essential pets
dog days of
SUMMER BY LORI SCARLETT, DVM
Summer is the busiest time at a veterinary clinic, with increased visits mainly due to summertime maladies and emergencies. We don’t see many allergic reactions to insect stings in the winter, but they greatly increase in late summer, when yellow jackets are most active. Not all dogs react to a hornet sting, but those that do come in with very swollen, painful muzzles. If your dog gets stung, immediately give them Benadryl (diphenhydramine). It should be dosed at one milligram per pound of body weight, so a 25-pound dog would get a single adult Benadryl tablet (25 milligrams) while a 75-pound dog would get three. If the swelling doesn’t improve within a couple hours or your dog is having difficulty swallowing or breathing, get them to a vet quickly. 30 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s
Some dogs have severe reactions and need steroids to get it under control. Ticks love to sunbathe on the end of weeds and reach out their little legs to “hug” any dog (or person) that comes within reach. They’re small and often avoid detection. Ticks carry many nasty diseases, and each year new species move northward from southern states into Wisconsin. If you find a tick on your dog, use a tweezers to pull it straight out of the skin, then drown the tick in alcohol or flush it down the toilet. A tick bite looks red, a little swollen, feels a bit hard, and the center is often dark in color. People call saying the tick head is still in the skin, but don’t worry about it and don’t dig around for it. Almost always, the tick head comes out if you pull the tick straight out. If it doesn’t, it will die, and your dog’s body will push
it out. The best course of action is to give your dog an effective tick and flea preventative monthly. While you may not see a tick biting, you’ll likely notice another dog latched onto your dog. I love taking my dogs to the dog parks, but am always on the lookout for dogs that aren’t having fun. Most dog parks have a sign describing what to look for when two dogs meet. Unfortunately, some owners of reactive or aggressive dogs still take them to the dog park, putting their dogs into situations where they’ll bite other dogs that come near them or attack dogs they don’t like. Please call 911 for Dane County Animal Services if there’s an emergency in a dog park. If you don’t notice a bite until you get home, get your dog to a vet to clean the