Puppy with swollen head

Checkpoint Beagles · Post by **Checkpoint Beagles** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:45 pm

I came from hunting (1pm) and my 6 mo old pup has massive swelling on left side of face and head. Above griund kennel. Kenelled with 1 other 6mo old pup. No blood. No redness or foreign objects in his eye. He acts OK. I feed him this morning aroung 6:30 but didn't notice anything. Any ideas.

Tim

dave404 · Post by **dave404** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:53 pm

i had a young dog the same, was abcessed. give it amoxicillin a few days.
straw or hay getting in the gums or sinus cavities can cause this.
the vet used a needle to draw it out.

Windkist · Post by **Windkist** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 9:32 pm

I think I might have a vet look at that.. Since its a holiday though you could start the dog on amoxi and see how it looks. most abcesses will come to a head and you can feel a soft spot if you feel around it. In that soft spot its usually ok to lance it but, be very careful near the eye like that. Could also be a bee sting if your not somewhere that is frozen.

Leah

Beagled1 · Post by **Beagled1** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:45 pm

Check the mouth for a broken tooth.

Last year I had one who broke her back (carnassal) tooth in the spring. Wasn't giving her any trouble so we left it alone. This past May, a year after the tooth broke, I noticed a minor swelling under her eye. Figured it was a bug bite. Within 48hrs it doubled in size, so we obviously had to take her to the Vet ... came to find out that the tooth was badly infected, and the problem was that the root of that back tooth was very long, reaching almost to the eye. Which was why the swelling had appeared so far up.

She had to be treated with Baytril for the infection & that tooth needed to be pulled. She's normally a hardy dog but she needed antibiotics before & after the tooth came out

It's a very big deal when the swelling is in that area. Whether it is or isn't the tooth, the infection could easily spread to the eye or the brain ... Some things I like to treat on my own with fish mox, this would not be one of those instances. This dog urgently needs to see a Vet. Wish you luck with him & please keep us posted.

::back into lurking now, lol::

Beagled1 · Post by **Beagled1** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:46 pm

BTW, forgot to add that the pic of your dog looks almost exactly the way mine looked when she had the swelling from the broken tooth ... the eye had even started to shut the way it is in that pic ...

Checkpoint Beagles · Post by **Checkpoint Beagles** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 10:47 am

Day2- There was a little more swelling above the eye. There was puss in the eye which easily washed out.

I have a vet appt for Monday morning.

I couldn't find any broken teeth. I'm leaning towards a bee sting. It's warm enough here that there was a dead bee in one of the water pans this morning.

What over the counter anti biotic can I buy to use until monday? and how much.

Tim

Windkist · Post by **Windkist** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:47 pm

I would give the dog some childrens benedryl if you feel its a sting. Usually bee stings go away fairly quick though. Do you have any amoxicillin? if not, go to petsmart tomorrow and get some fish amoxi or fish tetra. Are no vets available on friday? You could also try hot packing it with a warm washcloth.

Leah

Checkpoint Beagles · Post by **Checkpoint Beagles** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:47 am

I took the pup to the vet yesterday. They shaved his head, lanced it and put him on 125m twice aday. He already looks much better. No firm conclusion but they believe it is (was) a piece of straw. I'll give it a few more days and let you how he's doing. Looks like everyone was right. Dave404 right on the money. Thanks.

Tim

Windkist · Post by **Windkist** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 12:16 pm

Checkpoint Beagles wrote:I took the pup to the vet yesterday. They shaved his head, lanced it and put him on 125m twice aday. He already looks much better. No firm conclusion but they believe it is (was) a piece of straw. I'll give it a few more days and let you how he's doing. Looks like everyone was right. Dave404 right on the money. Thanks.

Tim

Good news!!! ;-)

Leah

tiffinis · Post by **tiffinis** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 3:24 pm

That is what happened to my Labs head when he got stung by a bee. Benadryl was the cure for that. Just FYI a note to keep in mind for dogs. IF you ever feel a need for benadryl the dosage for dogs is one standard benadryl capsule for every 25 lbs of dog. One is enough for beagles, but a lab may need 3 or 4.

high ridge joe · Post by **high ridge joe** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 1:01 pm

Tim,
That looked awful..poor little guy...
Glad to hear it was treated easily enough...
Hey...We need to do some running or hunting after the 1st of the year...let me know...

Joe T

Checkpoint Beagles · Post by **Checkpoint Beagles** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:57 pm

Hey Joe,

You got it. I'm in a pause right now. (waiting on deer season to get over) I hunted a farm in Pa. a few days ago. Could of shoot six or seven, but took two and was home by noon. I can't wait until 10 december.

That was my pup T-Bone. He's doing great now. I plan on taking him to Corning tomorrow. He hasn't been out in quit a while.

Anyway, you're on for a few huntin trips this year.

Tim

Boomerx · Post by **Boomerx** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:02 pm

I'm sure your vet was on the right track, but it was caused by a weed in the straw. It's called foxglove, and it will do this to most all hounds in your kennel eventually, unless you get different, clean straw. The foxhound fellows call this "Bighead disease", but it's an abscess caused by foxglove. It can pop out anywhere on the head. There's no use giving antibiotics until it bursts, and hopefully the offending part will come out with the pus etc. If you give antibiotics before it bursts, the swelling will go down, but reappear shortly. Terry McBride

Checkpoint Beagles · Post by **Checkpoint Beagles** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 9:54 pm

T-Bone is doing great. I've had no further problems with him or any other dogs. I am going to change to pine shavings in the near future. Thanks for all your help.