# Bad night for little Odin



## ElGranto (Jan 19, 2012)

Odin had quite the strange night lastnight!

We gave him a bath at about 8:30pm. He was fine until about 10:30pm, when he started not wanting to touch us, and not be snuggled up with us on the sofa like normal he was staying far away from us and sitting on another couch under a drafty window (very un-velcro and un-Odin).

We put him to bed normally, and he woke us up whining in the middle of the night. This is way out of the norm for him as he's been sleeping through the night in his crate since about 3 months old (he's 5mo now), and the only time he's woken us up was when he had an upset tummy and needed to go...NOW.

So I went and let him out of his crate to put him outside. He jumped around all happy for a few minutes in a triumphant "I got Dad out of bed in the middle of the night" kind of way and when i finally got him outside he wouldn't come back in. Scratched at the door... Open the door... Run away kind of games ensued for a few minutes and then he went out on the lawn frolicked a bit then all of a sudden he lifted his front left paw and started SCREAMING!

I'm not talking just a little yelp I'm talking over and over and over screaming! So I run outside in nothing but some cotton PJ pants. No shoes or shirt. I slip and fall on the fresh snow and I scoop him up and carry him inside all the while he's screaming as if someone set him on fire! Like something was beating him!

I put him on the couch and start trying to figure out whats wrong, all the while soothing him. I could see nothing out of the ordinary. I patted down his leg feeling for any trauma or sore spots. Palpated his abdomen to see if something was wrong there and couldn't feel anything. By this time Kristen is on her way down the stairs and he resumed puppy mode in a "Now I got Dad and MOM out of bed in the middle of the night" celebration. He was limping a little but was putting weight on his leg just fine.

We gave him more of a rub down trying to feel if anything was hurting him. Checking his abdomen for sensitivity, bloating etc, and nothing...he seemed fine.

We got him calmed back down, gave him a little water and got him back into his crate, where he proceeded to whimper for the rest of the night on and off.

In the morning I wake up and go get him his breakfast and stuff (mostly in the dark) he was still a little out of sorts but nothing too worrying. After breakfast I put him on the bed with Kristen for Mommy cuddles as is our normal routine and go have a shower. When I get out Kristen is wide awake lying in the dark room in bed with Odin sitting up (not normal, usually he's zonked).

"He hasn't settled down at all." she says "He keeps scratching."

So I flick on the light and he is COVERED head to toe with hives!

He had no sign of hives or itching in the middle of the night. Of course its 7am, and we have no 24 hour pharmacy's anywhere close, and no benedryl in the house. Kristen put a call into the vet to see if any other antihistamine would be okay (they said nope) so she headed to the closest pharmacy right when it opened. Got the pup some benedryl (after getting dosage from the vet), and noticed an improvement quite quickly. Vet said to keep an eye on him, and if anything persists to come in for a steroid shot.

We have used that shampoo before when Odin was about 2.5 months with no problems...definitely not a crazy reaction like that. It was Perfect Coat, Tender Care Puppy Shampoo.

Mid morning it occurred to me what the screaming could have been. He jumped out of bed and ran around in the cold right away and maybe wasn't even fully dry. I think he got a cramp! That's why he calmed down when I was rubbing his leg and shoulder!

So the poor little guy had a heck of a night! I never want to hear him make a noise like that ever again. It scared me half to tears. I'm not home from work yet but he did seem to be doing a lot better when Kristen left him earlier and he had no signs of limp at all this morning.

Anyone else have a reaction to shampoo, if so, have any hypoallergenic brands to recommend? Ever had a crampy dog?

One thing is for sure I never thought I'd be running out in to a snowy yard half clothed with no shoes on. Not when sober at least.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

i think I'd have probably messed my cotton PJ's,,, let's hope young Odin makes a full recovery.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

As they grow, what was OK as a puppy, may sometimes react to them as an adult. An example is the flea treatment I use on my dogs. It is fine with Astro and Zsa Zsa and at the start was fine with Ozkar. But at about 11 months of age, he suddenly reacted to it. So we had to change him over to a different brand. Anyway, A V doesn't need baths. Just a warm wet towel rubbed up the coat backwards is all they really need. I do not use any shampoos on mine and I care about smell as I allow them in bed. 

