[Stephan]

Ahhh the joys of having a blue

Woke up this morning to this monster at the foot of my bed :snow: Poor girl

A few days ago, she must have snagged something on a walk bc she had 2 random bouts of diarrhea. Well I gave her 2 spoon fulls of this Fruitable Pumpkin Superblend in her Orijen kibble yesterday morning and yesterday night! So only 2 feedings worth. She LOVES the stuff Now ALL yesterday she was acting fine and has had normal stools since...I wake up this morning to this!? Could it be an ingredient in the pumpkin superblend? I.e. Ginger or Spearmint etc...if so, it's very odd that this swell up was so delayed? I mean, she already had some in her morning feed and by night she was displaying no symptoms?

The only other difference in diet is that she got a birthday gift of the expensive freeze-dried Orijen treats and I have been using them for training on walks.

Let me explain the symptoms. She is acting 100% NORMAL. Our walk this morning was great:cop:

She is only swollen in 3 places...Her right eye (under) and BOTH Gowels are grossly inflamed and swollen. They look hilarious All of these 3 swelling spots do not seem to bother her in any way though. She ate and drank normally this morning.

What do you think is going on? Time for some Benadryl? I'm gonna run home here in a few hours and check on her. My poor Quisimodo

 

[::::COACH::::]

Weird! Her eye looks so funny! It's kind of hard to see the other swollen spots. Isnt that Fruitables stuff just plain pumpkin? I never tried it as I just get canned pumpkin from the grocery store. It could be something in there if its got other stuff besides pumpkin. I don't think it's the treats
Oh! I just thought of something -- what if its a spider bite? You guys got some mean little spiders in AZ. The good thing is at least she is acting fine. Hopefully the Benadryl works!

A couple weeks ago one of my dogs got attacked by several hornets. She was getting stung repeatedly but acted like nothing was going on. Once I got her inside a few hours later she had big swollen spots...kind of like this. So maybe something bit her like a spider, fire ant, etc.

 

[pookie!]

I think you mean her flews are swollen, not her jowls..

Id check her mouth and see if maybe she bit herself, my mutt did that playing tug and his mouth got swollen. If nothing looks amiss Id be willing to be its the pumpkin mixture. Benadryl and keep an eye on her. Next time just buy some regular canned pumpkin to help with any loose stools.
I dont even use that I use a supplement called "Slippery Elm" that you can get at most health food stores, works better imo.

 

[Stephan]

Weird! Her eye looks so funny! It's kind of hard to see the other swollen spots. Isnt that Fruitables stuff just plain pumpkin? I never tried it as I just get canned pumpkin from the grocery store. It could be something in there if its got other stuff besides pumpkin. I don't think it's the treats
Oh! I just thought of something -- what if its a spider bite? You guys got some mean little spiders in AZ. The good thing is at least she is acting fine. Hopefully the Benadryl works!

A couple weeks ago one of my dogs got attacked by several hornets. She was getting stung repeatedly but acted like nothing was going on. Once I got her inside a few hours later she had big swollen spots...kind of like this. So maybe something bit her like a spider, fire ant, etc.

Ya know I thought of that too Coach! We do have tons of spiders here in the desert but I live on the top floor of a condo building in addition to Luna sleeping on a bed that is 4 feet off of the ground. It may very well be spider bites but sheesh, only under 1 eye and both jowls? Seems odd?

The photos don't do the swelling justice. Her jowls are very swollen and her eye just looks ridic

Here is the ingredient list for the fruitables pumpkin superblend. Everything "looks" good and people rave about the stuff. I too usually just get canned pumpkin from the grocery but this stuff was a present so it was sitting around.

Ingredients: Pumpkin, Apple Pomace, Spinach, Tomato Pomace, Choline Chloride, Choline Chloride, Ginger, Spearmint, Ground Flax Seed, Cinnamon, Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement .

 

[Stephan]

I think you mean her flews are swollen, not her jowls..

Id check her mouth and see if maybe she bit herself, my mutt did that playing tug and his mouth got swollen. If nothing looks amiss Id be willing to be its the pumpkin mixture. Benadryl and keep an eye on her. Next time just buy some regular canned pumpkin to help with any loose stools.
I dont even use that I use a supplement called "Slippery Elm" that you can get at most health food stores, works better imo.

