13 day old pups- swollen lymph no - Page 1

This isn't easy on a few levels; I'm without home Internet access at the moment and only have my phone to post from. 

I'm looking for breeders with experience with young pups who have had very hard swelling at their throat area. One pup yesterday sounded a little raspy so I took him to the vet. No fever, mild clear nasal discharge but very hard lymph nodes. Vet said amoxicillin and he hoped it wasn't strangles. That pup is the same or maybe a bit improved today- definitely no worse. 

Different pup now has burst, apparently abscessed lymph node on right side of throat. I must've missed the swelling yesterday. They don't look weird or anything- it's not so much visible swelling as something you feel. They act fine. If I didn't have my hands on them I'd never know. I'm giving all swollen pups .25ml of liquid Amoxy 2x/day.   Of course, the day before thxgiving is not the best for sound veterinary advice, as none I've spoken to have any idea and they admit they don't even know what is safe to give pups this young (sigh).    Strangles is a concern, but they have none of the other typical symptoms. This is more like equine strangles than puppy strangles. What the heck causes such hard swelling and do I need to be prepared for a sudden turn for the worse?    The pup with the burst lymph node/abscess seems to be doing fine. I'm putting vetericyn hydro-gel on it frequently which should kill most of the usual suspects. Of course, I'm scared for them and have never had sick babies this age. I found talk of a breeder repro site saying there is an imposter-type illness that's being called puppy strangles but responds to Amoxy in 48 hrs. Hoping and praying this is what I'm dealing with.    Any help is appreciated. I can't check in here easily so email is best or email me and I'll respond with my phone number. Myboycoy(at)gmail(dot)com   Thanks in advance. 

I had a pup with similar a few months ago..  I'll call you from my work line..

D
 

It sounds like strangles to me.

:(
 

Pups are ok. Thanks to those who emailed and called. You're the best! 

Btw, nothing fits true strangles except the lymphatic swelling. These pups feel fine, are active and eating like pigs, and there was nothing previous to suggest it, ie, pustules, tiny bumps, etc. Unfortunately, "strangles" has come to mean anything that makes lymph nodes swell. True strangles is an auto-immune problem, usually brought on by an insult to the immune system, such as vaccines. These are a bit younger than the typical presentation and have zero common symptoms besides swelling. 

Best guess some kind of strep or staph that the dam hadn't been sufficiently exposed to for them to have any real immunity, or their immature immune systems just went a little haywire trying . They seem to be able to confine it to their throats/ lymph nodes (no other lymph nodes are affected), they have no fevers, and are generally quite strong, which was part of the vet's confusion. He remarked how strong and vigorous the "worst" one was. 

It may be one of those mysteries we never solve. I have an appointment tomorrow to culture the one abscess. 

Geez, Jenni, you've been having an interesting time of things!

Hopefully the culture will be diagnostic; am glad that the only true symptom is the lymphadenopathy, and they're 100% normal otherwise. Anything amiss with puppies so young is nerve-shattering to the breeder, that's for sure!

Jenni- I'm very sorry to read that your pups are unwell. I'm sending positive vibes your way for a full recovery. Please consider updating us on their progress.

Laura

Ok, still no flipping Internet at home; I hate trying to post from my phone!! Anyway, I decided to skip the vet today because it's very far away and my favorite vet wasn't available. If they were acting sick, it'd be one thing, but to drag 2 week old puppies out in the cold, drive an hour each way, and expose them to God knows what when they're basically fine, save some swelling, seemed irresponsible to me. Risk seemed to outweigh benefits. 

Ill take one or more to the vet I took the first one to on Monday if they still have the swelling. No other symptoms have appeared and affected pups' swelling has changed from rock hard to softer pockets and seems to be diminishing. When speaking to vet this morning, she even suggested trauma as a possible cause since they're not actually ill. Apparently, infant immune systems are prone to developing abscesses at trauma sites. I think that's less likely than, say, pasteurella, due to the slightly runny noses preceding this, but until we get the culture, it's all just guessing! 

Culture takes 3-5 days. I'll update if they're condition changes or if we determine precisely what this was. I have to wonder if this happens more than we think and people miss it; I would never have known if I didn't do physical exams daily.

thanks to all for their concern. Thankfully, it appears I was panicking unnecessarily! 

Glad your pups are doing alright, Jen... hope things continue to get better for them (and you!)!

Hope everything's OK, they sound like an interesting litter.