![\"Royal](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/KHZYEVGF2VK57KTE7FTUIORWDE.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Stars](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/FG6H2HEQXRILVGTDBN4JA6K6VE.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nInsect venom allergy is one of the most serious acute allergic conditions in canines.<\/p>\n
Reactions can develop within minutes of a sting and can, in a very small number of cases, progress from hives and vomiting to collapse, respiratory distress, and in severe cases, death.<\/p>\n
Almost two-thirds of dogs which experience one severe reaction to a bee or wasp sting go on to experience the same, or worse symptoms after subsequent stings.<\/p>\n
![\"Amber,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMFB3VFRSZPRTDT5IROAWIHZPA.jpg\")
Amber, with owners Claire and Matthew Preece <\/p>\n
Professor Ana Rostaher, who leads the treatment at the hospital, said: \u201cVenom immunotherapy represents a major advance in how we can manage severe insect sting allergies in dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor affected animals, a single sting can make them very ill and even die.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, this treatment offers a proactive way to change that risk profile and provides owners with an option for further peace of mind for those animals who are severely allergic to insect stings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The treatment, which was first developed for use in humans, works by gradually introducing controlled, increasing doses of bee or wasp venom to the affected dog, which trains the immune system to tolerate future stings.<\/p>\n
Clinicians said doing so can \u201csignificantly reduce\u201d the likelihood of a recurrent severe allergic reaction.<\/p>\n
![\"Bee](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/JX2XEVZQ7NK3FKLRLJYOCJW24A.jpg\")
Bee and wasp venom can trigger severe allergic reactions in dogs (Niall Carson\/PA) <\/p>\n
The treatment involves an initial diagnostic phase with allergy testing, followed by a closely monitored induction period and long-term maintenance therapy that may continue for several years.<\/p>\n
Amber, a Vizsla breed dog, became the first subject in the UK to undergo the therapy at the hospital after she suffered a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting in 2021.<\/p>\n
Her owners, Claire and Matthew Preece, from Stratford-upon-Avon, said Amber became \u201cunwell very quickly\u201d following the sting, with sudden behavioural changes followed by the rapid development of hives and vomiting.<\/p>\n
After hearing about the groundbreaking new therapy, the couple opted to have Amber treated at the Small Animal Hospital in Glasgow.<\/p>\n
Ms Preece said: \u201cAmber became unwell very quickly at home \u2014 we didn\u2019t even realise at the time that she had been stung by a bee that had flown in through an open window.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer behaviour changed first, then things escalated rapidly. It became clear within minutes that this was extremely serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe chose immunotherapy to reduce the risk of another reaction and to regain a sense of control.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe anxiety never fully went away \u2014 we simply wanted to do everything possible to protect Amber.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof Rostaher said: \u201cAmber\u2019s story underlines why this treatment matters as, for some dogs, these reactions are sudden, severe, and deeply distressing for families.<\/p>\n
\u201cVenom immunotherapy offers a way not just to treat the condition, but to prevent the next emergency before it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Scottish animal hospital has become the first in the UK to use an innovative treatment for dogs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1119094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7826],"tags":[850,933,12133,748,690,918,4884,304897,5698,712,104295,16,15,12814,304898,28226,7858],"class_list":["post-1119093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-glasgow","tag-anaphylaxis","tag-animals","tag-bees","tag-britain","tag-dogs","tag-glasgow","tag-great-britain","tag-hymenoptera-venom-immunotherapy","tag-pets","tag-scotland","tag-sting","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-university-of-glasgow","tag-vit","tag-wasps","tag-west-midlands"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117006157216513523","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1119093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1119094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1119093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1119093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1119093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}