Thanks pookie I'll check the inside of her mouth when I get home! What are flews?

 

[pookie!]

The parts that are swollen on your dogs face, the lips around the mouth. Jowls are the lower or under part of the cheek area

She looks like she has some hives on the side of her face too in that 3 picture.

 

[Stephan]

The parts that are swollen on your dogs face, the lips around the mouth. Jowls are the lower or under part of the cheek area

She looks like she has some hives on the side of her face too in that 3 picture.

I'll take a better photo when I get home but I circled the areas in red that are inflamed!

As for the hive/blemishes on the side of her face, she has somewhat always had those...they are very small but I will check them out as well when I go home.

 

[pookie!]

Yep those are the flews.

Jowls - the lower part of a person's or animal's cheek, esp. when it is fleshy or drooping.

Flews - the pendulous lateral parts of a dog's upper lip

Jowls are more so the cheek area, flews are the lip area.

 

[Stephan]

Yep those are the flews.

Jowls - the lower part of a person's or animal's cheek, esp. when it is fleshy or drooping.

Flews - the pendulous lateral parts of a dog's upper lip

Thanks pooks! :cheers: Never knew that!

 

[Carriana]

We just call those gummy lips

 

[Stephan]

K I just went and checked on her....she is her normal self.....has no clue that her entire face looks ridiculous Her swelling under the eye has faded a tiny bit but both her Flews are VERY swollen. This leads me to believe that possibly it is her new stainless steel bowls!? Could this be possible? It would be very odd though seeing as she started eating out of stainless bowls this weekend yet these symptoms show up days later? Is that even possible?

She is not in any discomfort......I got her to eat 2 ice cubes and some kibble (Although her phat ass would never pass on a meal anyways)

I looked in her mouth and there are no signs of any lacerations etc....it literally just feels and looks like her Flews are swollen and filled with something.

I gave her (2) 25mg Benadryl liquitabs. Will check back in on her in 3 hours.

I have no idea how dumb I look..





The Culprit?

 

[::::COACH::::]

You can really see it in that 3rd to last pic.... :/ hopefully when you get home the meds will have worked some

I think it has to do with that Fruitables stuff... So you just started using the stainless steal bowls? Usually those are the ones recommended to keep everything more sanitary...weird!

 

[pookie!]

I doubt its the bowls, Ive seen dogs have reactions and skin issues when using plastic and they were told to switch to stainless steel due to it not causing anything.

Hopefully the benadryl will help

*Edit- dont be surprised or freaked out if she is loopy and sleepy when you get back! Lol my mutt seriously gets all kinds of messed up on benadryl lol, its comical so dont freak if she acts out of sorts lol

 

[Stephan]

You can really see it in that 3rd to last pic.... :/ hopefully when you get home the meds will have worked some

I think it has to do with that Fruitables stuff... So you just started using the stainless steal bowls? Usually those are the ones recommended to keep everything more sanitary...weird!

Yep I just started using the stainless steel bowls exactly 1 week ago....was using ceramic prior to.

That's what gets me about the metal allergy...she's been eating out of it with no issues for a full week! I also have noticed a few patches of hair loss near her shoulder area and it just dawned on me that that is exactly where the metal part of her martingale collar rubs

Could it be that I possibly have a dog allergic to metal? I goggled it and I guess it's somewhat prevalent.

If it was the fruitables, wouldn't she be having internal discomfort or diarrhea etc? Rather than a random swelling under one eye and mouth area? So weird!

I just don't know what to do now ugh. Throw out the bowls? Throw out the fruitables?

 

[Stephan]

I doubt its the bowls, Ive seen dogs have reactions and skin issues when using plastic and they were told to switch to stainless steel due to it not causing anything.

Hopefully the benadryl will help

*Edit- dont be surprised or freaked out if she is loopy and sleepy when you get back! Lol my mutt seriously gets all kinds of messed up on benadryl lol, its comical so dont freak if she acts out of sorts lol

Thanks. What I see when I get home should be interesting :snow: haha

If the swelling is still there can I give her another 50mg of benadryl? How long should it be in-between doses? I gave the first 50mg at noon today.

Pookie would you venture to say it's the fruitables or bug bites or other? Kinda random that she would get bug bites in only 3 areas...also kinda random that something she ingests only showed a symptom of external swelling in 3 random spots yet had no internal affect?

