Alien Dog!
Well this month Lilly threw us a bit of a scary wobbler. Damian had got up early and was presented with a very strange looking dog, definitely not the same dog that went to sleep the night before. Our smooth cute faced pup looked like she had been stung by a gazillion tiny bees, and she had developed a very weird alien looking head!
Freaked out, and as it was way too early for the vets to be open, Damian began searching the internet for the cause of the bumps,
By the time I got up, he had discovered the cause - HIVES!
Now the only thing I knew about hives is that teenagers in American movies always seem to break out in them, but I had no idea what they were and how she had developed them, so more internet delving occurred.
Once I was properly convinced Damian was correct, I had a look on the other place on the internet that I refer to when it comes to Lilly, the Lurcher Appreciation Facebook group. There were a number of posts about other people's lurchers getting hives, and lots of helpful 'cures'.
I take most internet advice under advisement until I can get corroborating science based advice, so armed with ideas my next step was to WhatsApp my friend Pam, who used to be a vet nurse, and is now a trainer of vet nurses, for more solid advice.
To be fair the Facebook posters had their advice about right. Hives in dogs is sort of the same as in humans, it is an allergic reaction to some outside influence - an ant bite, insect sting, pollen, something picked up in the grass or even a reaction to sun, and the remedy is similar - take an anti-histamine.
My friend said hives usually disappear after a day or so, though not always, and I had to keep a eye on Lilly to check that the swellings didn't interfere with her breathing, and to give her Piriton as it would help lessen the itchy and uncomfortable symptoms.
By this time the lumps were on the move and were spreading steadily around her body, and I can honestly say I was getting anxious, so I jumped in the car and headed to the chemist to grab some Piriton.
On my return Lilly was looking pitiful, with lumps and bumps everywhere, and she just wasn't herself. Pam erred on the side of caution, and told me to start her off with half a tablet (even though with Lilly's weight it said that she could have had up to 3 tablets in 24 hours), and see how things went, and that she could have the other half 12 hours later if she needed it, which would be around 11.30pm.
Things slightly improved, but not enough for me to go to bed. I was eagerly watching her for any ill effects, so sleep definitely wasn't on the cards, which proved a judicious course of action an hour later when she decided to return up everything she had eaten that day, including a ton of grass, onto the carpet.
A quick clean up, and back to being a hovering dog mother. At 3.45am, and with my eyes screaming to be closed, I decided to give her another half pill, as I figured the other one wouldn't have had much time to work after ending up ejected on to the carpet, and beneficially one of the effects is that it would make her drowsy and hopefully more settled.
At around 4.45am I went to bed, assured that the little madam was happily asleep, her breathing was fine, and knowing that Damian would be up in just over an hour to keep an eye on her.
When I arose, after a restless 5 hour sleep, the bumps and lumps were gone off her head, but had again moved around different bits of her body. Though I could see that she was feeling a bit better, and a bit more herself, I decided to give her a full pill after her lunch time walk, with fingers crossed that this would blitz the rest of the lumps.
Slowly during the day the lumps started to subside, and by around 8pm there was hardly any signs that they had been there, and she was almost back to being her lively playful self. I don't think I have ever been so relieved, and I could see Damian visibly relax.
We still have no idea what set it off as there was no visible sign of a bite anywhere, but a few days later we were speaking to her previous mum and mentioned about the hives, and she said that Lilly had had them once before, and that she had no clue either.
Pam, who is now going to use Lilly's photos when teaching her vet nurses about hives (so some good has come from Lilly's suffering) did tell me that if dogs have had hives before potentially the next time the reaction could be more severe, so from now on, along with the antiseptic spray and spray on plasters, my doggie first aid kit will definitely contain a box of Piriton!
Owning a dog is fun, but having your dog feeling poorly is awful; I think we both aged a few years in a couple of days. Let's hope that's enough drama for a while, as I don't think I can cope with any more.