As for the cramp, the poor little things don't know what's going on. They lose control of the limb and have a massive pain and it's frightening for them. Zsa Zsa my GSP got one after swimming on a cool day. Same reaction. Horrible to hear. I though she had cut her throat.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

ElGranto said:


> Anyone else have a reaction to shampoo, if so, have any hypoallergenic brands to recommend? Ever had a crampy dog?


Riley's never had a reaction to her shampoo... we use Johnson's "No More Tears" formula. It's specially formulated for infants and is very gentle on dogs' fur and it won't bother them if it gets in their eyes. We hardly ever bathe her, but she HAD to have a bath one day after we got back from a trip to the beach. She swam in some marsh water and smelled like a dead fish... the ride home was particularly smelly!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

What works on one dog may not on another. Be careful with anything which has chemicals in it. Dogs can be very sensitive to them. Even pears transparent soap, which is neutral and has no really harsh chemicals, reacted with Ozkar. Mind you, he seems to react to everything. 

I just play it safe and use the warm wet towel method. I reckon it's way easier than a bath for me and them and it has the same end result. Unless covered in poo or oily substances, one towel will do two dogs. So wet a towel, wring it out, rub them down, throw it in the washing machine. It's simplicity at it's best........ and trust me, I need simplicity.......I'm not the brightest crayon in the box.


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## anne_wilcrest (Oct 20, 2011)

how scary! 
i turn into the world's biggest baby when penny gets hurt

we had a similar (but not quite as scary) experience last week.
i noticed in the morning after a particularly moan-y night (she's in her crate) that OMG i'm the worst puppy parent ever, she was covered in hives all over her legs/feet.

I called the vet immediately and they couldn't see me til the afternoon, but didn't think it was an emergency, just to watch for vomiting, or other reactions.

by the end of that day the hives had gone down and were almost gone so I cancelled the appt with the vet's okay...
then the next morning -they were back! and there were more of them! and she was biting at them! 

So we went right into the doctor. they said most likely an allergy... I think she ate something she shouldn't have... she got a wild mushroom in her mouth before I could stop her... and who knows what else.
But after a shot (of steroids?) at the vet and a couple bendadryl she was a little sleepy, but back to 100% in about 48 hrs. and they haven't returned (knocks on wood)


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Oh, poor, little Odin! I hope he is doing much better by now!!

Vizslas are pretty darn clean dogs, and don't need very many actual baths. Willie only gets two baths a year -- one in the Spring, and one in the Fall. At those times, I use Hartz "Groomer's Best Puppy Shampoo -- Extra Gentle, Tearless, Cleans and Conditions, Delicate Jasmine Scent" -- and Willie is a five-year-old male.  Also, I'm really careful about doing a VERY thorough rinse. 

If you have a sensitive, reactive puppy (or adult dog), what Ozkar said is really the best... the warm, wet towel method. After all, it isn't the shampoo that does the cleaning, it's the water. Shampoo simply makes the water wetter ("wetting agent").


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## ElGranto (Jan 19, 2012)

An after the fact update on Odin,

He responded to the benadryl very well and the hives were almost gone by the time I got home (8 hrs later). He was quite dopey for the evening and we gave him more before bed (he was still a little itchy) just to help him sleep and keep the hives and itch down over night.

The next day he was back to normal!

He was a little scared of his crate for a few days after and we think he was associating his crate with the itchy night. We did some re-crate training and he's much better with it now. He's even a little more receptive to his crate then he was before the "incident".


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Tika can't take Mycodex. It causes her to break out in a rash, so she gets baby shampoo when necessary. I don't think anything bothers Gunnr. Drywall, concrete, thinset, wood glue, epoxy, Minwax, motor oil,kerosene, paint and Mastic, nada. She's a real help during house chores.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

As long as she doesn't step in the contact cement!


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