# HIVES - 5 Days!



## Vespasia (Apr 19, 2010)

Hi All,

Looking for some advise...or maybe just some reassurances that everything is normal over here....

Hally has had a pretty nasty case of hives since Friday afternoon. Our dog walker dropped her off at home at 4pm completely fine and when I got home at 6, she was covered in hives. The dog walker said she did not get into anything during the walk (and I trust that completely) and she is crated when alone. 

Anyway, we are now at Tuesday night and the hives are still there without showing signs of getting better. They will disappear when Hally is out for a long walk (I think it's the cold) or they will disappear after a dose of Benadryl (we are giving her 50mg 3 times per day as per the vet), but without the medicine, the hives will quickly come back. Her ears are also very swollen - like 2 -3 x normal thickness and this does not change, even with the medication.

She has been to the vet and the vet is concerned that an allergic reaction wouldn't last this long and she started talking about blood cancer and how it can affect the skin...scary stuff. We've run three different blood tests and a urinalysis and although we are still waiting for the results of one blood test, the other results did not come back with anything definitive for cancer....nothing definitive for an allergy either.

I have no clue what is causing this, assuming that it is just an allergy....her food was not changed, her environment has not changed (as far as I know), I am not using any new household cleaners or detergent...I am at a complete loss. 

To be completely sure, tonight we switched her food from her usual raw food onto Orijen, just to be sure that it's not her raw food diet. We have also scheduled a duct cleaning of the house in case it's something with the furnace...we replaced the furnace about a month ago...but it had been on for several weeks already before this outbreak

Anyway, this is a long story, but I wanted to give you all the case history...Has anyone experienced something similar with their Vizsla that lasted this long? Any suggestions of other things we should be trying to treat the hives or test for the allergen? Any other tests you'd recommend that we have the vet run?

Thanks all! The cancer word has me a bit scared...Hally is only 2.5. I'm still pretty convinced this is an allergy, but I'm obviously concerned...


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Have you recently changed her bedding material or the detergent that you wash it in.???These are a few things that can cause a reaction.


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## Shivangi (Jan 19, 2010)

So sorry to hear about Hally's condition. 

Imli developed similar hives last year during the winter season. Benadryl helped but it only provided temporary relief. So our vet gave her an antihistamine injection which worked. 

As for what caused the severe allergic reaction - we had just bought a fleece jacket from PetSmart for the cold! It was probably the dye in the fabric that our V reacted to. 

Really hope Hally gets better soon  Good luck!


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

We also have a wire haired dachshund. He got hives all the time on his belly. They were awful. A really old vet we used said to wash him in Head & Shoulders when we bathe him (which is weekly, wire hairs are a stinky but ever so sweet, calm & gentle breed). 

Since we started using Head & Shoulders (7 years ago), there have been zero hives. He is allergic to most shampoo and the medication in H & S apparently suits him.


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

How is Hally doing now?
I hope everything is back to normal.


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## Vespasia (Apr 19, 2010)

Hi All!

Thanks everyone for the posts and the assistance! Hally still is getting the hives, but not as severly as last week. We still have NO CLUE what is causing the hives, but we are at least happy to see that the flare ups are getting better. We are expecting a call today from the vet to chat about next steps as well...

So for now, we will keep giving her benadryl as needed, keep her on the kibble food with no treats and we get the ducts cleaned on Wednesday in case there is an allergen in the house or something. We'll give it a few days after the duct cleaning, but if the hives continue, our dog walker will take Hally for a few days to see if things change at his house...

I'll keep everyone posted!


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