A day in the life...: First Aid Kit...

Thursday, April 23, 2009

First Aid Kit...

2:53 PM | Posted by the road less traveled... | Edit Post

With the temps in the 80's this afternoon here in the Atlanta area it is no wonder my dogs were a bit lazy. Like us humans, some tolerate the heat better then others. My pups prefer the cooler temperatures that we had enjoyed the last few days. I hope a few more "cold" snaps roll in before the summer temps are here to stay. Looks like early morning walks from now on....and once the sun goes down early evenings, that is if it cools down.

With the warmer temps so too is there an increase in the bug activity around my house. Lot's of annoying but harmless ants...from now on we must be on the look out for fire ants, nasty little buggers. I noticed just about every bee, wasp that we have here in Atlanta flying about....hornets and yellow jackets too. I hate these flying insects as I am allergic. Please know dogs can also be allergic to bee stings as well. The above image shows a carpenter bee annoying the dogs....they love to hoover and chase you. Pretty territorial, or at least it looks that way to me.
The puppy seems to have an interest in chasing them....so I have been telling him to come to me when I see this. Lots of yellow jackets flying about so I have been trying to see if any nests starting up.

Time to go through my first aid ki t making sure my benadryl supply is adequate. If you do not have a pet first aid kit time to start putting one together, better safe then sorry.
If your dogs happens to get stung by a bee, wasp stay calm....look for the area that they were stung, with so much fur it can be difficult....look for a spot that in inflamed and swollen....remove the stinger with a tweezer (should be in your first aid kit).

Make a paste of baking soda and water and place on the entire swollen area....then apply and ice pack to the area to reduce swelling....alternate placing the pack on the area, then removing the pack...then, finally monitor your pets health. if you pet is experiencing difficulty breathing get them to your vet clinic ASAP. Again, some animals are indeed allergic and will require immediate medical attention.