Bug Bites on Dogs

How to Handle Bug Bites on Dogs

How to Protect Your Dog from Bug Bites

Question Comment 1: Okay, I have been following this list since before we brought our puppy home and have gathered quite a bit of good information from it. Our puppy, is now 15 months old and all has been pretty much fine (a few over-reactive first-time dog owner events, but nothing bad). So, all was pretty much fine until recently. I just want to know what everyone thinks and if anyone has had similar experiences with bug bites, swelling and treatment. Currently, my puppy is being treated for what we think is an allergic reaction to some kind of bug bite that struck him last Wednesday. His entire back leg is completely swollen (think a balloon kind of swelling) and there is a large bald area on his leg with a red spot where the bite must have happened. I did not see the bug/spider. To treat him, the vet put him on 100mg of Rimadyl twice a day and 2x500 mg of Cephalexin twice a day. He also suggested walking him to help keep the swelling from building up in his foot. Since this incident, his appetite has been on and off. He is on a bland diet mixed with kibble. He has had loose stools and has been drinking a lot of water and was drooling quite a bit but that seems to have faded. At first was not wanting to get up. He is since walking with a limp. He doesn't seem to want to walk or do much of anything but enjoys the walks when we finally get him up. His symptoms seem worse in the morning. Yesterday and today, he seems closer to normal than he has been in the past 5 days. But the swelling continues. Do other have experiences like this? If so, how long did the swelling/limping last? Is there anything I should be concerned about? I am supposed to check in with the vet again tomorrow. He said that if the swelling had not substantially subsided, we would up his meds. I don't see any dramatic lessening of his swelling, so I think we'll have to put him on something more substantial. I should note that five days before this bite, he was neutered and he was on Rimadyl for that. A few weeks earlier, he had a bacterial infection that had him on two rounds of antibiotics. I hate to keep him on so much medication. Should this worry me? Do dogs need yogurt or something when the are on antibiotics? He has also been quite needy. Luckily, I work at home, so I have been able to spend all day with him. It's so sad to see him so glum and unable to be his old, peppy self.

Bug Bites

Comment 2: I think your dog would definitely benefit from some probiotic supplements. The antibiotics are killing off all of the beneficial bacteria in his body and this can be another thing to make him feel bad. I used to give yogurt to achieve this when giving antibiotics, but I stopped because of the sugar and because dairy doesn't agree with my older dog. You can get the supplements in the refrigerated section of any natural food store in little capsules. I just break the capsules open and sprinkle it on the food. I don't know much about bug bites, except to give them benedryl. My Siberian was stung on the tongue once when she tried to eat a bee. Her tongue rapidly became swollen up to the size of an egg... very dangerous. Benedryl made the swelling go down in less than an hour.

My Dog was Bit

Comment 3:My dog has been the victim of a bug/spider bite. I came home one day and her muzzle was swollen to beat the band. I had never seen this before, freaked I took her to the emergency vet. They gave her a shot of Benedryl and told me to go to Walgreen's and by off the shelf Benedryl 25mg and give it to her every 8 hours for two three days. By day 3 the swelling was gone. During this her appetite was down, and she did drink a lot (what I expected). I gave her probotics and stools remained firm. Hope this helps.