Why is my senior dog breathing heavily with large throat lumps?

I know it can be scary when thinking about possible cancerous masses in your pet. But really the only way to know for sure is to have these masses tested through your vet. They can be cancerous masses, inflammatory reactions or benign tumors (non-cancerous). The heavy breathing that Allie is doing does concern me a bit. This can either be a sign of pain or an underlying lung or heart disease. So a vet visit although no desired, is probably the bext best thing to do for Allie in figuring out what's going on with both concerns. Best of luck getting some answers and take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would recommend Roxy be evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible. If they are enlarged lymph nodes throughout her body, it could be due to a development of lymphoma, or an infectious disease, for example. An early diagnosis of either (or another underlying issue) would be very beneficial for treatment. I would recommend she be evaluated by her regular veterinarian, and any necessary testing done. Good luck!

It's a little difficult to tell what exactly is swollen in your picture, but it's possible that Frankie has an enlarged salivary gland or lymph node, or something like an abscess. All of these things can occur suddenly. I would recommend having your vet take a look - they might be able to get a better idea from being able to see and feel the swelling in person. They might recommend taking a sample using a small needle (fine needle aspirate) if it seems like a lymph node or salivary gland is swollen.

I recommend you make an appointment to have Maya seen by your vet as soon as you can based on the information you provided. Lymph nodes can become enlarged for a number of reasons, including infection, inflammation, trauma, or, unfortunately, certain types of cancers. There are also salivary glands near the neck that can become enlarged due to dental disease, infection, inflammation, or even stones in the salivary glands. Your vet will be able to help you determine what the areas you are feeling are and help devise a treatment plan accordingly. Best of luck to you both!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If there are lumps on his throat and he is having upper respiratory symptoms, I would recommend having x-rays of his upper airway done to see if there is any compression or deviation of the airway due to one of the lumps. He may also be dealing with allergies, in which case you can try an antihistamine. Most people use 1mg per 1lb of body weight every 12 hours for Benadryl. The vet can also insert a small needle into the masses and examine them under a microscope for a better understanding of what the lumps might be. 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.

I would have the lumps on the neck checked out for sure. I am guessing those lumps are enlarged lymph nodes. This can be serious and I doubt they would want to put her under anesthesia with enlarged lymph nodes. I would call your vet and get her back in for an exam to check her out.

How does a vet have no equipment to examine the dog? If that vet did not know what is going after looking at the dog I'm not sure how much I can tell you over the internet without looking at the dog. The most I can tell you is that at 14 years old this is likely cancer and you are not going to be able to fix it. I suggest you take him to another vet that does have equipment so you can try to get a diagnosis. A biopsy of the tumors are needed. If it is cancer it may have spread to his lungs and that is why is not able to breathe well. If you cannot afford to do all the testing to figure out what is happening then you may need to make the decision to euthanize him as it sounds like he is suffering and in pain. Please take him to another vet to get this sorted out.