Dog's swollen lymph nodes, belly, legs won't clear. What's wrong?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Lymph nodes that are swollen throughout the body like that is very concerning. I would be very worried about lymphoma. Lymphoma can respond well to some medications, and better if caught early. I would recommend having the nodes sampled to see if they are cancer. Hopefully they are just reactive, but if that is the case you will need to find out what they are reacting too, and treat the infection, as the antibiotic used previously has not worked. Best of luck with Kim.

Lymph nodes can become enlarged because they are draining an infection or inflammatory part of the body, because the lymphatic flow is being disrupted, or because of cancer in the nodes. I would discuss additional diagnostics with your vet, which may vary depending on which lymph nodes are involved. Aspiration of the affected lymph nodes is easy and can often be done without sedation. The samples are sent to a pathologist for review. X-rays of the chest and or abdomen may be indicated. Ultrasound of the abdomen may be needed. Dental cleaning and removal of diseased teeth if the lymph nodes are near the head.

Hello, thank you for your question about Boomer. Based on the symptoms and the tests that have been done so far I agree with your veterinarian's concerns. The two most common causes of enlarged glands in dogs are lymphoma and systemic infection. Since the glands change size an infection is still possible. It could be that the initial antibiotic did not treat the type of infection that Boomer has. Alternatively, it is also possible that Boomer could have lymphoma, and the aspiration of cells could have missed the abnormal portion of the gland. In terms of the next options for testing/treatment you could try starting Boomer on a different type of antibiotic to treat potential infection. Alternatively, I would consider biopsying one of the enlarged glands as this provides a larger piece for the lab to review. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend initiating a bland diet as outlined below. If you think his lymph nodes are swollen, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. The lymph nodes may be enlarge due to infection and it would best to have Gene looked at sooner rather than later. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello, sorry to hear about Giuseppe. Because the lymph node has decreased in size with antibiotics alone and the fact that only a single lymph node is enlarged, this is less likely consistent with lymphoma. Lymphoma typically affects multiple nodes and does not respond to antibiotics. Occasionally, active lymph nodes may remain slightly enlarged for a few days, or if the infection is not being completely treated then the lymph node may remain big. The best way to confirm if this lymph node has lymphoma or not, would be to obtain cytology with a with a needle aspirate to have a pathologist examine the cells. Cytology is generally a non-invasive procedure and could be done by your veterinarian. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I recommend to discuss the lymphnode enlargement with your doctor since she has the test results. Lymphnodes can be reactive meaning they enlarge but the cause is not known. That’s very good if the aspirate of the lymphnodes did not come back as cancerous. Sometimes you never know why the nodes stay enlarged. Sometimes there can be an underlying allergy to something in the environment or food. Sometimes parasites can cause it. I recommend to discuss the continuing enlargement with the doctor and decide what makes the most sense as far as what to do next (if anything). I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Swollen lymphnodes can be reactive, meaning that they are responding to infection or inflammation somewhere. They can also be swollen due to lymphnod cancer (lymphoma), or metastatic cancer from somewhere else. I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. They may consider doing a needle aspirate to help diagnose if there is anything concerning or not. Best of luck and I hope Rusty does well. Thank you for using Pet Coach.