Spiders range in various sizes, from tiny Samoan spiders to the massive Goliath birdeater. Spiders’ thoughts are enough for some people to scare them because people think that spiders are scary and can harm them. However, if you love your dog, spider bite on the dog is scarier for you.
All the spiders have venom in common, but the fact is that only a handful are dangerous to humans and dogs.
However, we understand you won’t feel pleasant about the spider bite on your dog.
We are mentioning a wholesome guide with what to do when a spider bites your dog to help you out. This article will discuss various aspects of spider bites, including the causes, prevention, symptoms, and home remedies to cure spider bites.
What is a spider bite on the dog?
A spider bite is also known as arachnids, is simply a wound that comes from being bitten by a spider. When a dog gets bitten by a spider, the dog develops specific symptoms, including redness and a bump. The bump which a spider causes is known as a spider bite. A spider bite can be expected as well as infectious.
How dangerous can a spider bite?
There are roughly 45,000 different species of spiders found in the world. And among them, nearly 40,000 are very small and hence cannot bite the dogs. The spiders’ wrest, which consists of a smaller percentage, is deadly and can cause much harm the dogs. These kinds of spiders can even kill your dog. There are four different types of deadly spiders to dogs: Black Widow, Brown Widow, tarantulas, and Brown Recluse.
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Which breed of dogs can get infected by spider bite?
It is not that only certain breeds get infected by a spider bite. All the breeds of dogs are at risk of getting a bite by a poisonous spider-like black widow. But dogs with low immunity are more prone to these bites. Dogs with high blood pressure are also more likely to get spider bites. Even the aged dogs get spider bites frequently, as they have an indigent immune system.
Symptoms of Spider Bite.
At the begging of the spider bite, the dog will show one of the following symptoms or can show more than one of these symptoms, these include:-
- Pain
- Swelling
- Bister
- The black area of the dead skin cells around the spider bite (also called Necrotic tissue.)
- It was bruised, which is an inflamed area that spread around the bister.
After three to four days of the spider bite, your dog might show the following symptoms.
- Thirst
- Vomiting
- High fever
- Nausea
- Anemia
- Edema, also known as accumulation of water
- Renal Failure
- Shock
Causes of a spider bite:
These are some of the common causes of getting infected to a spider bite:-
- Check whether your dog is sleeping a lot.
- See whether your dog has walked through any spider web.
- Is your dog digging through the dry leaves.
Essential Treatments for spider bite that you can do at your home itself:
1. Use an ice pack (also known as the cold-compress method)
First, if your dog is getting redness or swelling, then wash the infected area with soap and water. Then use an ice pack on the infected area. Do this remedy for a couple of days, as necessary. This will reduce the swelling and redness caused due to spider bites. If your dog shows some severe symptoms or doesn’t get well, you must take them to the veterinarian in a couple of days.
2. Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera has got many natural properties that can indeed reduce inflammation and itchiness. The only thing that you need to keep in your mind is to use a dog-friendly aloe Vera. You must not use the gel extracted from an aloe Vera plant directly to the dog as dogs can likely ingest it and get sick. It would be great if you tried using aloe mist or ointment, which contains aloe Vera and is dog friendly. You can use Aloe Vera many times a day until your dog shows improvement. Also, there are no side-effects of using dog-friendly aloe Vera gel.
3. Craft a paste made up of baking soda.
Mix water and baking soda and get a smooth mixture. Now, apply this mixture to the redness or swelled up area. Apply this mixture in regular intervals of time to improve the symptoms of a dog bite. For faster and better results, take the mixture of baking soda and water in the ratio of 3:1.
4. Apply a salt mixture
Take a towel, and clean the infected area. Now, take a bowl, mix some water and salt, and then dip a cotton cloth in the mixture. Now, tie this cloth or pat this cloth in the wounded area. Allow the saltwater mixture to soak thoroughly into the wounded area. This will reduce itchiness.
5. Make a paste of olive oil and turmeric powder.
This is another remedy you can easily do at your home. This remedy will decrease the pain, irritation, and redness caused due to the spider bite. Craft a paste of turmeric powder and olive oil and apply to the infected area. Allow it to rest for an hour. After an hour, undo the paste with warm water. Then reapply the paste to reduce the redness and to reduce the symptoms and pain of your dog. It would be best if you continued this remedy till your dog gets relief.
6. Make Potato Poultice at home.
Another cost-saving and effective home remedy are to rub potato poultice. Potato has got several properties that reduce inflammatory burns and redness. Due to this reason, potato is highly used to reduce the reaction on the dog caused by a spider bite. You can create a potato poultice at home by washing a potato, cutting it into small slices. Then grate the potato, and place the grated potato inside a cotton cloth. Now, secure the pieces of potato by using a rubber band. Rub the potato over the inflation or red wounds or bumps till the potato becomes dry. After a while, you can repeat the procedure, make sure that the bite area is clean or not.
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When to consult a doctor?
If your dog gets a spider bite and shows symptoms like
- Fever
- Chills
- Pus coming out of the wound
- Weakness
- Muscle or joint pain
- Trouble in walking or standing
If your dog shows one or more than one of the symptoms mentioned above, you must immediately visit a vet without giving a second thought. If the redness or the swelling lasts for several days, you must also consult a veterinarian.
How can you spot a spider bite?
Generally, dogs get spider bites on areas where they don’t have much fur. These areas include the nose, ear flops. Not all dogs need to get spider bites on these areas, but these are the most likely areas. It would be best if you search for swollen areas, redness, and lumps in the dog’s body. In many cases, it becomes challenging to find the spider’s bite in the area which is covered by fur, so till the time you spot it, it already becomes infected.
Prevention from getting a spider bite:
Though most spider bites are harmless, one needs to take prevention, as it is rightly said that prevention is better than cure.
- Don’t go to the areas where there is a pile of garbage. As when a dog sniffs around a trash can and digs up the soil, they become susceptible to spiders. So, in case if you are taking your dog to such areas, then you must keep a watchful eye.
- Notice an infestation of spiders in your house or kennel.
- Pay attention to the dog’s behavioural changes and examine them if you think that something is wrong.
- Contact the vet soon to know if anything serious has happened or not, and reduce infection risk.
What is the recovery time?
Well, the recovery time is not definite. Some dogs get to recover in a day or two, while some dogs take months to recover. So, we can say that the recovery period is different for each dog. For the precise answer, you must visit your vet and should take proper directions from them.
Summing-up Note:
Many home remedies can cure the spider bite. Simultaneously, some spider bites are very dangerous and can even lead to the dog’s death.
So, when your dog doesn’t get well in a couple of days, then you must surely take him to the veterinarian.
Also, you must not think that your dog is lovely after the lumps and redness go away. You must take care of your dog until your dog doesn’t show any of those symptoms and is healthy again.
You must check your dog again and again, and you must keep track of all his activities as well as symptoms. If you come to know about the spider bite after an extended period, then again, in this case, you must consult a doctor.
When not treated, dog bites cause dry skin, blood disorders, kidney failure, ulcerating, dangerous infections, and even death as the large wounds take a lot of time to heal.
You must keep all these points in your mind and regularly diagnose your dog’s body to avoid such cases.
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