I have a 3 year old Malinois (Smack) that I recently adopted this spring. This is what happened over the last 3 days:

Day 1: After a day spent outside, I noticed the area around Smack's left eye seemed slightly puffy and his eye was slightly red. I decided to take a wait and see approach before taking him to the vet.
Day 2: Both eyes were slightly puffy and he started licking an area between two of his toes, which was red. I washed the area and applied antibacterial cream.
Day 3 (today): This morning when we woke up, both eyes are very puffy/red and his muzzle is swollen (Roman nose appearance). His skin is irritated/red looking all over and the skin between his toes on all feet is red/inflamed. His ears seem to bother him, and they are red (mostly at the tips).

I gave him a bath in mild shampoo, cleaned his crate, vacuumed the entire house and gave him Benadryl. I had to pick my parents up at the airport today (an almost all day event), but when we returned, there was no change in Smack's condition.

He's going to the vet tomorrow. However, does anybody have thoughts on what could cause such a sudden onset? I'm thinking fleas or some other insect bite on Day 1, but I really have no idea. He hasn't had a hint of a skin/allergy problem since he arrived here. Also, is there anything else I can do for him tonight to make him feel better?

Thanks.

Do you have anything besides Benadryl (the least successful, in general, of the antihistamines as far as dog-use goes)? Do you have Hydroxyzine, or Chlorpheniramine?

How much Benadryl did you give? What's his weight?

How does it look inside the ears? Debris? Inflammation?

Is he still biting/licking the paws?

I'd keep him close by because of the suddenness.

Any bump/lump/welt?

How bad is the licking/biting/scratching?

Thanks for your reply, Connie. His ears are the only skin that has a bumpy appearance, but the redness/bumps are only on the ear flaps - maybe from the edge to 1 inch from the edge. The insides of the ears aren't as red and there is no debris.

The licking of the initially red area between the 2 toes is fairly constant if I don't interfere (he hasn't touched any of his other feet), and I've seen him try to scratch a little at his ears, but I stopped him from doing that and rubbed them myself instead. I didn't want his toenails tearing into the skin.

There are no bumps or welts on his belly/abdomen, but the skin is all-over red there.

The one dose of benadryl was liquid children's approx. 15cc (recommended 3 cc per 10 lbs and he's a 60 lb. dog. I shorted him 3 cc). This dose was recommended by a vet tech friend of mine. The only other antihistamine type drug I have here is Claritin (not for dogs, eh?), but I can easily drive to the store (CVS or Walgreens) right now to obtain anything.

I'm definitely keeping a close eye on him. The swelling was a little scary. I probably should have figured out a way to get him to the vet today. His face reminds me of a bee-sting reaction type of swelling. He is a "bug catcher," and he could have easily snagged a bug on Day 1 without me noticing, but I would have expected that to immediately swell up and not be a gradual progression over 3 days.

Thanks again, Connie, for your reply.

Konnie,

I'm not sure if you've already ruled this out because you know these plants do not occur where you live--but in case you haven't, is it possible your dog came into contact with Poison Ivy or Poison Oak? The fact that only one foot, and the outside but not the inside of ears is affected make me wonder about a contact response rather than an allergy. The muzzle/eyes could be secondary, perhaps from licking the affected areas and transferring the oils elsewhere.

As an aside, I enjoyed your blog post linked on in a recent thread pertaining to teaching 'alerts'. I'm a SAR sponge myself!

I hope this problem resolves soon for your dog.

Isabelle

Our property is loaded with poison ivy. Our road is a rural dirt road that is pretty much lined with the stuff too. One step off the gravel into the vegetation pretty much guarantees contact with the plant.

Thanks for bringing up the possibility of a P.I. reaction. Honestly, I wasn't aware dogs could have an allergic reaction to the P.I. oils because I've never had a dog who did have a reaction to it. I don't generally avoid the stuff because I don't seem to have a reaction to it anymore. Consequently, he and I are in P.I all the time. The gradual ramping up of symptoms is very similar to what I used to experience when I did have a reaction to the plant's oils. It will definitely be something I mention to the vet tomorrow. Poor dog, I feel so badly for him. He has loads of energy, but I haven't exercised him for 2 days because of this, aside from a lot of short walks. He's miserable!

And, thanks for your comments on my blog article! There are a few articles on that blog as well as links to some videos. Let me know what you think of them. I love to hear about how others train for detection work and love to discuss training methods!

Good catch, Isabelle. That would explain inflamed ear-tips but not inside, too.

Konnie, is he itchy enough for it to be poison ivy/oak?

Is the groin and armpit crease especially red (where the oils would concentrate)?

Have you tried poison ivy topicals (Calamine, oatmeal bath, etc.)? Do you have any?

The reddest areas by far are his feet, especially that area between the toes where he first started licking. His feet were very warm today, too, and he basically held his worst foot up during the entire bath as if contact with water was painful. His groin and armpits are reddish, but not like his feet/ears. Although I do have a topical P.I. gel (Tecnu), I haven't tried any on him yet. I thought about putting it on his ears when he seemed really bothered by them today, but now the ears don't seem to be itchy.

Overall, he didn't seem to be especially itchy, aside from attempts to scratch his ears and lick his feet. Generally, the response time fits what I know about P.I., but not the reaction itself when compared to my past reactions to the oils. Is the dog reaction to P.I the same as the human reaction?

I just returned from another walk with him. I think he is getting *slightly* better because he didn't limp on his worst foot (he was limping slightly on that foot before) when we walked on the gravel road, and his ear tips don't seem as inflamed/bumpy. He's no longer trying to scratch his ears at all. My husband noted that his face seems less swollen, but it still doesn't look completely normal. His feet don't seem as hot, but they are still red.

Thanks for the responses! Any additional thoughts are greatly appreciated!

As of this morning, the swelling in his face is no longer present. His feet are no longer red, with the exception of some irritation still between the two toes. He's no longer licking there though. The color of his skin in his ears and on his belly has returned to normal.

Since today is the 4th of July and my regular vet is closed, I spoke with my team vet via phone regarding his condition. She's not sure what could have caused this, but gave me some recommendations if his symptoms flared up again between now and Monday.

I'm so glad he's doing better, but it sure would be nice to know what caused this so I can prevent it from occurring again. Thanks Connie and Isabelle for your reponses!

Excellent news! Glad to hear it.

Isabelle