Tonsilitis in Dogs???? HELP!! - Page 1

Does a dog even have tonsils?  I never heard of such a thing but that doesn't mean it can't be true.  Very odd.  Let us know what you find out.
Deb

Yes, dogs have tonsils and tonsillitis is not uncommon. However, recurrent tonsillitis is often indicative of some other serious problem going on. See the Merck Vet Manual entry at :

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/121617.htm

Interesting - had never heard of that either.  I'd get a second opinion myself before doing any surgury or radical treatment.

molly

Probably i n the kennel cough family;  I was told they don't get colds persue;  they get kennel cough and there are like 120 versions of kennel cough;  Her vet should have her on some sort of antibiotics to combat that.  ????

No, not in the bordetella family. But yes, there are more than 200 strains of bordetella. Fortunately, generally a few dozen at most are the culprits in outbreaks.

The function of tonsils in canines is the same as in humans. Many bacterial infections end up being in the tonsils. A dog that has repeated tonsilar infections or problems may well have a variety of other very serious conditions, including cancer. The people who have this dog should be sure that the dog is on antibiotics, but if this does not help, or the condition continues to come back, the vet needs to look further. Normally, smaller dogs tend to be affected but it can happen too in larger dogs, especially when something else is really going on. 

One of our dogs that was in Germany this past year, was diagnosed with "Tonsillitis"......
They noticed that he was not exactly "himself" at club one day, so our friend took him to the vet......he was diagnosed with tonsillitis.  He had no "cough" symptoms....but he did act as if his throat & mouth bothered him.
After a round of antibiotics.......he was back to his old self.
Robin

many many yrs ago i had a dog get tonsilitis.  the vet treated it with penicillin.  my mother was also afflicted with the same and received the same treatment.  she asked if it was possible for dogs and humans to pass it to each other and her doctor said, "yes."  nowadays, people will tell you otherwise, but i am convinced that some things can be shared.  nowadays they hardly ev er use penicillin, but back then it worked like a charm.  many many dogs have come and gone since that one and i have never had another case of tonsilitis.......never in a gsd either.  for whatever its worth.
pjp