Yesterday Paxy gave me a huge fright. We have a small bottlebrush which is full of flowers and buzzing bees. On Thursday Paxy was jumping around it snapping and barking at the bees. I told her off and warned her but I'm not sure English is her first language lol!

Late yesterday afternoon she was running around barking madly and my son told her to be quiet and she seemed to obey him and went quiet! I was working on the computer and wasn't paying a lot of attention to these events. I was watching the time as it was close to time take her for a walk and son to cricket training. My son said Paxy's quiet, actually it looks like she's resting. Paxy resting? says I - no she doesn't do that. When I looked out there she was stretched out on her side on the grass, so I called her and no response, so that's when I started to run to her. When I touched her she was cold, only the fact that she moved her head slightly and her eyes did I realise she was still with us. Her breathing was shallow and her gums going dark. I scooped her up and ran inside where I did a more thorough exam, firstly looking for ticks and breathing obstructions but couldn't find anything. Rang the vet and said I'm coming in with an emergency - dog collapsed. They said they didn't have an available vet - what the??? Said I was coming anyway! Got her in the car and son in back seat holding her. She started moving a bit more as we got to the vet and was actually able to walk into the surgery but her face was starting to blow up!! So vet saw her reasonably quickly and we found the bee sting in her tongue! She had a large cortisone dose and antihistamine and was observed for about 10mins to make sure swelling was going down and no reaction to the cortisone. She certainly didn't look pretty for a while with lots of bumps on her muzzle and head!

I had actually been to the vet the day before to talk about her heart murmur and he gave me a referral to a specialist centre in Sydney for a doppler and colour ultrasound and although he said he thought it was only a mild murmur and not significant. The vet who saw her with the bee sting said she had probably been unconscious for over 10 mins (estimating by the time she was quiet) and her heart beat after treatment was much too slow for a dog that had just sustained high stress and it was possible the bee toxin had interferred with her heart somehow, so definitely get the ultrasound now.

She seems to be better today a bit quiet perhaps. So hopefully she will learn her lesson and stay away from bees! I can do without the fright!

How scary. Glad she's feeling better (guess you are too, Bluedog ;-)

What a scare for you. It would have been very traumatic for both of you and your son. She was unlucky to get a sting on her tongue. Tell us how the results go for her heart murmur. Here is some hugs for the whole family.

It makes your heart leap into your throat when things like that happen.

I had that happen to my Kelpie, Toohey, she had a bee sting on her nose (probably several) and she had to go to the vet for injections for the swelling as it was interferring with her breathing. She did not collapse, just her nose swelled up HUGE!! I took overnight for the swelling to reduce even with the antihistimines.

She sure did give us a fright! I'm hoping she's learnt to stay away from bees now! Thanks for the hugs Ceejay! When my husband rang to tell my daughter on Sat he initially forgot to tell her Paxy was alright and she was getting upset until he said everything was OK. We've had some rough times with the family health lately and the dog would have been the last straw.

sorry bluedog i missed this post how is paxy doing now has she had the ultrasound done yet, how did it go, god i would of had a fit if i had found one of my dogs like that it was bad enought when Mirra degloved her hind leg late at night when no vets were open and i had to keep her calm over night.

Paxy is booked in for her ultrasound on Thursday in Sydney. She will probably be sedated as she doesn't know how to stay still!!lol After I've digested the diagnosis (and the bill) I'll post her results. I'll probably have to get the vet to write it down as I have holes in my memory lately!

When my little girl saw Brad a few years ago he did something I thought was interesting, and wondered why nobody else had ever done it with her. She had the Fox Terrier shake, and that always interferred with the vet hearing her heart beat properly (somewhat like a cat purring does), so he just picked her up and held her against his body. I guess Paxy might be a bit big for that (and healthier than D was at that point - more wriggly), but Brad has such a nice gentle way of handling them.

Paxy's had her ultrasound! Results are: mild increase of blood flow through the pulmonic vavle and whilst this is abnormal, it is very mild and should not cause any clinical signs. Reassessment in 12 months unless clinical signs develop.

That's what the report says, vet added that her heart walls are normal thickness - which is good, but the right side of her heart is almost as big as her left side which is abnormal and the pulmonary artery going to her lungs (think I have that right) is narrower than normal with a slightly elevated flow rate. She should have a relatively normal life but there is a possibility of lung disease as an older dog. Basically just to watch her for any signs of stress during high activity. Reassess in 12 months to check for any possible changes. So I'm pretty happy now I know where I stand with her! They didn't sedate her either, they said once she was lying down on her side she was pretty good, just wanted to have a look at everything they were doing!

Paxy looks like she's started shaving under her arms (well I guess she's near puberty) - has two bald patches just near her elbows!! She's a bit tired today after a big day yesterday. We were naughty and stopped and had Maccas for lunch on the way back to Newcastle and she behaved very nicely sitting at the table with me outside in the cold.

That's such good news.

Great to hear Bluedog

I bet it is a relief to know where you stand now with Paxy's health. She sounded like she was very well behaved at the vets. Probably enjoyed all that attention.

One of my little Tibs swells up really bad if he gets bitten by anything. I always have some Claratyne antihistamine syrup on hand.

We are a fair distance from a vet, this was recommended to me years ago by a vet, and i am never without it.