I would suggest you either post a notice at the dog park or leve your dog in the car and talk to the other dog owners to see if someone else has had this problem, if so a police report should be made - sounds like someone dowsed the dog park with something nasty

I had my other dog with me, who had no problems. And I *think* I might have noticed the bumpy face look prior to going to the park. I looked around my yard to see if she'd eaten something 'new'. She eats ANYTHING. I did see a new kind of weed, so maybe she ate one of those and is allergic.

She's been fine since going to the emergency clinic. I will continue to watch her closely to see if she breaks out again and try to tie it to something in her environment here or at the park.

I think I might know what caused the hives. I found a dead "cicada killer" wasp on the patio. I suspect Miss Lola was trying to play with it and got stung. That could explain why when I came outside at one point, she was laying in a way that she normally doesn't, and didn't jump up the second she saw me. I am still wondering why the effects would go away for awhile and then come back. Maybe running at the park pumped the venom around again?

I took a photo, and included some info about cicada killers below it, but don't click the link if you're squeamish about big honkin' wasps ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: cicada killer wasp

Those wasps are *nasty*! If she got stung, it's no wonder she had an allergic reaction. Yipes!

There are stages to allergic reactions. Some get hives then graduate to all over itching like your girl. Others just swell up. Some got into anaphylactic shock and just stop breathing and die. I would continue giving benadryl for a couple of days just to make sure she is over the reaction. Usually a steroid shot stops the problem but if the venom is still in her she could react to it again once the drugs wear off.

Glad you were with her and sought vet help. Usually just benadryl isn't enough for severe reactions- they need steroids at first too.

We have those wasps here too. Yuck.

Believe me, I hate wasps, but these are actually pretty harmless. They really need to be provoked to sting. I'm sure a dog chewing on one is enough provocation though!

I haven't given her anything since 3pm yesterday, since she seems fine. I will give her a benadryl now to be safe. I'm also going to ask my vet about an epi pen to have on hand. I've learned that her reaction to another sting might be the same, or she could have a worse reaction and go into anaphylactic shock.

weed - we had a dog that was allergic to wasps. She went into anaphylactic shock one time but we were fortunate to be home and got her to the vet quickly enough to save her. We carried epinephrine with us for the rest of her life. As allergies can become worse over time, you might want to talk about that with your vet.

prarie love, I've already called the vet to see about an epi pen. Thanks for posting!

Yikes, that's bad. I'm glad she's okay now. I keep liquid baby Benadryl on hand for allergic reactions too. Odo had a bee sting on his eyelid once, and he got the itchies from being around friend's cats a couple of times.