By the way, adult size, one to two every 4 hours is the dose for Benadryl.. it is very safe for dogs… even puppies.. not necessary to give children's size
Thanks People!
I took him to the clinic and they gave him a shot of steroid and some prednisone tabs(steriod too). He reckons it was most likely and insect due to the serverity of the reaction and the fact that there hasn't been any changes to his lifestyle. Hopefully he can get some sleep now. It was weird to see him not sleep, he's usually the first one under the covers and the last one to get up in the morning.
Tanza - Thanks for the info. I read on the web that 1 mg per pound so that's why childrens seemed to be applicable. (my basenji is all cock and ribs) 
The vet also said that in his experience he finds that benadryl works about 40-50% of the time.
Thanks again for the quick responses and thanks Alex for editing to display picture.
Just an FYI based on personal experience and research, you can develop an allergy at any time of your life to things that you've been around for a long time. You cannot be allergic to something the first time you encounter it. It just doesn't work that way. Your body has to develop an allergy, it's not allergic to something at the get-go.
The world of allergies, a fascinating subject.
Glad Mr. Lumpy is better, b3nji!!
Poor guy. Hope he feels better soon!! He looks so pitiful & miserable.
FTR, I have had a dog have a reaction like this to airborn or pollen. Just as GBroxen said, if something builds up enough in the system it can trigger an allergy, and some dogs will have a hive reaction like that. We are having very bad allergy issues in our area right now because it has been soooo dry. I have noticed that a few of our dogs have been itchy and scratchy…so I attribute it to that.
I have also had dogs develop hives like that after a rabies vaccine.
Whoa allergy symptoms sure vary. My girl gets mild allergies and you can tell that she's slightly itchy. The sure sign is scratching at her gums with her front paws. I haven't seen it recently but back in May when the vet said to give her an antihistamine every day it was very obvious. I found that I could hide them very well in cheddar cheese but I was in trouble if she tried to chew too much, haha.
I have never seen lumps like your boy had, I was like wwooooow! Keep us updated on how he's doing for sure. This might seem like a stupid question but did the insect bite him all over for that reaction or did one bite cause all that?
One bite from a spider can and will cause hives/lumps like that…. I have seen it on my kids....
I have been tempted to post this in past threads, but have resisted because I thought I'd be seen as some wacked-out moron, over re-active pet owner and in general–a moonbat!!
My Katie broke out exactly like this (the first and only time) when she came into season as a pup. The more she licked to clean, the worse she got. She was already scheduled for a spay, so I was in contact with my vet constantly. It got so bad that we started a prednisone therapy. We had to continue the steroids for 2 weeks (or more, I can't really remember---it's been almost 7 years) and use the Elizabethan collar.
This has never again occurred. My vet and I still joke that my Kate was allergic to herself.
I guess I'm only trying to say that it could be the most inconsequential, remote thing you never think of, that may trigger a singular, massive reaction.
I have been tempted to post this in past threads, but have resisted because I thought I'd be seen as some wacked-out moron, over re-active pet owner and in general–a moonbat!!
hahahahaha! Well, after all, who but us whacked-out moonbats can really appreciate basenjis anyway? :rolleyes:
Dang, those are some lumps. I'd have freaked out for sure if one of my b's sprouted those suddenly. Good job remaining cool and calm.
Glad I've come across this thread. The picture in the first post is exactly what my Chance looks like. I didn't take a picture of him as I thought it wouldn't show up well enough. Chance has a few more bumps though.
It started on Saturday night. I called my Nakura's breeder and while I was talking to her you could actually see more lumps appearing. I gave him half a Loratadine tablet that night. On Sunday morning the lumps had gone. PHEW!
Sunday night, they had reappeared! Worse! I gave him some arnica and by now we had a supply of Benadryl. We gave him a Benadryl and kept an eye on him. On Monday morning the lumps were almost gone but not quite. I then got some Apes Mel 30c and started giving him 2 tabs every 2 hours. This seemed to keep them at bay.
