Anti Itch Help

[Levi]

Bindi is constantly getting bitten by ants, she gets bitten on walks, at training, and at competitions. Bull ants and the like get between her pads and just bite away. She then spends sometimes hours limping, biting and licking at her foot (I don't blame her, they hurt ).

Is there anything I can put on the bite that actually works to help ease the pain? She will keep licking and biting no matter how foul it tastes so it needs to be safe.

Any suggestions? I have tried vinegar, aerogard (I know, not good for licking), ban itch, stop itch, and nothing works.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Levi

[persephone]

BULL ants! ??

if she is getting bitten by bullants she could get VERY very uncomfortable, have a swollen foot/leg and perhaps be VERY ill Nasty.

If there are bullants at your club grounds, the nests should be destroyed!

Humans can also be badly affected by bullant bites, with swelling/inflammation/pain and sometimes a nasty allergic reaction

I have has very painful legs after being bitten..days afterwards

Anti histamines per mouth would be of more help.

Maybe get her to wear boots?

spray her feet with repellant prior to going out- and wash her feet upon return?

some reading for you.

LINK

link

Edited February 13, 2010 by persephone

[Levi]

Thanks persephone, I take it they are not called bull ants (everyone around me seems to call them that). To avoid confusion, the ants are large and their bite is nasty. She does not have alergic reactions like swelling etc. but their bite really hurts (both her and me).

So ignoring the 'bull ant' label, I am looking for something that will relieve the pain and itch of ant bites.

Unfortunately repellant doesn't seem to help as the grass is usually wet and the ants just seem to get stuck between her pads.

[persephone]

I would really be looking at boots then- if you can't change areas or clubs? Glad I don't live there! We are lucky here- there are all sorts of ants, but they never seem to worry the dogs *touches wood*

[smooch]

Is it possible to locate the ant next and than pour some Nucidol into the next, that will kill all the ants. I had some ant nests outside our gate and this got rid of them.

[mutt lover]

I'd be asking your club if they could do anything about it or you could buy some of that professional outdoor surface spray and spray down their hole it works have done that on my property here as there were ant holes everywhere. Failing that the only other solution is boots!

Also mix up some pinetarsol or vinegar in a small spray bottle or container and take it with you and rinse dogs paws before go onto oval and before you leave. Also there is a herbal insect repellent called Natures Botanical can get in either creme in small jar or large spray or roll on from any farm produce or camping stores, u could put on dogs paws before you go onto oval and see if that works or also try the stop itch spray won't harm dog if it licks its paws.

I know what it's like My horse has itchy lumps all over both sides of her neck at the moment has been scratching on tree in paddock and been bitten by ants also and I've been washing her neck every day in pinetarsol and spraying with vinegar also is a lot better today than what it was earlier in the week.

Good luck!

[Erny]

If you have some Calendula on hand, make up a tea with it and soak your dog's foot (affected area). Calendula has anti-inflammatory qualities and soothes irritated tissue. Note that Calendula is dried marigold flowers, so if your dog's particularly allergic to pollen, it might not prove the best idea. But there are many people and their dogs who find good results from the application of Calendula Tea.

Calendula (which is cheap to purchase) forms part of my medicine cabinet, along with Active Manuka Honey and also Colloidal Silver. Colloidal Silver can be used to help tissue recovery, so that might be good to use as well. I believe it can help ease the irritation of flea bites. Not sure about bull-ant bites, but it wouldn't do any harm (get good quality stuff though).

I agree with the others - if the training grounds harbour bull-ants, I think the grounds need treating. Bull-ant bites are painful.

Edited February 13, 2010 by Erny

[Levi]

Thanks for your replies everyone, I will print them out and try some of the suggestions.

The ants are not located at any particular club, they are everywhere, they are just in the grass. She has been bitten at the Logan, Jimboomba, Mt Gravatt, and Oxley agility grounds. She has been bitten at my trainer's at Canungra, and this morning she was bitten on our walk on the Brisbane Northside :D . Usually she is the only one that gets bitten, other dogs don't seem to have this problem very often

The ants get between her pads and are usually still there when I pick her up to check her foot. I have never had this problem with any of my other dogs before (I have also never had such a small dog before) .

