[PyrNet-L] HEALTH: Allergic reaction looked like dog fight injuries

[MagEBroD@aol.com]

  I'd like to share something that happened to Mattie a few weeks ago, too.  
She was evidently either stung by bees or bit by spider and overnight she had 
a horrible allergic reaction. By morning we found her covered in blood!! 
Everywhere but her back!  We thought either Albert had fought with her or 
another animal had gotten in the pen and done it. It was upsetting to think 
Albert could do such a thing! We cleaned her up and then we saw it wasn't as 
bad as we thought. She'd spread the blood all over by scratching herself.  It 
looked to us like it could have been dog bites or animal bites, but it was 
really an allergic reaction and hives and then she had scratched it so bad 
that she had scratched the skin off about 50% of her face!!  And then her 
ears had some and her one leg and her tail, too.  The vet had to give her 
antibiotics and steroid shot and meds for itching combined with tranquilizer. 
We had to keep an Elizabethan collar on her and give her meds for 2 weeks and 
put Provodine solution on it (NOT ALCOHOL!!).  It improved a lot right away, 
but it is still not completely healed. I am hoping she will not be scarred 
for life!  Poor baby!!  Although we were very relieved to know Albert hadn't 
attacked her, it was upsetting to know that she may have it happen again, 
too, if she gets stung by bees or bit by a spider again.  We have a lot of 
bees around the huckleberry bushes around their pen.   So I think we will 
transplant the huckleberry bushes closest to the pen now, and the ones 
farther away from it in the Fall when we are supposed to transplant them.  
Plus the old sheep pasture that they play in has a lot of spiders in it. 
Debating about using something to kill the spiders in the field, too, but 
know they can be very beneficial creatures, too.  Plus hate using chemicals!  
Wish I knew for sure which thing - bees or spiders - it was that she was 
allergic to.
     I hope everyone will see this as a warning, too, that they shouldn't be 
too quick to judge their dogs and assume that they are fighting if you do not 
see the fight.  Both my hubby, myself, and sons thought it surely was from an 
animal attack.  Lots of puncture wound-type injuries that I guess were from 
her scratching it. Since it happened  in the pen, if it was from a dogfight 
then would have been very likely that it was Albert.  It was strange that she 
would be only one hurt though.  And Albert not have a scratch on him.  Thank 
God it wasn't from a fight. Bad enough to have it be from an allergic 
reaction and have to deal with that and care for it.
    An aside:  When I called the vet's and told them I needed to bring in our 
dog and gave them our name I had talked to a new gal there. By the time we 
got to the vet's and before the van had finished backing in  two gals ran out 
and said "It isn't Albert is it????"  I said "No. it's Mattie."  They were 
somewhat relieved as Albert is a favorite of theirs!!  (Not that they don't 
like Mattie, but Mattie has only been there once when she got spayed and got 
her vaccinations & they don't know her very well and are not as smitten with 
her yet.   Plus there is just SOMETHING about Albert!!)  He definitely has 
his Fan Club!! We went in the office and there were 3 others and the vet 
there waiting and worried that it was Albert!!  Of course when they saw poor 
Mattie, their hearts went out to her!!  I said there is a very real 
possibility that Albert probably did this, although I can't believe he could 
do this to her, as he loves her so!  The gals said  "No!  Not Albert!!  He 
would never do that to her!!  He's such a sweetie!!"  Then the vet said "That 
is no animal attack!  That is a very bad allergic reaction to either a bee 
sting or spider bite!"  Although still bad, what a relief that it wasn't 
Albert's fault!!  He and Mattie both sure got extra loves when we got home!  
(Hubby had said Albert acted guilty and ashamed when he found Mattie like 
that. I said he probably was REACTING to hubby's reaction instead and UPSET 
that hubby was acting like Albert had done something horrible and something 
to be ASHAMED of!!)  Once we acted loving to him he was our old Albert 
again!!  Anyway, be absolutely sure before you jump to the conclusion that 
one dog has attacked another!!  I wish you all could have seen Mattie to see 
how much it looked like an animal/ dog attack. We were in disbelief and kept 
asking the vet "Are you sure?" 
    
 :)  &  :)```   (me grinning & Albert grinning & drooling!)
 
 See Albert's photo at:   
http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/pyr-l/pyrlpix3.htm#Albert
 
 Janice Vocke
 MagEBroD@aol.com
 Shelton, WA.