He had more lumps by lunchtime so we took him to the vets yesterday as we were worried and were told to keep up the Benadryl for a few days and go back if it hadn't cleared up.
This morning he has woken up with lumps all down his forechest and tummy. I've given him another Benadryl and some Urtica Urens spray.
We don't know what has caused these hives but suspect maybe nettles as our garden is full of them or possibly midges! We've not changed anything in his food so are pretty confident it's not that.
I think I will go back to giving Loratadine as it seemed to have a greater effect on the lumps.
Douglas has paid ?400 for a new industrial strength strimmer so we can get rid of all the nasty nettles and tall grasses in the garden!
I feel so sorry for Chance he looks awful and has scratched his armpits red raw. 
Hopefully it will clear up enough by the weekend as we are travelling a long way for a Breed Champ Show.
I'll keep you posted as to how he gets on.
Sometimes with an allergic reaction like that the only thing that will stop it is a steroid like Prednisone. My boy Nicky had a reaction like that when he was 2 years old. The antihistamines helped some but it just kept going so the vet gave a course of pred which stopped the reaction and he never had a problem since.
Yes, the vet mentioned the possibility of an steriod injection. As we're away this weekend I said I would stick with the Benadryl until Monday and see how it goes and then if necessary get him in to the vets on Tuesday.
God, I've lost a lot of sleep worrying.
IME the pred works very quickly. When are you going away? If the bumps are really bad you may want to consider doing it before you leave.
Also, have you bathed Chance since the bumps started? Sometimes that helps especially if it was triggered by a contact allergen.
Tanza, one to two teaspoons or other? per dose? thanks
Tillo has had this twice now.. Once in April and once in May. He got a prednisone injection that worked for three weeks. Four weeks after the first injection he had these urticaria again. Another injection with prednisone and it hasn't appeared since.. well.. not as bad as it had been. He has had some urticaria after a walk, but they were gone in 30 min. We are now feeding him hypoallergenic food, but I don't think it's the food. My guess is some plant-thing.. We will be testing him when where back from our holiday..
In Southern California in the spring/early summer there is something that seems to cause these break outs. My mom has one boy that broke out in bumps and another breeder had one do the same thing. It is always at the same time of year but no one is quite sure what it is.
My mom usually wipes down the dogs with a damp wash cloth when they come in from walks this time of year to help keep any pollen or other allergen they may pick up off of them.
Janneke, would you classify Tillo's outbreaks as acute or chronic? I only ask because all I have read indicates that a 4-6 week singular outbreak indicates allergic reaction to an environmental/contact allergy. Beyond that, it's considered a autoimmune allergy. How is Tillo being treated? Acute or chronic??
Forgive me if I have overstepped the courtesy bounds, but I know you are in Vet Medicine and wonder how you feel about various medicinal therapies.
Extended Pred. therapy, even for just a few weeks, can be lethal for a pet when a pet owner doesn't follow the very specific Rx instructions for reduction. I have friends that haven't reduced according to therapy/Rx to "save cost" on the reserved pills. How risky is this?
Chance seems to be a lot better this morning (although I said that a few mornings ago too). I gave him 1/2 a Loratadine tablet last night and so far so good. I've given him more Apis Mel this morning so hopefully when I get home from work he'll still be OK. We bathed him in warm water with a little lavender oil a couple of days ago. I think that helped a bit.
The outbreaks are acute and he is treated acute. He doesn't get prednisone now. The injections he got where 'depots' for three weeks. I don't like the idea of a depot, but that was what the vet gave at the moment. I spoke to a dermatology veterinarian at the University and he said I could try antihistamine to prevent the outbreaks, but if it is something seasonal and the antihistamine doesn't work (which is often the case with dogs), he wouldn't mind giving a dog prednisone for a couple of weeks a year. Not as an injection though.
About exactly how risky it is not to follow the instructions for reductions, I can't answer that. It will prob. depend on the dosis and the length of time it has been given. But I think it is not wise not to follow these instructions.
I was wondering what you mean by an autoimmune allergy.
