My dog is suddenly covered in lumps - what the hell is going on?!

[SatansBobbleheadedDashboardOrnament]

Needless to say we've got him booked in to the vets in an hour's time, but can anyone talk me down?

Dog boxer (just turned one) has suddenly come out in loads of lumps. He ate food as normal yesterday but won't touch his breakfast this morning. He was at the kennels for two days last weekend. We've been itching the past couple of days and I mentioned to partner about fleas. Is it fleas?? The lumps (loads of them) are quite prominent. Help!

No idea but good luck!

I’ve not known off food to be a flea side effect. It’s normally just them being skittish and scratching.

have you got bites if you are itching?

Flea bite allergy maybe. My old cat reacted horribly to flea bites and came out in lumps.

He seems OK (despite not gobbling food as per) but these lumps have come out of nowhere. They feel quite soft and watery, if that makes any sense.

I've been itching a bit and have a few bite-looking marks. 😫

Fleas or ticks would be my best guess (tick infestation can leave lots of little bites and cause allergy type reactions). Could also be an allergy to good he’s had.

Either way, not looking good for the kennels you used…

It's not, is it. We did our research as well... His first time!

Not eaten anything out of the ordinary, that we know of.

Boxers are prone to skin allergies, sounds like urticaria which is an acute allergy, may be something he has eaten or something he has been in contact with. Can even happen after wasp or bee sting. So may be nothing to do with the kennelling. He will probably need some steroids by jab or tablet.

It sounds like your dog is allergic to fleas and probably caught the fleas at the kennels.

Thanks everyone for your help, much appreciated.

He isn't reacting when I touch one of his many lumps and is nestled asleep next to me. Lumps are various sizes and feel soft.

Sounds like hives from a mite or flea allergy.

I remember my parents’ boxer coming out in lumps like that years ago after being stung by a wasp!

He’s a lucky dog to be nestled beside you notwithstanding the lumps!

Our dog used to have these flare ups of bumps all over his body. Vet said it was seasonal allergies, made worse in summer by certain pollen, and then they'd flare up again when the grass got wet in autumn winter. They told us to give him piriton, and it went away. Not saying it's the same thing, but there can be loads of causes for bumpy skin in dogs, wouldn't blame the kennel just yet. Could have just come into contact with a type of allergen he hasn't been exposed to yet, or was sensitive to a cleaning fluid they used at the kennel, or may be unrelated completely. Our other dog also ate a wasp once and her face swelled up like a cartoon. She looked like the dog in the film The Mask when he puts the mask on 😂 with loads of hives all over her body. Again, piriton was the advice from the vets.

This happens to my dog when she's allergic to something. It generally goes away in a couple of hours

Hives allergy my lab had the same it's quite scary isn't it 🙈 he was fine though had a jab and it's not happened again I think it was grass maybe but can't be sure without a test and like I say it was years ago and been fine since 🥰 sure he will be ok ❤️

Hives.
It is an allergic reaction to something, not necessarily fleas. Could be something in the food, or a plant he has been exposed to etc.

Thanks 😂I realise I'm being a bit of a hysterical dog mum right now.

Cheers everyone who helped earlier. My dog is now doped up on a cocktail of steroids and antihistamines and I am over 200 quid poorer.
It seems he's had an allergic reaction to something, vet doesn't think it's fleas. She did say his lumps are "rather extreme" so I feel a bit less daft.

I'm glad it's all sorted now, and being treated. My boxer ate a bee once and this happened, looked awful and was quite worrying, we took her to vets and she had an injection.

Did you get a picture?

Boxer lady here. So glad your boy is ok.
Sounds similar to an incident we had years ago. Woke up to find my girl covered in bumps with her short hair stood on end.
It was so shocking to see.
Took her straight to Vets and she was given anti-inflammatories which seem to solve the issue.
Vet asked if she’d been given anything unusual to eat. I said no, but later that day noticed some toadstools in the garden….with little bite marks in
Later that week heard same story about another boxer. Please check your garden for toadstools/funghi.
During the damp dark seasons I’m now like a witch early mornings, creeping about gathering toadstools.

Have also seen terrible face swelling from a bee sting. Again, anti inflammatory injection cleared up the problem. Vet told me Piriton would be ok if there was a further issue but please check this out with your own Vet first for suitability and dose. x

TBH I would still be speaking to the kennels. They must have seen his reaction and known he wasn’t 100%. I’d want to know precisely what they did that caused it - one to know how negligent they were and two to avoid it happening again…

He's all better now and being greedy as ever, but it's funny you say that as many people have mentioned the same. Haven't spotted any in the garden but now keeping an eye out!

@KnigCnut I didn't - wish I had but wasn't thinking properly at the time. It looked like if a person got a really severe nettle sting all over their body.