My 1 year old Coton de Tulear (14 lbs) tangled with a hornet and got bit on his top lip. He seemed fine till the following day. That next day (yesterday)he was "another dog"...no playing, no energy...no nothing! I called the vet and he put him on an antibiotic and Benadryl..within a couple of hours, poor little guy vomited 7 times...went into emergency and he was given a steroid and anti-vomiting shots. Today he is my puppy again! Here is my concern...what will happen the next time he gets stung/bit? Anyone out there with experience with this? Recommendations?Thanks!

Here in SoCal rattlesnakes cause the same problems.He may become extra sensitive to the venom next time, I was the same way with bee stings! Talk to your vet, my Doctor gave me a small pre-loaded syringe to use on myself immediately after getting stung again. Never had to use it thank God!Pup may need the same thing just in case. He may be older and wiser next time and run away from the hornet! Dog trainers can try aversion training to keep dogs safe from rattlers...but that won't work with bees and hornets!

I imagine your vet will tell you... and maybe Doug can weigh in... but I would think that if it happens again, you would want to start benadryl right away, not wait for symptoms. I've seen my dogs go after flying insects and this is a worry.

Code2High wrote:I imagine your vet will tell you... and maybe Doug can weigh in... but I would think that if it happens again, you would want to start benadryl right away, not wait for symptoms. I've seen my dogs go after flying insects and this is a worry.I am going to talk with my vet but I was hoping that someone else had a similar situation and could weigh in. Dave out there??

Hornets sting, they don't bite. First thing you need to do is look for the stinger where the dog has been stung and remove it. The longer it stays in, the more venom that gets into the dog's body. With it removed right away there might not be any reaction. However, if you are concerned, I'd at least call the vet when the dog gets stung and get his/her opinion on what to do.

Hornet bit my puppy | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

Canadian_Rainbi
Explorer
Nov 10, 2013
If removing a stinger, DON'T grasp or squeeze the sac at the end. This will force more toxin into the animal. Use pair of tweezers and grasp the stinger by the shaft close to the animal's skin.
Code2High
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
Those benadryl doses are definitely on the low end and that's something to look at and talk to the vet about your specific dog.
Crowe
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
Hornets do not leave a "stinger". They keep their weapon and can use it multiple times.

Well, I looked all of this up and am now more confused. Male bumble bees don't sting but females do. The rest I've read disagrees on who loses what or if. So, my advice would be to LOOK for a stinger and remove it if there. And contact your vet.
RRBob
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
My Husky loved to play with Bumble Bees! He would take them in his mouth and spit them out. How he managed to do this for so many years and never got stung is a mystery.
Pawz4me
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
My vet has always told me the dosage for Benadryl for dogs is 0.5 to 2 mg. per pound of body weight. For a bee sting where I knew the dog had already had a bad reaction -- I would aim for the higher end of that dosage (so twice the amount in the chart SAR Tracker posted). Of course, your own vet is the best source of advice for dosing.
SAR_Tracker
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
We had a Malmute that loved bees..... Benadryl and a paste made of baking soda and water usually mitigated the pain and swelling of the sting. Dosages are: (all 3 times a day)
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Oct 29, 2013
Crowe wrote:
Hornets sting, they don't bite. First thing you need to do is look for the stinger where the dog has been stung and remove it. The longer it stays in, the more venom that gets into the dog's body. With it removed right away there might not be any reaction. However, if you are concerned, I'd at least call the vet when the dog gets stung and get his/her opinion on what to do.

Hornets do not leave a "stinger". They keep their weapon and can use it multiple times.
dturm
Moderator
Oct 29, 2013
I have not seen the life threatening, worsening reactions to stings in my 36 years of practice. They do happen, but not frequently. However, the reaction your dog had is the least common I see, most common being localized swelling and pain, then generalized hives, then the delayed generalized reaction that you described being third on my list.

I'd start benedryl immediately and continue for several days with further stings. Talk to your vet about any further precautions.

Doug, DVM
Crowe
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
Hornets sting, they don't bite. First thing you need to do is look for the stinger where the dog has been stung and remove it. The longer it stays in, the more venom that gets into the dog's body. With it removed right away there might not be any reaction. However, if you are concerned, I'd at least call the vet when the dog gets stung and get his/her opinion on what to do.
pa_traveler
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
Glad he is okay.

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Hornet bit my puppy

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