So Wierd

It started on 11/13th. Skittle came down with hives. We treated with Benedryl and by Sunday the 15th, she was better. On Monday, 11/16, my mom's dog Bailey (Silkie) got sick. She threw up all over the house in the morning, but by the time they were on their way to the airport, Bailey was better. Because of the close proximity of the two events, and the fact that the dogs were eating the same food (literally from the same can), we chocked it up to a bad can of food. During that time, Lily was fine.

Cue last Thursday, 11/20. We came home on Friday to Lily covered with hives.

 Hard to see them on this side

Much easier to see on this side.

Now, to cover all of the things:

• We have not changed their food since they first came home. The most we can figure is that we got a bad case of soft dog food, which we have now thrown out.
• Skittle is fine and Bailey has gone home.
• We washed all of the bedding when Skittle first came down with the hives.
• They eat from the same can (we split a can between them in the morning and again at night).
• This is a different batch number from the prior case.
• Their dry food has not changed. Still the same bag as the past month.
• We have not changed detergent.
• No new toys.
• I spent time this morning cleaning up the space they will be in for the day - vacuumed all of the areas, cleaned out all but the oldest of their toys, made sure there was nothing for them to get into.

The last time we had an outbreak of hives like this - only one dog and nothing new in the house - it was because Red was crawling under the bed in the evening eating the foam off of the handles of my ab roller. There is nothing like that in the living room. And we've checked to make sure she isn't suddenly eating blankets or chewing wires.

She is more comfortable right now than over the weekend and is at least sleeping well.

There are two possibilities: joint compound chips from the mantle over the fireplace or the mud and hay from my boots at the new barn. The joint compound chips from the mantle over the fireplace are chipping off from her jumping at the front window. This has been going on for a while, so I seriously doubt she has suddenly developed a taste for the little pieces of white on the floor. Now, if it was her sister, I would say yes, since Skittle has chewed dry wall before. It didn't give her hives though.

The mud on my boots is a much more likely scenario. It is different mud from a new barn and both pups have been known to chew the weeds that are stuck in the mud. I have been storing my boots in the living room on the mat to keep the dirt from flying all over the house and I wonder if they have been eating it. 

Our plan is to take them off their food entirely and feed them rice and boiled chicken with egg. If that helps, then we will return the soft food and try another type. We are also going to wash everything that they come in contact with - our bedding, chair covers, dog beds, blankets and toys. Hopefully, we can get rid of this very annoying hive issue.

Any thoughts or suggestions are most welcome.