cuts, stings, hives and stink: home care must-haves for summer misadventures

We've barely broken a sweat with the warmer weather, and already our dogs have been majorly skunked, one ripped a toenail bloody and another broke out in hella hives. Yay Summer!

These mini-emergencies all required multiple trips to our doggy medicine cabinet, and now, a trip to the drug store to replenish our supplies. Here's a shopping list of items we keep on hand for dog misadventures, with some advice that might come in handy, for first time dog owners especially....


Hives!

If your dog walks in the room looking like this one day - try not to panic. As horrible as this looks, it's just a bad case of allergy related hives. They're so common in our sensitive breed that they've come to be called "bully bumps" by many.

Our more 'delicate' pit bulls seem to get a bad case at least once a year, especially in the spring when allergens are peaking. If your dog develops hives practically overnight, think of where he rolled, romped or played recently. Out on the freshly cut lawn maybe? .. thru a weedy field at the park? Sally rolled herself alllll over a clump of prickly weeds after being skunked to get herself these attractive bumps. (Sigh. Skunk fun ... another emergency - Remedies below)

The hives usually come along with a flame red belly and feet. Since it looks awful, many people freak out and rush their dog to the vet for an expensive office visit and shot of cortisone. Not always necessary.

What to do? Most longtime pit bull owners keep Benadryl in their cupboards for these special occasions. Benadryl (or, diphenhydramine) is a first-generation antihistamine that can also be a life saver if your dog is stung by an insect.

Our vet advises dosing 1mg per pound of dog every 8 hours until the symptoms are gone. So, a 50-ish pound dog would get 50mg - or, two pink pills. (To be honest, we use three pills for our 55lb girl) While it's considered to be one of the safer over-the-counter remedies for both dogs and people, there are always caveats, so do your research and make sure and buy the pink pills rather than the off-shoot products that Benadryl sells, like kid's formula, etc.

Hot Tip: If you or your dog are stung by a bee, make a paste using the powder inside Benadryl pills with a few drops of water and pack it unto the sting site. Works like a charm to bring immediate relief.

Allergies can make your dog truly miserable, which pushes all our "fix-it-now" buttons. While you wait for the Benedryl to kick in, try giving an Aveeno oatmeal bath to soothe the flaming red belly and paws. Even better if you can follow by rubbing on calendula-based diaper rash cream (find it at your healthfood store). Treat your baby like a baby -- Lots of cooing and "poor doggie" talk helps. Our girl Sally rolls over and falls into a state of snoring bliss when she gets herself some belly rubs with calendula cream. After napping away the rest of the day (Benadryl acts as a mild sedative) she usually wakes up calmer and with happier skin. In the photo above, it took about 12 hours for the hives to disappear.

Be aware that good nutrition is really the best thing you can do to minimize or eliminate your dog's hyper-reaction to allergens. A dog that gets hives all the time is telling you that her immune system is out of wack. To support it, you can shop some of the better kibbles that avoid preservatives and fillers, or - if nothing's working - you may even want to take the plunge and feed raw diet. The raw diet is controversial in some circles, but it's been a life saver in ours. We swear by it.

Skunk Season

These three items are a miracle cure for stink. If your dog gets sprayed, make a mayonnaise-like paste out of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a little dish soap and work it into his fur as best you can. Let it sit on his coat for a few minutes while you take photos of his sorry, depressed, and very naughty face. We soak our dogs' collars in this solution too, and they've come out just fine with only a slightly musky smell leftover.

Torn Pads and Smaller Cuts

Every self respecting pit bull over-does it at times and ends up with an owie or two on his feet. A vet will charge you crazy-money for first aid care that you can do at home, so make sure and have some vet wrap and antibiotic cream on hand for the basic paw pad cuts you'll be dealing with this summer.

If you keep your dog's wounds clean and covered while they heal, you shouldn't have to load him up with antibiotics - a bad thing for anyone. But do prevent him from licking while it seals. As a rule, the faster you clean the wound and apply the antibiotic cream, the quicker it will heal (that goes for your cuts, too).

Torn toenails can be extremely painful, but if your dog allows it, pull off the broken piece (quickly - it hurts!) or trim it with clippers. Then wash, disinfect and bandage to curb the bleeding and prevent infection. If the nail is up too high near the base and/or neither you or your dog trust your hands, then your vet can help. People with a longtime history with dogs tend to treat broken nails at home, but we know how scary this can be your first time - especially if your dog is a squealie drama queen.

We keep small cotton socks around in addition to vet wrap for those footsie emergencies. To hold the vet wrap in place and prevent the inevitable chew-fest, we fortify with a little duct tape. Yep - Duct tape ... a thousand and one uses.

It doesn't hurt to have a plastic cone-of-shame on hand either so you don't have to stand watch over your dog 24/7 those first couple of days after a cut. And of course, don't forget batteries for your camera. Pathetic much, Sally?

The wound will need air to heal completely, so remove the bandage for keeps once it's started to seal. Hopefully we can all keep our little emergencies to a minimum this spring/summer. Best luck to you with yours!