I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF WASPS WITH THEIR DOGS. THIS WEEK WE HAVE RECEIVED THE TRAGIC NEWS THAT "ELLIE" ONE OF OUR BEAUTIFUL GSD PUPPIES HAS DIED AT JUST 7 MONTHS OLD. SHE WAS LAY WITH HER OWNERS JUST OUTSIDE THEIR CARAVAN WHEN SHE SUDDENLY WENT INTO A SIEZURE. A RACE AGAINST TIME BEGAN TO FIND A VET, BUT TO NO AVAIL, THEY WERE EITHER SHUT OR ON CALL. BY THE TIME THEY FOUND A VET IT WAS TOO LATE. IT WASN'T TILL THE VET EXAMINED HER AFTER HER DEATH, THAT THEY FOUND SEVERAL STINGS IN THE BACK OF HER THROAT. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL PUPPY AND BEING PREPAIRED FOR HER FIRST SHOW. HER "MUM" WAS IN A WHEELCHAIR AND SHE LEARNED FROM 10 WEEKS OLD TO WALK GENTLY AT THE SIDE. THE HEARTBREAK THAT HER DEATH HAS BROUGHT IS DEVASTATING, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO WARN EVERYONE TO WATCH THEIR ANIMALS AROUND WASPS, ESPECIALLY AT THIS TIME OF YEAR. ALSO ANYONE ON HOLIDAY WIT THEIR PETS SHE CHECK FOR THEIR NEAREST VET AS SOON AS THEY ARRIVE.

Hi, I am so sorry to hear about the pup. What a terrible tradgedy. The owner must be devastated. Wasps and Bee stings in the throat are something I worry about every summer, with the dogs, and small children too. I always worry when I see cans of drink left lying around, and then a little child drinking out of them, a wasp could so easily be in the can.

What a terrible thing to happen! Our condolences to you. I always try to get the number of a local vet as soon as we arrive at our holiday destination - and REMEMBER to take any insurance details with you too! Luckly I have never needed either but wherever my dogs go - their papers go too - you never know when you might need it (bit like the RAC really :D )
Thanks for highlighting this for us though :)

so very sorry to here about the puppy, thoughts are with the owners, regards tina

This will not help this pup or her owners I know - but always carry some Piriton tables with you and give to dog or person the second you know or think there may have been a sting. It will hold of the shock and help with swelling. Don't use the non-drowsy type on dogs only use the original type Piriton or other make with the same content. Jackie

What a dreadful experienced for the owners to have lost their special puppy. I'm so sorry.
I also have Piriton with me at all times after losing a 5 year old bitch in March. She was stung and the Vet at the time gave her Rimadyl. She died 4 days later from more than half of the side effects listed in the package insert!
Last Friday I had a 7 week old puppy tread on a wasp while eating with her 5 siblings. She backed off her food, laid down then rolled over on her side, limp. I stuck my finger down her throat thinking that she may have bolted her food. I then saw a wasp on the ground where the others were still eating. I gave her to her Mother who was licking her while I put the others safely inside. The pup was breathing shallowly. I gave her 1/4 Piriton and syringed it down with water, and massaged her quite roughly all over. I thought that I was losing and left her with her Mother again to check the others. When I came back she was on her legs and had her head in the big girls feed bowls!! She had a front foot in the air and that's when I found a sting with a bit of a body attached!
By the following morning she was just fine and had forgotten the whole experience, just as you said John :D, which is more than can be said for me!!

thank your for your reply, I'm going to pass it on to Ellie's family. I'm sorry to hear about your loss as well but I'm glad your pup survived, hope she is still thriving. We have kept our "Runt", she is a little devil, but we would not sell her for a million pounds.

