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What did you do this weekend?
As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their weekend. Did you make any plans? Take a trip? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!
I went on two casual bike rides, one with my wife in the ongoing search for the perfect canele, and one with a larger group of friends to enjoy each other's company out in the open air. Cleaned the house, rested... I feel great, energized for the week to come.
A few days ago my dog either got stung by a wasp or bees, bit by a spider or ants, got into poison ivy or oak, or had an allergic reaction to something (possibly his new dog food, since he usually eats Kirkland brand, but Costco has been a PITA to go to during the pandemic so we recently tried switching him to Hill Science Diet). As a result of whatever it was, he had a bunch of welts develop all over his neck, head, legs, and feet, which were clearly itchy since he scratched the shit out of himself and chewed his feet up before we noticed. And he also has a medium sized, seemingly liquid filled mass on his neck now too, either from the reaction or all the scratching.
Our vet said to just give him Benadryl, monitor him closely, and try to stop him from scatching/chewing on himself as much as we could, which I did. He is thankfully pretty obedient and heeds my commands so I didn't have to put a cone on him. Every time I saw him chewing at his feet or scratching himself I just told him to stop and he did. And today the welts have thankfully all gone away, but the mass on his neck unfortunately hasn't. It hasn't gotten any larger either though, so the vet said not to worry too much since he isn't in any pain (he let us probe the mass just fine, and even inspect inside his mouth which has no visible swelling), and he hasn't had any difficulty breathing/eating/drinking either. However they said if the mass doesn't start getting smaller after a few more days, gets any larger, or he starts having any difficulties, to bring him in since it could be a ruptured salivary gland, which may require surgery to fix.
Beyond just monitoring him, I also spent most of this weekend attempting to eliminate as many variables as possible and hopefully prevent whatever it was that caused this from getting worse or recurring. We went to Costco to get him his old Kirkland dog food again, threw out all his old tatty fabric dog toys and got him new ones, gave him a thorough bath, cleaned/disinfected his food bowls, plastic/rubber toys, cage, bedding, etc. scoured the yard digging out any weeds that looked remotely like poison ivy or oak, sprayed the ant/wasp nests near our back patio, etc. etc. etc.
So yeah... stressful, anxiety filled, sleepless, and not such a fun weekend for me. :(
I love my dog, but goddamn he's a lot of work and worry sometimes. :P
Update:
I finally took Quincy to the vet today since the welts all over his head and neck came back, and I wanted to make absolutely sure everything was alright. The vet did an assessment and assured me the swelling on his neck is not a ruptured salivary gland, which was a relief to hear. They also said it's very likely this is all just from an allergic reaction to an insect bite/sting, and not from poison ivy/oak exposure or his new pet food. After the assessment they gave him a steroid shot, and told us to up the dose and frequency of Benadryl for a few more days. They also took some blood for testing, just in case it's something else causing the issue, and to check his overall health, which we should hear the results for tomorrow or the next day.
So yeah, the issue is still ongoing, but hopefully the steroid shot makes a difference this time. I am also much less anxious about it now that he's been properly checked out too.
Another update:
The welts have shrunk down considerably again, and thankfully this time the big one on his neck has finally started to as well. I will still keep giving him Benadryl for a few more days, even though it's making him a bit dopey... but hopefully that's the end of this. Yay!
p.s. I also ordered an elevated dog bed for outside so Quincy doesn't have to lie on the stone patio or grass anymore, where he is more likely to get bit by something. It arrived a few hours ago, and while it initially took a bit of coaxing to get him onto it, he got the message after a while, and lied down on it instead of the ground. So hopefully that will help prevent this from happening again.
Final update:
Blood work came back, and Quicy has a clean bill of health. No evidence of Lyme disease, heartworm, or any other potential issues (thyroid, kidney, and liver are functioning good). The welts have all completely gone away now, even the big one on his neck. I plan on giving him one more dose of Benadryl tonight for good measure, but then stopping. And he has also taken a real liking to his new outdoor bed, and new toys. So at least from his perspective, the last few days have probably been great. :)
On Sunday I woke up at 6am and went for a walk in the forest and take pictures. It's been raining a lot here lately so I thought the small local fall would look nice. I haven't done something like that since a long time (usually I put my alarm clock, but go straight back to sleep), but it was very nice, very peaceful (saw almost nobody) and the weather was great : a bit chilly but walking was enough to keep me warm. Haven't been out since then...
https://imgur.com/a/R9gX4dW