Bee Stings and Dogs

Posted on by buildingtheloveshack

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It seems that every blog post has a story and if anything can happen, it seems to happen to Romeo.

Poor Romeo goes outside for minutes by himself in the yard, like he does every day of his life, except today was not his lucky day. I let him out and in minutes he was jumping on the back door whining and barking. That’s not normal so I go left him in.

The first thing he does is start rubbing his nose on my legs, then on the floor, then on the walls. In the middle of all of this, he is running around the house, hyperventilating and drooling.

When I can finally get him to stand still, I can see his face is swollen, there are bumps on his face, neck, and head.

Now I am the one running around the house trying to find the Benadryl. I find them and pop him two tabs quickly.

Next, I am trying to figure out which person will be home at 1230 in the afternoon on a weekday because I’m not supposed to drive and I have one good arm to use.

That leaves the Retired Friends.

So, I call Auntie Linda who drops everything and heads to our house. But as she is coming over, Romeo’s face is continuing to swell and now he has bumps all over his body from his shoulder to his feet.

I got him to follow me into the car and called Auntie Linda, she was about five to ten minutes away depending on traffic. I made the decision that we couldn’t wait and sorry Doctor, I did try to behave but baby needs a doctor now. And so I drove him to the vets that were twenty minutes away.

The vet had been called and knew we were on the way. When we arrived the staff met us at the car.

In we rushed Romeo and got him checked out. Two injections later, one of Benadryl and one Steroid and he was starting to get tired and the swelling was coming down.

He stayed two hours with the vet so she could keep an eye on him while mommy went to get a big bottle of Benadryl because he is going to be on it for the next three days but we are all ok.

And we have now had our first dog in forty years of having dogs get stung by a bee and we have also learned that Romeo is allergic to bees.

Dogs and bees are like kids and bees. There is no way to know who is allergic to them until they get stung.

My first advice, here’s the nurse in me, keep a bottle of Benadryl in the house. We have one both at the cottage and the house.  The next thing you should do is talk to your vet to find out what dosage your dog will need. The dosage is done by weight.

You treat a sting on a dog the way you do a person. Remove the stinger with a credit card pushing away from the skin. Using your hand or tweezers can actually release more of the venom making the sting worse.

Place ice on and off to relieve the pain. A dose of Benadryl will relieve the swelling and help with the pain.

That’s an ordinary sting.

If your dog vomits within five to ten minutes or gums become pale, your dog may be going into anaphylactic shock or having a severe reaction. Swelling in the face and neck can block airways and hives can be seen external but also may be internal. In these cases, they need to see a vet where they may treat them with IV fluids to prevent shock and given Steroids and Benadryl injections. They normally need to stay at the clinic for a few hours up to a few days before they determine if they are healthy enough to go home.

A bee sting allergy, just like in people, can be deadly. But telling the dog or the small child that bees don’t play well with others, is hard to do. The best we can do is be prepared in case of a sting.

29 thoughts on “Bee Stings and Dogs”

      1. The vet told me to always have Benadryl on hand. Liquid works faster in an emergency. I had to take her to the vet for the ants (first time) and the wasp. She was given a shot of Benadryl both times and a steroid shot, as well. But she got into ants a 2nd time and I caught it right away with liquid Benadryl. I didn’t have to take her. She’s also allergic to grass but LOVES being outside, so she’s on an allergy pill for puppies. I do not know the name.

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  6. Very interesting and as I first started reading this, I was thinking how lucky that you are a nurse and thought to have the Benadryl on hand. I had no idea that some dogs are allergic to bee stings. How scary for both you and Romeo!

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    1. I learned about dogs and benadryl a few years ago when Coco, our last dob was getting bit by dear flys. I called the vet becasue he had welts on his tummy from the bites and she told me it was safe to use. As far as benyradyl, I keep it at both places becasue of the humans but I knew it was safe for him.

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      1. That’s good to know and I have a friend who keeps many bottles on hand – she likes doing yardwork and lives in a rural area. She had a bad case of chigger bites this year. According to her Facebook post, Carol swigged down some benadryl … it did not stop the itch and she ended up going to the doctor – six weeks later, still has the itching sensation. We have it bad with ticks, chiggers and mosquitoes here in Southeast Michigan from all the rain in the Spring and two bouts of intense heat. I’m almost ready for Fall. I’m going to suggest to Carol that she ask her vet about benadryl for cats – she has three cats of her own, but they never go out of the house, but tends to feral cats who are out there on her porch in shelters she has built, and in close proximity to the woods which backs up against her property. Glad you found a fast fix for Romeo.

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      3. I just wrote that to someone in Sweden who was surprised at my blog post yesterday which showed how many leaves are on the ground. We had a three-week drought here and bark is sloughing off the trees, and leaves are everywhere – I don’t understand that because we had the same wet Spring and long Winter with all the snow as you did. We are in the 80s tomorrow and 93 on Sunday – with a real feel of 100 degrees.

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      5. I walked this morning and it was early and by the water – no breeze, and at 8:00 a.m. it was 71 degrees and 81 % humidity. Very sticky. Another two days of it before our weather gets a little more normal (hopefully).

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      6. It is so hot hear, we came home from the cottage. With two air conditioner on and a fan, it was 90 inside and that is cooler than the outside. we gave in and came home three days of that heat was enough. We needed the central air.

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      7. Wow – that is hot! I got whole house insulation in 2017 as I was told it would help immensely to keep the house warmer in Winter/cooler in Summer. In my opinion, it has not made a bit of difference. It is a very small house as well. I’d suggest that maybe insulation would help … I know it works for some people and maybe it would help for the winterizing … yes, hard to believe you have to think of that now as hot as it is. We have a severe weather day today. One storm has rolled in and another couple are still on the way. It is a cold front and will give some welcome relief, but storms off/on all week.

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      8. Most of the cottage has been insulated. We have the last part to do in Sept. But that the main room roof area. Remembering that the cottage is over 75 years old it has the old boards on the roof and not plywood, which allows for the heat to come in faster. Once my arm gets moving a bit more I can help him do that. Fall is the plan, as I never want to do insulation in the Summer again.

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      9. No, that would be rough. Once your arm is working and no fear of damaging it, the weather will be cooler and you will get it all done, plus you have so many friends/helpers … you’d have been working for years on the rehab if not for them and their initial help. You were blessed to have their help.

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