Here we go again...
 

Visited the vet again yesterday afternoon and left Grace there for a couple of hours while she was treated for yet another spider bite.
This is the third time since her first episode in November. Does anyone else have these problems with their dogs? We're sure hoping she outgrows this sensitivity as she grows older cause the vet doesn't offer "frequent flyer" discounts.



Darn cell phone pictures!!




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I have been having hot spot issues with my dog for the past couple years. Finally got it under control now. I think.

no, never had a spider bite issue-

my "frequent flier" vet trips are Osthaus' ear infections. Constant since he was a pup. Last year the vet did a treatment of a steroid shot and some cream in a tube that I rubbed into the ears. His ears were the best they had ever been. When they flared up again a while back, I took him in and said - do what you did last year - that worked.

the response of course was - that stuff isn't available any longer- back to the old stuff with limited results

Last fall our Springer Spaniel Parker (yeah, I said it) came into the house with a little knob on the top of her head. We assumed she bumped her head on something outside because she is so graceful, but within 15 minutes her muzzle blew up to about twice the normal size. It was in the evening so I called the on call vet, she recommended trying children's Benadryl as our first action. The swelling started to go down almost immediately.

What kind of spider? Our dog was bitten a couple years ago by a brown recluse or a scorpion, so the vet said, we were in Florida, reached down to give Mattie a pet and the hair came off in a round circle about 4 inches, the flesh rotted away and left a crater she was at the vet every day for a while, took a couple months to get well, some spider bites are bad! Gary

I had similar issues with mine when he was younger, my vet recommended I switch his food and I haven't had any problems since. I went from Black Diamond to Purina. Funny thing is my neighbor and hunting buddy tried to switch his setter to Purina from Blue Buffalo and she started getting ear problems? I guess maybe it depends on the dog, but may be worth a try.
I have not had any issues with spiders, but mine has tried twice to eat a porcupine....both attempts were unsuccessful

[I have not had any issues with spiders, but mine has tried twice to eat a porcupine....both attempts were unsuccessful[/QUOTE]

Been there, done that.......:cuss::crying:

Thanks Chad - i have switched brands and base product several times, including three different Purina products. The vet says some prescription diet whose cost rivals Fillet Mignon at your favorite ties required bistro MIGHT help. I said retaining products/medicines that work might help as well.

as for porkies- been lucky- Osthaus pointed one once but backed off when called. I had a friend that had a German shorthair that could not resist them, always (incorrectly as you say) figured he would win the next round. one year it was on opening day, and with the resulting issues he missed most of the season.

life with dogs- no matter how much trouble they give us - we miss them terribly when they are gone

Some of the best advise I received many-many year ago when I first starting owning and enjoying bird dogs was become good friends with your veterinary and try to get him/her to be one of your bird hunting friends. They become very fond of your dogs and are on 24 hour no-charge call.

I don't imagine it was a brown recluse. I know the flesh ulcerizes or rots around the area of the bite and we haven't had that experience the previous two times... we'll see about this one.
The previous two times were when we were working on the wood pile and yesterday she was fooling around where Kathy was raking (between snow piles).

Benadryl works very well but the Doc says they can build up a resistance to it and he gave us (sold us) Hydroxyzine (50 mg.) pills and said dogs don't build a resistance to this stuff.