Or better still if you can persuade your vet or a friendly medic to prescribe some injectible adrenaline and steroid for emergencies like this. Much sympaathy for your tragic loss.

hi jackie h,
thanks for info,never would of thought about using it on the dog, do have a bottle in the house as one of my daughters has allergy to some plants, mainly ferns, my uncle nearly died from a wasp sting,trying to get rid of old tree on some ground he wanted the cattle to go on,
the poison from the sting was going to his heart, lucky a neighbouring farmer found him,with breathing difficulties and rushed him to hospital he now has to carry a adrenalin pen might not of spelt that right.regards tina

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND THOUGHTS. I SHALL CERTAINLY REMEMBER THE PIRITON FOR OUR OWN AS WE ALWAYS HAVE SOME IN. UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE OWNERS THEY HAD NO IDEA IT WAS A WASP, THEY THOUGHT SHE HAD HAD A SEIZURE. IT IS MORE TRAGIC WHEN YOU SEE SO CALLED PET LOVERS WHO LEAVE THEIR ANIMAL LOCKED IN BACK YARDS ALL DAY WITHOUT ANY LOVE OR ATTENTION AND POR LITTLE ELLIE WHO WAS DOTED ON LOST HER LIFE. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO JUSTICE. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR YOUR MSSAGES. LOL

I'm so sorry to hear about the GSD puppy. At least you have heightened awareness. We are off on holiday this weekend and I must confess I hadn't even thought of looking up a local vet when we get there, but I will now. I will also take the dogs 'papers' and some piriton. Incidentally, we are going up to the Highlands - midge country. Can they bite the dogs do you know? We are armed with plenty of insect repellant but hadn't really thought of the dogs being attacked.
Lorna

Hi,

Really sorry to hear this news, my thoughts go out to the owners.

Can you tell me where I can get Piriton from as I would like to keep some handy when I get my new puppy in a few weeks.

Thanks very much

Nicky xx

Any chemist, don't get the non-drowsy though. You can give a 18kg dog up to 3 at a time (per day) but not people. Ja:)kie

I don't mean, don't give your dog three people, stick to the packet instruction when giving tablets to a person

I liked the unedited version Jackie :D

Melody

Thanks Jackie.

Just out of interest, why can't you use the non-drowsy version on dogs??

I rushed my 13 wk old cocker bitch to the vet the other night as I thought she was about to die - the verdict was wasp sting but it was certainly frightening. We have apple trees and wasps are in abundance at the moment with very little I can do to deter all of them.

Don't know, thats what I've been told by 2 different vets. It may be that the non-drowsy are better and as dogs don't usually drive or operate machinery they don't have to worry as we do. Ja:)kie

if you have fruit trees in the garden then you should keep the tablets handy and give the moment you think a dog has been stung - it will do no harm and can save a life, just remember if you need to go to the vet to tell them what you have given to the dog. jackie h

you will find that dogs become used to the fact that the wasps hurt and will bat the fruit around to remove the wasp before eating, it is a worry and the only way is to pick up the wind falls before the dog does or remove the tree

Hi Nicky,

Thank you for your message, good luck with your new puppy, hope you have many years of love and happiness with it.

Ps you dont happen to be related to Derek

Poor pup we send you our thoughts.

Julieann and Molly

Lorna

Midges can certainly bother the dogs and depending on where you are going Harvest Mites and Tics seem to be rife up here at the moment. Today I have just bought some Lavender Oil as my breeder advised me it seems to help reduce the dogs being bitten. She's not sure if it acts as a repellant but by dabbing a little behind the ears, under the elbow and around the base of the tail seemed to help her dogs when they had loads of midges around.

HTH. :-)

I do sympathise with you. We nearly lost one of our dogs through a wasp sting, she had an anafalactic (dont know if thats how u spell it)
We rushed her to the vets as her head had really swelled and she had trouble breathing, she remained critical for 24hrs and the vet said if she made it through the next 24hrs she would be ok. I am glad to say we still have her 5yrs later. Her litter sister seems to have an allergy against the stings as well, she was stung on the leg and her whole body came up in lumps within a few minutes it was horrible. They went down within a couple of hours but that too was very scarey after what had happened to her sister.
BUT do they learn? NO the pair of them still go after wasps and bees which is really stressful especially at this time of year so I always have the Piriton tablets handy.

thanks longdog for your message, you dont realise how common wasp stings are. Our big boy was taught at an early age to leave any creepy crawlies alone. Unfortunately we only aquired our bitch last year from a broken home, hence the litter of pups in Jan this year, but she already had the bad habit. We are slowly getting her out of it, and our little terror is learning quickly.