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My dog's neck is swollen & painful with a hole. Could it be a warble?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Hello! My dog recently started jumping away when we would pet her around the neck area near her chest I’d say about two days ago, we took off the collar in hopes she would heal up. We just got back from festivities and when I went to pet the top of her neck, letting my hand trail from the top of her head down her back she jumped and whines as if it pained her there too.. my sister proceeded to check around her neck area, we see it’s swollen with this “breathing” hole on top.. symptoms for warble

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on July 4th, 2018

It could be she has the famed cuterebra, also known as a warble. A lot of vets get excited about this because it's really cool to treat, but it's not so cool for the poor dog! They are painful, and it's certainly possibly that your dog has one. The best thing to do is take her into a vet first thing in the morning. This is something that needs to be treated at the clinic, and if she does have a cuterebra, the vet can removed it. I hope this helps!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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