She can't really do agility wearing boots so I think that one is out .

I will see how things go with some of your suggestions.

[persephone]

poor little dog :D I have never seen any of ours get bitten - the ants come and steal their food, etc...

[Levi]

Erny, where can I buy Calendula? Is there are certain amount I need to use?

[wuffles]

Are they the ants with green bums? I grew up in Brisbane and we called them "green ants", they were everywhere, and yes their bite hurts!

We used to use Stingose, not sure if it can be used on dogs?

[Erny]

Erny, where can I buy Calendula? Is there are certain amount I need to use?

Health Food Shop. Where I buy mine from, it comes in a packet - $8.00. You can get many 'teas' out of that. I use at least one if not two tablespoons of it, to make a 'tea'. Put the calendula in the toe of a stocking and drape it in a cup, much like you would when you're making a cuppa with a tea-bag. I allow it to steep in that until the water becomes tepid to cool. The tea is then ready to use.

[Erny]

Are they the ants with green bums? I grew up in Brisbane and we called them "green ants", they were everywhere, and yes their bite hurts!

We used to use Stingose, not sure if it can be used on dogs?

No - I think you're thinking of "Blue Bottles"? They have a really nasty bite.

I would use Stingose, if that's all I had to use.

Tip : If you're out somewhere, get bitten by a bull-ant or blue bottle (or other ant bite) and are stuck for something to put on it, an old fashioned 'remedy' is to crush a eucalyptus leaf and apply that to the bite site.

Could be a myth - I've never tried it.

Of course, you need to be somewhere where we have eucalypts and not conifers .

Edited February 13, 2010 by Erny

[wuffles]

No - I think you're thinking of "Blue Bottles"? They have a really nasty bite.

Nup, being a Queenslander I definitely know about blue bottles too and they are not ants!

These are the "green ants": http://www.ourbrisbane.com/lifestyle/gardening/green-ants

[Erny]

Oops! Sorry Wuffles. I stand corrected.

[wuffles]

Oops! Sorry Wuffles. I stand corrected.

No worries! Growing up, our dog had an occasional green ant bite but it never bothered him too much... not sure what I'd do if my dog was constantly getting bitten though

[Levi]

I will have the Calendula for home and will carry a stingose spray with me and see how it goes ,

She definitely does get bitten by green ants Wuffles, but there are black ones as well that bite her. The poor little bugger just seems to be a magnet for them, everyone comments on it. Almost guaranteed for her to be bitten at a trial or training session at least 50% of the time .

The skin on her little paw gets all red and nasty looking and they really bother her (I know how much they hurt when I get bitten and she is only tiny). Maybe she is more sensitive to them than other dogs, I really don't know.

Thanks for the replies and we shall see how we go.

Erny do you think I need to make the tea fresh or could I have a supply in the fridge that I prepare once a week? That way I can apply it as soon as we get home.

[Erny]

Erny do you think I need to make the tea fresh or could I have a supply in the fridge that I prepare once a week? That way I can apply it as soon as we get home.

I think it should be made fresh. Apart from it potentially losing the qualities that you're using it for in the first place, I've noticed that if I make up some and leave it in the fridge for even 24 hours, it kind of looks a bit scummy.

What I would do, if I were you, is prepare some before you leave and just leave the stocking (with the calendula) steeping. By the time you return it would have cooled and it will be ready and ok for use. It's really only a matter of boiling the kettle, and while that's going, putting the calendula in the stocking-toe, and then pouring the hot water on and then leaving to go where you need to go.

[Levi]

Good thinking Erny, the odds are good that I will need it . I might take some to trials and training too, just in case.

[Staff'n'Toller]

I think you need a repellant and/OR to cut the hair extremely short between the toes OR look at the possibility that it's actually a contact allergy to grass and the fact that you find ants is a coincidence.