) are things that build up over time. The reaction on first contact may be just about un-noticable, but gets worse with each subsequent contact until you get a noticable or even severe reaction.

With that said, the most likely culprit is still the turkey. Sounds as though he's just about over whatever it was though

 

[jessie30]

Hi

My Jessie used to have a lot of skin issues and she used to have bumps all over her back and her head. We kept switching her food from Iams to Eukanuba then we started to feed her Nutro and she never got the bumps ever again and her coat never looked so shiny. Our boxer has a very sensitive stomach even carrots causes her problems. you may want to try to switch his food cause that made a huge difference for us, maybe it will do the same for you.