 

[pookie!]

Yep I just started using the stainless steel bowls exactly 1 week ago....was using ceramic prior to.

That's what gets me about the metal allergy...she's been eating out of it with no issues for a full week! I also have noticed a few patches of hair loss near her shoulder area and it just dawned on me that that is exactly where the metal part of her martingale collar rubs

Could it be that I possibly have a dog allergic to metal? I goggled it and I guess it's somewhat prevalent.

If it was the fruitables, wouldn't she be having internal discomfort or diarrhea etc? Rather than a random swelling under one eye and mouth area? So weird!

I just don't know what to do now ugh. Throw out the bowls? Throw out the fruitables?

It could be but I doubt it. Youd have noticed sooner. Also if her collar is rubbing her that could be causing the hair loss, not necessarily the metal causing an allergy.

Nope. Most dogs that have an allergy to a food will show outward signs with no internal ones. Like dogs with grain allergies. They wont have loose stool, but the grains will make them itchy, red, get hives etc.
Typical allergic reaction honestly.

Id toss the fruitables. Thats more likely than not what caused the issue. If the issue persists it could be something else, but youd have to get her unswollen and see what if anything sets it back off.

Thanks. What I see when I get home should be interesting :snow: haha

If the swelling is still there can I give her another 50mg of benadryl? How long should it be in-between doses? I gave the first 50mg at noon today.

Pookie would you venture to say it's the fruitables or bug bites or other? Kinda random that she would get bug bites in only 3 areas...also kinda random that something she ingests only showed a symptom of external swelling in 3 random spots yet had no internal affect?

I dont think you should, I think you would give it every 8 hours.

By where she is swollen Id be guessing the fruitables. Like how a person allergic to a food will usually start having tingling, swelling, itchiness around the mouth same with the dog. Like I said in the above quote its rather common for a dog with a food allergy to have outward issues but not internal ones like soft poo.

http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/32068-benadryl-dogs.html

 

[Stephan]

It could be but I doubt it. Youd have noticed sooner. Also if her collar is rubbing her that could be causing the hair loss, not necessarily the metal causing an allergy.

Id toss the fruitables. Thats more likely than not what caused the issue. If the issue persists it could be something else, but youd have to get her unswollen and see what if anything sets it back off. http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/32068-benadryl-dogs.html

Haha thanks pookie I just got finished reading that Benadryl sticky before seeing this post:roll:

About her collar, the more I think about it...I honestly don't think it's the rubbing or metal that is causing the sporadic patching. More than likely it's just a coincidence spot and it's due to her ever-so-wonderful blue recessive genes acting up (skin issues/allergies). Do you experience the same types of issues with Bear?

And I agree, I'm tossing the fruitables....they were a gift anyways. I have had her on regular pumpkin before with no issues.

I'm going to clean and disinfect both stainless bowls immediately and toss the canned pumpkin out. Hopefully the benadryl has her time-traveling by now and the swelling has subsided when I arrive home.

If it goes down and never returns well then ya......eff you fruitables you're overpriced anyways...and no I will not accept you as a gift ever agian

 

[pookie!]

Yep I do. Which is why he has a leather collar with deer skin lining from Stillwater.

LOL yea most of the time you just keep it simple and you run into much less issues.

 

[ames]

If anything just go with straight pumpkin, Fall is the best time pumpkins are everywhere around me, I pick them up each week and roast and puree them and keep them in the freezer. Or just but some puree in a can without any spices. Maybe it was the other stuff in the pumpkin you gave. I am sure it possible I have just not heard of a pumpkin allergy in itself. Maybe she got bite by a bug or sniffed a plant she was allergic too. I am glad she is looking better. Poor girl! Mel broke out in Hives once so bad I brought him to the ER cause I was afraid his breathing was stopping. That's the only concern with hives if it gets bad is their air passage ways closing. Still have no clue why he had an outbreak.

 

[Stephan]

Yep I do. Which is why he has a leather collar with deer skin lining from Stillwater.

LOL yea most of the time you just keep it simple and you run into much less issues.

:cheers: Dang those Stillwaters are nice! I picked her up a thick leather harness with suede overlay from the Bully Store on VanBuren a month back. No allergies with that one haha.

I'll post up in a few hours with the lil bitches progress Thanks again pookie and everyone!

Her leather and suede harness....thing is THICK