Seamus
We had a scary evening with our pup Seamus on Monday. With no warning,
his face started to swell up - first around the eyes, then his jowls and forehead
and after about ten minutes his front legs started to swell. It was 11:30 pm, and
I am still unable to drive due to ankle issues, so my daughter called her boyfriend
who took her to but Benadryl.
I did some rushed research on dogs + allergies that night (here and here for example)
and benadryl is a pretty safe bet if you use it correctly. First of all - use tablets, not
liquid. Correct dosage is also important. Most sites recommend 1 mg per dog pound.
The capsules come in 25 mg so we gave Seamus two (he weighs about 60 pounds).
Within an hour of taking the benadryl his swelling started to go down. Tuesday
all of the swelling was gone except for a little around his neck and Wednesday
he was completely back to normal.
We don't know what happened exactly - allergies? spider bite? But from now on
I will make sure to keep Benadryl on hand at home. Of course, if your dog has any
health conditions or is on any other medication, check with your vet before giving
Benadryl.
