Bumps
Axel scared the hell out of me just now. Not long after I fed him his dinner, he started scratching like crazy. Then I noticed something was not right with his fur. There seemed to be bumps all over. Then I realised that those were hives. I remember the last time when he got these, he was still a small puppy.
That got me really worried and the vet was already closed at that hour. Called JW to check whether Jake (her beagle) encountered the same before but she had no idea what I was talking about.
So I started to google for "dog hives" and "pug hives" and got some information from there. Hives on dogs happened when they got in contact with something that they are allergic to. It can be from insect bites, medication, chemicals and food. Usually these buggers will go off by themselves after a while. Most of the time they are harmless unless they prolong or cause difficulties in breathing. This is one of the useful reference that I found -> here.
For Axel's case, he's still active and has no problem breathing. In fact, he seemed to be more "manja" than usual and wanted me to cuddle him. Hmm... I think perhaps he wanted me to scratch his itchy body. My poor baby... I thought I would just leave him like that for a while and if situation did not get better in the morning, I would take half day off and bring him to the vet.
Thank goodness not long after that, I could see the hives slowly cleared away. Before I got into my room and started this post, I checked on Axel again and his hives were almost gone. I hope they will be fully gone in the morning.
I still have no idea what has caused it though. It couldn't be the food as he has been taking that for a long long time already. Any ideas?
23/7, 7.00am Update:
Oh dear, the hives are back. Poor baby is scratching like crazy again. I need to bring him to the vet later and see what's wrong.
23/7, 11.30am Update:
I waited until 10am to bring Axel to the vet. By then the hives already almost subsided... so there wasn't much for the vet to see. The vet asked a few questions and I answered as below:
Q: Did Axel go out when this happened?
A: No... Axel is very much an indoor dog.
Q: Where did the hives break out?
A: Around the sides and underbelly.
Q: Were the hives big in size?
A: Yes, some of them were...especially at the underbelly.
Q: Any on the face, did Axel salivate excessively?
A: No... the hives pretty much just on the sides and underbelly. No where else.
Q: Was he still active when this happened?
A: Yeah...other than scratching around, Axel was pretty much behaving as usual.
... and a few other questions that I can't remember.
The vet told me that when hives break out around the face area or excessive salivating, it is usually due to food allergy. If it's just around the body, it could be due to insect bites.
She also asked me whether there are any new stuff in my place when this happened. I couldn't think of any. Still scratching my head on what can be the possible cause.
The vet prescribed some anti histamine for whatever allergy that caused the hives; and some cream for a boil below Axel's right eye. She informed me that the anti histamine will cause drowsiness, so there is no reason to worry if Axel becomes tired after taking it.
Well, I do hope whatever allergen that caused this will go away by itself...
