Deb D’Andrea, Nederland.     When I was teaching agility one day and talking with a student, out of the blue I heard buzz, buzz—and then wham, was stung in my arm pit. The little bee had gotten wrapped up in my hair and as I moved my arm it became captured and stung to escape.  OUCH!

Fortunately, I’m one of those people who don’t have much, if any, allergic reaction to being stung; but admittedly the next morning my arm was a bit puffy and sore.  The bee definitely got me! But, if that had been my Tiki girl, she would have had quite the allergic reaction. She has had encounters with bees and red ants and she was happy to meet neither of them.

When we were visiting a friend near Ashville, North Carolina, an area known for not-so-friendly red ants, Tiki was playing in their yard, running around, fetching the ball and having a good time. I headed in to get some water, and upon returning found Tiki head down, digging like a crazy dog.  I walked over and to my horror realized she was digging into a red ant hill.

She was pissed, digging more and quickly, trying to eat these creatures that were biting her face.  The more she dug, the more she was bit. I pulled her away and started removing ants that were clinging to her face, ears, chest and everywhere else they could bite onto. They were attached, biting her as I pulled them off; biting me as I pulled them off. She was not happy, and neither was I.

Within a couple of hours, Tiki had puffed out, clearly experiencing a mild reaction to the ant bites. I took her to a local Veterinarian, who gave her an injection of Benadryl, something I always have on hand now in clear capsule form. The Benadryl had an immediate affect and Tiki was less itchy and less swollen within a couple of days.

Fast forward almost a year; Tiki is about a year and a half now, with the ant incident far behind her, stored somewhere in her puppy memory.  We’re now at my house near Boston, I’m inside and Tiki is in the yard playing. I look to check on her and she’s running around the yard having a good ol’ time so I go back to what I was doing.  Within moments I heard her start to yelp and yip. I run out and she’s running towards me, ground bees stuck to her face and ears and chasing after her. I quickly usher her into the house, shut the door and begin removing the bees, which are now after me too.

Don’t ask me why, but I placed her in the bath tub, started drawing a warm bath and continued removing the bees. This time was not so good for Tiki, as the ground bee stings definitely had more of an effect on her. I had the Benadryl handy and gave her a couple of capsules as the warm bath filled.

As time passed, Tiki’s face and lips became more swollen, with her lips literally becoming the size of small bananas and her eyes swollen shut. It was soooo sad and she was miserable. Within a short period of time, the Benadryl kicked in, she curled up, and went to sleep. She woke the next morning with some puffiness, but nothing like her initial reaction to the stings.

Now Tiki chases bees with a vengeance, but is much more careful in her hunting practices having learned through experience what not to do. And I always hike with a kids’ EpiPen for her in case we’re far from civilization and she gets bit or stung. The Pen will buy me time to get her to the local Vet if the stings or bites are too much for the Benadryl to handle.

So if your pet hasn’t experienced ant bites or bee stings, they may or may not have an allergic reaction if and when they do. It’s good to have Benadryl on hand just in case. Talk to your Veterinarian to see what the best dosage is, and if your pup is on other medications, be sure to ask if there’s a conflict.

Till next time. Deb D’Andrea, founder of 4TheLuvOfDogz, provides mobile Canine Massage, Canine Agility and Petz Nanny Services for dogs, cats, birds, fish, horses, and other critters. 4TheLuvOfDogz home-made dog treats are sold at local stores, and K9Birthday Cakes are available direct. Contact Deb at 720-675-7078 or info@4theluvofdogz.com for more information.