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Question

my 10 week old puppy''s neck swelled up today. It looks like she has a big double chin. I am suspecting a bee sting. When she cries or tries to bar, she is very hoarse. What should I do? She is a chiweenie

Submitted: 467 days and 13 hours ago.
Category: Dog
Value: $9
Status: CLOSED
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Optional Information

Optional Information:
Age: <1; Female; Breed: CHIWEENIE

Already Tried:
NOTHING, I JUST HAVE LEFT IT TO SEE IF THE SWELLING HAS WENT DOWN, BUT HER HOARSE VOICE IS WHAT IS WORRYING ME.

Posted by Dr. Z 467 days and 12 hours ago.

Info Request

Mike,
I need a little more info to help.
How long ago did this start? Has the swelling gotten worse, better, or stayed the same?
I'm assuming a Chiweenie is a Chihuahua/Dachsund cross? Has she had any vaccinations? If so, when was the last one?

467 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

I noticed the swelling about 4 or 5 hours ago. It has not gotten any worse since then. We have only had her for about three days and she has not had any shots yet. She is scheduled this week for them. yes she is a chihuahua/ mini doxie

467 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

we did just give her .2ml of benedryl just a minute ago. She has been acting fine as well. She was playing with the neighbors dog and acting normal.

Accepted Answer

It's good news that the swelling hasn't gotten any worse. But I agree that the hoarseness could be something to worry about. The concern there is that if she is continuing to swell up, even if it's too small an increase to be immediately obvious, or if the swelling is more internal than external, there is always the risk that her throat can swell shut and she will be unable to breathe at all.
My best recommendation would be to have her seen by a vet who can actually evaluate her condition and give her some medications to decrease the swelling immediately and quickly. The vet would also be able to confirm that it is just soft tissue swelling, such as from an allergic reaction to an insect bite or sting, rather than something else - such as an abscess from an injury that might have occured before you ever got her. (Abscesses can sometimes take a week or more to develop.)
If getting her into a vet tonight is not an option, you can try giving her some over the counter anti-histamine, but would definitely need to watch her very closely tonight and be prepared for a very rushed trip in to an emergency vet if she does start having problems breathing. But if that is the only option, let me know so I can determine what an appropriated dose for her would be - with such a young pup, not to mention such a small breed, the risk of overdosing is a major concern.

Dr. Z

PS - I just saw where you already gave her Benadryl. How much does she weigh? And what is the concentration of the Benadryl that you gave her (mgs/ml)?

Edited by Dr. Z on 8/11/2008 at 12:54 AM

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Expert: Dr. Z
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 8/11/2008

Veterinarian

12 yrs as small animal vet; 20+ yrs in animal care; interests incl: breeding, skin probs, training

467 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

we did just give her .2ml of benedryl just a minute ago. She has been acting fine as well. She was playing with the neighbors dog and acting normal.

Posted by Dr. Z 467 days and 12 hours ago.

Answer

Mike
How much does she weigh? And do you know what the concentration (mgs/ml) of the Benadryl is that you gave her?

Dr. Z

467 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

it says 12.5 mg in each 5 ml teaspoonful of diphenhydramine. She probably weighs about 3 or 4 pounds. our scale is not registering her

Posted by Dr. Z 467 days and 12 hours ago.

Answer

Try weighing yourself, then weighing again while you are holding her, and determine the difference. That should be her weight.

Dr. Z

467 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

it is saying that she weighs almost six pounds and i did it twice and it was the same both times

Posted by Dr. Z 467 days and 11 hours ago.

Info Request

Let me confirm the amount of benadryl you have already given her. You said you gave 0.2 mls, correct? Where you using a syringe to medicate her?

467 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

yes, I used the syringe I use to medicate my baby, and it was .2 ml very tiny amount

Posted by Dr. Z 467 days and 11 hours ago.

Answer

Well, you did well to be conservative in the amount you gave her. That said, as it turns out, you probably didn't give her enough to have any significant effect.
You should be able to safely give her 2 mls, which would be 5 mgs. Ideally, she should be seen by a vet tonight, to make sure that is all that is going on. However, if you want to give her the benadryl and monitor her, if you don't see any improvement within 30-60 minutes after giving it, you should still take her in. If you do see improvement, I would recommend having her seen in the morning just to make sure she is doing all right and the problem has completely resolved.
Good luck with her - and let me know if I can help out any further.

Dr. Z

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