SHIH TZU FANCIERS OF SOUTHERN CA

             HOW TO TREAT BITES AND STINGS

Just like humans, your dog is susceptible to stings and bites from spiders, snakes and stinging insects, that view your Little Lion as nothing but a four legged intruder.

While most stings are painful, they are not dangerous unless your dog suffers from an allergic reaction. Such allergic reactions are rare but they can cause constriction of the dog's airways, resulting in an inability to breathe.

Swelling of the skin is a sign that your dog has been stung. If your dog has an allergic reaction to the sting, you will also see swelling around the dog's face or legs. The swollen areas will feel hot to the touch.

If your dog is stung by a bee or other type of insect that leaves its stinger behind, use tweezers to pull the foreign body out of your dog's skin. Be sure to grasp the stinger at the point of entry, and to pull it straight out of the skin. Do not grasp the upper part of the stinger with the tweezers because this can result in the injection of more venom into the area. Once the stinger has been removed, apply a cold compress to the spot. Try to keep your dog quiet, and observe it for any distress or for the allergy symptoms mentioned above. If the dog appears uncomfortable, take it to a veterinarian immediately, since allergic shock can occur within half an hour.

Insect bites are usually more painful than dangerous with the exception of the black widow spider, whose venom is more potent than a rattlesnake. If you suspect your dog has been bitten by a black widow, wrap the dog so it cannot easily move and take it to a veterinarian immediately. Call first to ensure that the antivenin needed to treat black widow bites is available.

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LYME DISEASE

       -- Dr. Kim Williams, DVM

          Clarion Animal Hospital, Oct. 2000.

Lyme disease is caused by the organism Borella burdorferi, a spirochete bacteria that is transmitted to humans and animals through a tick bite. Almost all of the human cases have occurred in CA, CT, MS, MN, NJ, NY, PA, WI. 

The deer tick is implicated in transmitting the disease. This very small tick feeds first on the white-footed mouse and later feeds on deer, horses, cows, dogs or humans.

In humans, Lyme disease is typified by a rash around the tick bite, flu-like symptoms, headaches, heart beat irregularities, and finally arthritis. In dogs infected with Lyme disease a rash does not develop. The symptoms are more vague--fever, appetite loss, lameness and joint pain, with the possibility of cardiac and kidney problems. Multiple blood tests may be needed to document exposure to Lyme disease.

Treatment consists of antibiotic therapy, with most symptoms usually resolving. Prevention involves keeping out of tick-infested areas and/or using tick repellants, removing attached ticks promptly, and vaccination of dogs, and possibly humans, at risk.

(For additional information on Lyme Disease, follow this link to AKC website.)

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