[LaMortalidad]

Re: Hives question.. Vet update

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum. My name is Abraham and I got two boxers of my own. I registered because like many of you I am concerned with reoccurring hives on one of my dogs.  I've taken him to several veterinarians and so far none have really offered a solution. They only treat it with benadryl, and antibiotics in case they are infected. At the time the benadryl seems to help but it doesn't make them go away completely. In effect, in controls the hives but it does not make them go away. As soon as I don't give him those pills they come back even worse. I'm having a really hard time trying to figure out what it is that is causing them and as much as I love my dogs and am willing to take them to the vet, the bills are adding up and it's becoming harder for me to take him in when I want to. Unfortunately at the moment I don't have the money. I'm waiting for this coming Thursday and I will be able to take him in for some allergy testing. But if anybody has any ideas on what could be causing them or what I can do to try and rid him of the agent that is causing it, whatever it may be, I would greatly appreciate it. I hate to have to see him like that, luckily he doesn't seem to be to itchy. Also, I initially thought that it was induced by a medicated shampoo I used to rid him of any fleas but they continued to increase even when bathed with a natural oatmeal shampoo for sensitive skin. I bought him science diet for sensitive skin as well. Whatever it is, it affects both my boxers, however one only gets about 1 or 2 small bumps and they go away in no time. The other one just seems prone to irritation.

This is Chato, he is the one that gets minimal hives, almost non existent. Recently he has had none.

This is Villa, now he is the one that has a bad case of hives, predominantly around his back and legs, little atop of his head.

and this is Pancho, I just thought he looked cute in this picture

 

[samsonsmom]

Welcome to all of you. I moved this to a separate thread so everyone would find it..Your babies are really great looking and love the names....I personally have never had any issues with hives with any of mine, but obviously there ar ea few people on her ethat have, so hopefuly you can get some answers..Food allergies is usually a good place to start..A lot of dogs are allergic to grains, esp corn, so you might want to check your food for that. As it's both of your dogs, that very well could be it. It's very frustrating as it sometimes takes awhile to find the cause...Good luck, please keep us posted  

 

[ReekosMom]

Im of no help with the hives!!! My Roxy girl had them when she was about 6 months old and we found out shes allergic to mold!!! Come to find out she was rolling around and EATING moldy hay :roll:  dumb dumb! Anyways I just wanted to say that your babies are freakin adorable!! Im IN LOVE with your little english bulldog though! Hubby and I are looking into getting one next year! :wink:

 

[LaMortalidad]

You should definitely get one! They are such great dogs. He absolutely loves his boxer bros. I've never had such interesting dogs. Thank you for the compliments.

Can you believe that just the other day, I was driving around with my dogs in the back seats and I was pulled over by the sheriffs department. The officer asked me if the dogs could get out and I replied with no. But he still felt the need to say that he was going to shoot them if they got out. I don't really believe that it was necessary for him to say that but he did, and needless to say that I was very very pissed, and I wanted to hit him, but you know, things don't work out like that.

 

[ReekosMom]

OMG there is something wrong with him!!! Cant you get him in trouble for saying that? Some people I guess  There was absolutely NO need for him to say that

 

[samsonsmom]

What in the world would possess a sheriff to say he was going to shoot your dogs if they got out? And why would they even get out? Sounds like extreme paranoia if you ask me..Or was he mistakenly thinking they were Pitts by chance? What sheriff's dept was that? I lived in LA for a long time...

 

[spoiledrottenboxers]

Hello and welcome!!!  Sorry I am no help in the hives department.  None of my Boxers ever had hives.

Your babies are adorable.

And for that sheriff...there is really something wrong with him!!!

 

[Baggio06]

LaMortalidad, I think I have the same issue that you experiencing with your boxers. My boxer started having them on his cheeks few months ago. They look like little bumps and when they go away they tend to leave a hairless small spots. The veterinary hospital that I take my boxer to, didn

 

[southerngirls]

well that sheriff was a horses a$$- though that is an insult to a real horses a$$ obvious not a dog lover!!

welcome and hello! i agree it could be some sort of allergy tied in with something in the food. have you tried switching away from Science diet?

