Dogs are playful creatures and they love rolling around, exploring the backyard and running all over your backyard while chasing moving objects or creatures. This playfulness can be detrimental as they may encounter a bee and start running after it, trying to catch it and end up getting stung. A dog bee sting is painful and the first sign you will note is the dog will be scratching it self in the stung area and in pain.
The Reaction to a bee sting
Dogs react differently to bee sting; some may have a slight reaction while others have a severe reaction. Mostly a dog gets stung on their head faces or inside their mouth, the first step to treating a bee sting is locating the stinger and removing it. Locating a stinger can be very difficult, as they are translucent, but you should be able to locate the exact area where the dog was stung as it is characterized by a swelling and then scrap it off using a blunt object or your finger nails to remove it.
The symptoms of a dog bee sting with a slight reaction to a stinger include a swelling and reddening of the affected area plus itching. To reduce the swelling and soothe the affected area, you can use an icepack. Place a piece of wash cloth on the affected area followed by the pack of ice and if the dog does not protest you can leave the ice on its skin for up to 30 minutes.
Treating a dog bee sting inside the mouth is very hard as the dog’s mouth is hurting and he will not allow you to poke something in its mouth in the name of removing the stinger. Offer the dog some ice cubes or a bowl full of ice water and some wet food.
Some dogs may have a severe reaction to the stinger; these dogs go into anaphylactic shock and develop a severe swelling. Anaphylactic shock is characterized by the blood circulation shutting down and if not monitored it can kill a dog within ten minutes. The symptoms of anaphylactic shock include fainting, rapid breathing, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, wheezing, pale gums, weakness, trembling, low temperature, fever and low body temperature.
If this happens then you should take him to the veterinary hospital immediately. If the dog can swallow then give him a dose of Benadryl while taking him to the veterinarian, this will help a lot with the allergic reaction. But How Much Benadryl Can I Give My Dog?
How Much Benadryl Can I Give My Dog?
Benadryl is the best antihistamine to help cure your dog after being stung. If the reaction is not severe, Benadryl can help relieve the itching, reduce the swelling while reducing any allergic reaction. So How Much Benadryl Can I Give My Dog? It is very easy to over dose a dog on Benadryl if you do not know the exact dose to give him. This will be very detrimental to the dog’s health.
The amount of Benadryl you should give your dog is directly proportional to the dog’s weight; give him 1mg of Benadryl per pound of body weight three times a day until he gets better. If he weighs 25 pounds then one tablet will do as each dose is 25mg. so if you do not know the weight of your dog, then you should measure it before you start it on the treatment.
