Why are my senior dog's neck lymph nodes swollen and losing weight?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say for sure what the cause is based on your description. Lymph nodes can become enlarged due to inflammation, infection or cancer. Seeing that Diamond is a boxer breed, is 7 years old, losing weight and has enlarged lymph nodes leads me to suspect something such as Lymphoma (a type of cancer) as the cause. I would recommend having this further worked up with a veterinarian and have further testing done such as a needle aspirate and cytology to help determine what it could be. This test is not that expensive and can tell a veterinarian a lot about the area tested. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Thunderbolt has lymphoma but I'm happy he has been doing fairly well with his prednisone. It is possible that this area could be his lymph node which has swollen/grown significantly in size. This can happen pretty acutely, over the course of several hours to a day. This would suggest that his lymphoma is progressive, and his body may not be responding to the prednisone any longer. There are other chemotherapeutic options that may benefit Thunderbolt. I worry that a mass on his neck could continue to grow and possible cause difficulty breathing or swallowing. I recommend having Thunderbolt evaluated by your veterinarian to determine what the swelling is exactly (lymph node vs. mass vs. abscess, etc), and discuss other treatment options. I hope this is helpful!

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that Daisy has been feeling so poorly. It is very concerning that she is experiencing difficulty breathing with wheezing, and weight loss. Difficulty breathing indicates that she is already in some degree pain with a diminished quality of life. Given her enlarged lymph nodes, weight loss, and respiratory changes, lymphoma would be my primary concern. This would be diagnosed by fine needle aspirates that use a needle to draw a few cells out of her lymph nodes for microscopic evaluation. However, even if you opt not to pursue further testing (which is understandable), I still strongly recommend taking Daisy to her vet for a physical exam and thorough discussion of her current quality of life. It may be in Daisy's best interest to consider euthanasia to alleviate her suffering. I realize that this is never an easy decision to make, but I hope that an open discussion with her vet may provide some clarity. I'm sorry that you and Daisy are going through this situation.

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!

I would recommend removal or at least a biopsy of the lymphnodes (where a little piece of the lymph node is removed). This can be done under geeneral anesthesia, which nowadays is very safe or, if your dog is very quiet, may be done under sedation and a local anesthesia (I would prefer the general anesthesia though). This could indeed be lymphoma or it could be reactive lymph nodes, swelling because they are filtering out bacteria and other material that the body does not deem healthy. Should it be lymphoma and you do not want chemotherapy , your dog can indeed be made comfortable with steroids. Rather than hoping and guessing whether it is lymphoma or not, the biopsy, whether done by taking the whole lymphnode or just part of it, will give you a diagnosis and then you can deal with the disease.

Twenty pounds is a lot of weight to lose in three weeks, and that's very concerning to me! I would have Shady seen by a vet first thing in the morning. The swollen lymph nodes unfortunately could be a sign of lymphoma, which would also account for the weight loss. He could also have a severe infection causing the lymph node swelling. Please take him into the vet tomorrow. Best of luck.

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!