 

[AnnArtisan]

My son suddenly contracted a horrid condition called "cholinergic urticaria" (basically, hives brought on by heat) when he was a sophomore in high school.  It was really, really bad:  He would break out in full-body hives with the slightest rise in body temperature, which could be brought on by anything from being startled by a ringing telephone to walking from a cool room to a slightly warmer one.  We took him to two or three traditional doctors and an allergist, but they only "cure" they had for him was Claritin or Benadryl, neither of which we felt was a good option because they made him so drowsy, not to mention that these drugs weren't "curing" the condition, but merely treating the symptoms.

We finally started searching out alternative medicine/practitioners.  Homeopathy was the first discipline that started to have a favorable effect - it greatly reduced the severity and frequency of the hiving, but it didn't completely cure it.  What finally did it for him was a combination of acupuncture and herbal remedies.  Within a month or six weeks of using these therapies, the hiving was 95% eradicated.  He does still to this day have slight episodes occasionally, but it's completely manageable compared to the hell he was going through for four or five years.

I guess I thought it might be useful to share this story on the off-chance your dogs' hives are also heat-induced, and also to encourage you to perhaps start googling alternative meds for dogs.  It's worth a shot, anyway.

AnnA

 

[popeyeNhazel]

as far as the hives - my Popeye had em all over his body the 1st night he was here, and hasnt had them since, so I think it was just stress from the move, but idk.

As far as the officer, you can most likely get him in trouble for threatening your babies, but thats up to you. That just really pisses me off when people are such creeps.
p.s. theyre gorgeous dogs! Soo cute

 

[nano]

Welcome,

I have had a problem with hives also.  One thing that was causing it was flea allergy.  I started using Frontline Plus on him and have had no big breakout of hives since.  Just smaller ones and the Benadryl can help some, although as you said, there not itchy.  They look like they'd make the dog miserable, but they usually don't.  Benadryl is a very safe drug to use on dogs.  I actually use it during the summer months on my two dogs twice a day (1 capsule per 25 pounds of dog) to keep them from having a allergic reaction to all the bees we have around here.  My holistic vet likes the stuff alot and says it is a vey benign medication.  I haven't known it to cause any drowsiness in my dogs, but their Boxers so that would be tought to do.

As far as the sherriff, what an idiot!  Hopefully you never run into him again.  And as for pitbulls, I've never met one that wasn't just as nice as could be.  They get a bad rap also.

Good luck with finding out what is causing the hives.

Nano

 

[Zhanna]

It could be an allergy to the food.  Nutro Lamb and Rice doesn't have any corn in it and is supposed to be good for skin and coat.  I'm not using it yet, but will start the switch soon.

You should diffinately see if you can get that jerk sheriff in trouble!

Your boys are just too cute!

Z

 

[sharonL]

Welcome and your kids are cute as can be.  I would check on three things. One make sure they are not getting to hot in the day and it is from the heat.  Two, make sure they dont have fleas and it is a flea allergy and third would be to find another food. Even though it is Science Diet for sensitive skin it still has alot of the things they can be allergic in it.  SOmetimes the only way to get to the bottom of it is to have an allergy test and then sometimes they come back allergic to something you cant help like "grass" "pollen"....so the vet should have an alternative ready for you other then  benadryl.

Good luck and let us know.

 

[Barbs2Ks]

Kiah has gotten hives the last two Sundays when we went to the dog park.  We go very early in the am before it starts getting hot and there has been so much dew on the ground that she gets really wet.  The vet recommended that I give her Benadryl before we go if there is a lot of dew so she doesn't get hives or she if she does get them it will be a milder case.  Kiahs hives don't seem to bother her or itch so she isn't giving herself sores.

 

[Parris]

Our boxer has the exact same condition, we tried food allergy testing and the vet finally said it was a skin condition, he put her on antibiotics and we have to give her a shot twice a week. It was working for a while but now she has broken out again, we don't know what to do.  Our next step is to take her to a natural vet and see if they can help, if anyone has any advice please share, we would be grateful and so would Darla Mae.