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Has Kirri Been Bitten?


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This afternoon I noticed a red swelling on Kirri's neck (she is a hairless Crestie so it's easy to see)

During the evening I have noticed that the area is "sweating". It is not warm to touch but is wet. I cannot see any break in the skin. She is completely normal - bright and happy - we have been out all evening at my Mums. Her breathing and heart rate are normal. She has just eaten her dinner.

I suspect this might be a spider/insect bite. I have just gotten home and searched the net - to find that redback spiders seem to be the ones that cause localised sweating at the site of the bite!!!!!

I am gonna have to keep an eye on her... and hope she stays well. Apparently the venom doesn't affect dogs too badly... poor wee girl. :thumbsup:

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BL

Red back's might not affect dogs too much compared to people but she is a small dog so it could still make her quite sick. Best check with a vet just to be safe. Ring one of the 24 hour ones, you might not even need to go in. You'd hate to end up with some long term damage from the toxin as she metabolises it.

Jo

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The other thing though is that Red Back venom causes extreme pain at the bite site.

May have been a wasp as these can cause sweating at the sting site too... so can horse flies (one of mine was bitten by a horse fly yesterday and she had a small, wet swelling where she was bitten too).

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The other thing though is that Red Back venom causes extreme pain at the bite site.

May have been a wasp as these can cause sweating at the sting site too... so can horse flies (one of mine was bitten by a horse fly yesterday and she had a small, wet swelling where she was bitten too).

That sounds more likely Jack - Redbacks are supposed to be extremely painful - and she certainly showed no signs of that. I came across the swelling when I was clipping her - and she didn't pull away when I manipulated it. It is a soft swelling and has gone down considerably this morning.

I didn't realise that other insects caused localised sweating too. My internet search only seemed to bring up redbacks!!

Her behaviour never changed so I wasn't worried. She slept in bed beside me last night - a moment of panic when she jumped three times and barked (musta had a dream) and I thought she was convulsing :D . I was just in hyperalert sleep state I guess!!

Thank you guys for your help :thumbsup: I will still be crating the dogs this afternoon and spraying out on the back veranda. I have seen redbacks around under the lips of plant pots so I know they are there. The dogs will have to then stay inside until tomorrow and I am sure all the poisoned ones are dead.

Raz "localised sweating" probably looks different in a dog that has hair... but the skin sorta gets slightly weepy so whenever you touch it you get moisture on your fingers. Dogs don't have pores like humans but I think the skin weeps in a different way.

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:thumbsup: I just saw this....oooh, BL - hope Kirri is okay.

I hope you didn't drop any redbacks at Glen Innes thanks!!

I was bitten by a redback that I sat on many years ago....the bite site itself wasnt painful, but I came up with severe uticaria all over my body and swollen face the size of a football!

poor 'my little pony' give her a lick for Navarre!!

fifi

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Thanks BL. Good to know she's OK this morning.

Hey, whatever happened to that redback you brought down from Bris???

I left it at Erskine Park :D

Maybe Aunty Kitkat can bring it back for us when she is down there?? :D

(Kitkat I found a dead redback in my car when I was at Erskine Park... he's in the carpark somewhere.... can you have a look for me? ;) )

Thanks Feef and Jeanne... yeah the "poor little poppet" is right as rain - giving cheek left right and centre and barking at butterflies. Feef I was gonna give her a lick then thought better of it. I let Tbone do it for him :thumbsup:

PS Feef and Jeanne I still have those pics on my friends camera... will be coming soon to a Dog forum near you :rofl:

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bl, from your description, I thought your pup might have had a hotspot but since she's ok now I was guessing wrong!

Glad she's ok now!

Hotspot??

I guess it could have been.... it seems to have dried now. But the skin wasn't broken and she wasn't scratching it.

I guess it's a possibility.

I usually know the labs have a hotspot by the constant licking of it (I assume thats what makes it wet) and when I part the fur the skin is broken. Because Kirri is hairless I guess everything looks different. But it's certainly possible that it was a mild infection rather than a bite :laugh:

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I guess it could have been.... it seems to have dried now. But the skin wasn't broken and she wasn't scratching it.

I guess it's a possibility.

I usually know the labs have a hotspot by the constant licking of it (I assume thats what makes it wet) and when I part the fur the skin is broken. Because Kirri is hairless I guess everything looks different. But it's certainly possible that it was a mild infection rather than a bite :laugh:

bl, I might be wrong here but I think hotspots get wet from the bacteria on the skin and that is what makes the dogs itchy so they lick. You might notice on your labs if they get a hotspot where their tongues can't reach, it will still be moist.

If it was a hotspot, maybe it dried on its own simply because Kirri is hairless and so the skin was properly aired.

Like you say, it may have been a mild infection that just cleared itself up. :eek:

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