My 8-month old Parson Russell Terrier ‘Milo’ loves to be outside. We live next to a national forest and there are all kinds of creatures that wander past our house. My question has to do with smaller critters that my dog likes to chase and bite at… namely bees.
For some reason we have a bumper crop of bees this year and when I go outside I am quickly surrounded by 2 or 3 bees buzzing near my head, which I ignore. The same thing happens with my puppy, although he actively tries to bite at the bees.
Sooner or later he is going to catch one and that will result in a sting either in his mouth or down his throat. How dangerous is that to a dog and how should I try to discourage him from chasing the bees? So far he doesn’t seem to have caught any yet.
Blackjack goes after bees. He’s gotten a couple and ends up rubbing his snout in the dirt, I assume because he was stung. There didn’t seem to be any lasting effects, and he still does it, but with less success since he’s slowed down a lot recently.
You can give a dog Benadryl. A quick look through Google doesn’t really give any dosage information (usually mg per pound) but everything advises that you call your vet to ask. So give your vet a call and get some Benadryl on hand.
It’s a pretty high dosage compared to humans
http://www.walkervalleyvet.com/otc-meds.htm
Like humans, dogs can be allergic to bee stings. One of our basenjis was stung in the spring. We didn’t realize what had happened, but we saw her vomit and collapse, breathing heavily, and her mucous membranes were very pale. Immediately we bundled her into the car and took her to the emergency vet (this happened on Easter Sunday, of course) where the vet found a stinger in her paw and commenced the usual treatment.
Her reaction was very unusual; some kind of internal hemorrhaging was observed. She had plasma transfusions, ultrasounds, the works, and was hospitalized for 2 days, but the vets never worked out the exact mechanism of the reaction. Eventually the internal bleeding slowed then stopped, and she came home, a woozy wobbly and sad girl. The vet gave us a syringe of steroid in case she’s ever stung again, and we avoid parks with lots of clover in the lawns, and mostly restrict her walks to paved pathways and after dark.
So that’s my cautionary tale - I know it’s difficult, but do discourage your dog from snapping at bugs if possible.