sudden swelling of glands in dog's neck

[Erik]

Anybody have a clue why my dog is suddenly swelling around her throat?
She was inside and people were with her all day. By all accounts she has not eaten anything suspicious, although she is a dog and maybe snuck something. She looks miserable and I am a bit concerned. I don't want to visit the vet on the weekend. Anyone have any clues?

[Fry]

The glands are for immune response, so you dog could be just fight off bacteria.

It could also be lymphoma, my lab came over to me one day to be petted and I noticed the swollen lymph-nodes. They would swell up and go down. We took her in for a biopsy and it came back normal. It didn't go away so we did it again and it came back as suspicious. She was fine and happy for 3 months with it until she couldn't eat and we had to put her down.

I hope its not that, just be aware its a possibility as it comes on quick with dogs.

[Redfrog]

allergic reaction? ate a toad? I know you said she wasn't out but she had to go potty.

[Erik]

Look's like she's got a sliver of something in her esophagus that started an abscess. $700 later and all I've got is an appointment on Tuesday to spend a lot more dough and no guarantees. The hound and I had a lengthy car-ride chat about how many Beagles I could own for the medical bills I will incur. In any case I will do my best for her, but it couldn't come at a worse time as I am trying to close on a house.

[FishermanDanCrook]

Might have something to do with ticks, they carry some really messed up stuff , sometimes bacterial,... and the symptoms can range from fever, sores and swelling, to heart disease, brain damage, joint issues, lumps, circulatory problems, paralysis and auto immune disorders. I always check myself/dog for ticks, even if I work within the city, seeing as how there are many deer, mice and rabbits in common areas that may carry them. Chances are it is not a tick issue that your dog has, but just incase, check genitals, neck, ears, eye corners and neck area since these are hotspots for the little buggers. I worked at a provincial park in Ontario in 2010, and in the month of May I had ticks on me 8 different days, and several campers encountered ticks that summer, 3 of which contracted lyme disease. -Not Cool.

[nevercatchmuch]

oh no. I feel for you. Just went through something similar - massive inflammation on the xray and a big puffed out neck. By the time I saw a specialist, it had really come down. Apparently some foreign objects can make their way out on their own, which is how I got lucky. Hope your pooch got some antibiotics and metacam and tramadol to help with the pain in the interim. let us know how it goes.

[joshcat]

For any of you guys and Gals that Have hunting dogs, Petsecure has a good insurance plan at 30 bucks a month with a 500 dollar deductable. http://www.petsecure.com/ I have it on all my dogs as one of my shorthairs is accident prone. numerous gashes, stick through the chest and eye surgery due to a grass awl. And that might have been what went down your pups throat and got lodged as they are sharp. Good practice this time of year and while hunting is a good look over when done outside/ in the field and an eye and throat/mouth flush for good measure. it only takes a couple of minutes.

[smithy]

I recently lost a dog to lymphoma. We noticed one day that his neck was swollen and had hoped it was a spider bite or something similar. Within a few days we had him at the vet. It took three visits before they could confirm that he indeed had the disease. It can be very aggressive, even in young otherwise healthy dogs. Our Max was only four years old.

Good for you for getting your dog into the vet as quick as possible. Some well meaning pet owners wait too long. I am sure your dog will be fine and send you well wishes

[Erik]

Thanks for the well wishes. She is on tramadol, amoxillan and metacam at the moment. The swelling has come down, but the lump remains. Thanks for all the well wishes. I hope things go well on Tuesday.

On the bright side of this story, I went looking in my pantry for some soft dog food and found nothing. My wife likes luncheon meat (aka unbranded SPAM) and I hate the stuff. I opened a can and fed it to both hounds (as you cannot feed one kibbles and the other soft food, out of fairness,of course), and both hounds agreed with me that the stuff tastes like dogfood!