[billy269]

Over the weekend my 10 pound chihuahua stepped on a honey bee and got stung. Within 5 minutes she had vomited and within 10-15 minutes she looked absolutely awful and could barely move, she appeared almost paralyzed. We rushed to to the ER vet and he gave her an injection of a steroid and gave us some prednisone for the next time it happens and also said to give her a half pill of Benadryl. He claimed that he has never in his career heard of a dog dying from anaphylactic shock from a bee sting. Is it incredibly rare for dogs' throats to close up? I know it can happen pretty commonly in humans as an allergy reaction.

My question is what happens next time my dog gets stung? I have literally thousands of honey bees, bumble bees, wasps, etc in my backyard in the Spring and Summer so it is bound to happen again. Do you think the dose of prednisone and Benadryl will be sufficient? Should I get a prescription for a bottle of epinephrine to have on hand? I just really fear seeing her go into anaphylactic shock the next time she gets stung and watching her suffocate to death...

Thank you for any thoughts or experience you may have on this issue!

 

[jagger]

After reading online a bit, it's not that uncommon... That would have scared the carp out of me.

Maybe ask for an epi-pen if you can find a small enough dose, and carry it with you. Or at least have an allergy tag done up for the dog and small container on the collar with a couple of pills for fast access.


This one has been stung a couple of times, likes chasing bees and wasps and tries to eat them. So at least I know there's no issues.

Good luck.

 

[Rain]

I'd get the max dose of Benadryl into her and rush her to the vet if it happens again. Max dose for a 10 lb dog should be 1 25 mg benadryl. Benadryl For Dogs: Dosage, Side Effects and More

 

[jagger]

In hindsight, if the dogs throat closed up, you may not be able to get a pill into her. Liquid benedryl would likely be better. I'm sure you can find a small sealable container to attach to the collar that could hold a couple of CC's?

 

[Rain]

If you try liquid Benadryl read all the ingredients and make certain that it does not contain xylitol. So far Benadryl doesn't contain it but they could change the formula. Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs and it only takes a small amount to kill them.

 

[lzrddr]

Have seen several dogs die of bee stings, and it is certainly not that unusual. Anaphylaxis is a big killer of dogs and requires immediate attention... Benadryl is unlikely to stop an anaphylactic reaction, but an Epipen, mentioned already above, is not a bad suggestion, and can sometimes mean the difference between life and death for some dogs ultra sensitive to insect bites/stings. If your dog gets stung again, watch the gum color- if turning pale to white, that is an emergency and can lead to serious if not fatal consequences if not dealt with immediately. I have seen hundreds, if not thousands of dogs stung by bees and about 5% develop anaphylaxis.. .the rest are either painful, or swell up a lot, or get hives. Rarely see anaphylactic reactions in those dogs that have one of the other above reactions (which are more 'appropriate' reactions to a bee sting). These dogs, however, are rarely lethargic or weak.

Now that your pet has had one bad reaction, the next could be worse... or less severe... hard to predict. Hope it will never happen, but if it does, it will let you know more predictably, the reaction to be expected for all future stings - ie. if bad, probably all stings will be bad... if hardly noticeable, most future stings will not be so bad, either.