When your dog gets hives it could originate from a number of sources. He may have eaten something that caused the allergic reaction. He could have gotten stung by a wasp, a bee or bitten by an insect.
Your dog could have had a reaction to a shampoo that you recently bought. You could have recently seen the veterinarian and one of the vaccines or medication caused him to break out in hives. No matter what the cause, he is going through a very difficult time right now. The pain of the swelling and the discomfort and itching are causing your dog to bite and tear away at the hives, most times to the point that they begin to bleed. You want to comfort a dog with hives as soon as possible to avoid having to have him treated for a serious skin infection. Here are a few ways to pamper and comfort your pooch.
A dog with hives is an unhappy dog. Get a nice cool bath started and add in some green tea or oatmeal flakes. These will smooth and soothe your dogs skin and reduce his desire to scratch and bite all the time. Take your time because the cold water also reduces the swelling and numbs the hives from being so irritating. Let him enjoy the water and make sure that once you are done you towel dry him and keep him inside. You do not want him rolling around in the grass.
Another way to comfort a dog with hives is to rub some aloe vera onto the affected area a few times a day and let the healing begin. Aloe vera has amazing healing qualities especially for the skin. If you can eliminate the desire to scratch at the hives, then time and aloe vera will most likely reduce the hives to nothing by this time tomorrow.
A simple way to comfort a dog with hives is to make a baking soda and water paste and apply it directly to the affected areas on your dog. This will relieve him of itching and help stop the irritation.
The goal here is to make your dog as comfortable as possible as the healing process naturally reduces the swelling on its own. One final suggestion to help comfort a dog with hives is look around your house for products you already own that have unique healing qualities. Many people keep running to the store to find the next best treatments, when you most likely have one right in your cabinet. You can use calamine lotion or witch hazel to create a compound that when rubbed on the hives will reduce his need to itch. If you do not have either of those you can use milk of magnesia, Pepto-Bismol and even some cream of tartar to do the exact same thing.
