VetClick Discussion Forum

Hi,

I am sorry to hear that you have two such young pups with puppy head-gland disease. I do hope that your hard work in treating them is successful.

w

Hi there,
I found this blog very interesting and thought i would just write my story on here too as i found everyone elses very helpful. My puppy Max came home with us at 8 weeks old. I thought this was a tad young to bring a puppy home and thought the normal age was around 12 weeks old? When we got Max home he was very quiet and didnt really get up to much mischief! I thought i was so lucky to have such a well behaved pup! He had very loose bowels and it had spots of blood in it. I phoned the breeder where he came from and asked him what the problem was. He adviced me that it was just a reaction to the wormer he had given him. So we assumed for a couple days that this was the problem. Max was very unsteady on his feet and would fall over. He had scrapes on his face which we assumed that he had just done when falling. He had no swelling around his eyes and his nose wasnt swollen as such. Just little 'scrapes'. The day after Max was awful he was constantly crying out and his heart rate was racing! We then phoned up our vet, who adviced we got him to them straight away. My partner and i were so concerned. Our vet was brilliant, he kept us updated 3 times a day and told us of his progress. He told us that when max was taken in he was 'practically dead'. He put our poor little Max on a drip and gave him steroids and antibiotics. It took a couple of days for the vet to make a proper diagnosis as Max's face wasnt as bad as some other cases i have found on the internet. Max is due to come home tonight after being there for 4 days! and a vet bill of £400. Our breeder hasnt been willing to give us any refund, he has sold us a sick pup for the same price as a healthy one. Eventhough we only got to spend 4 days with our boy before he fell ill it most definatly doesnt stop you instantly loving your pet. All the heartache and stress is a killer but we cant wait to get him home and hopefully he will not suffer any long-term illness.

I hpe that they recover from this horrible an painful disease. You are doing all that can be done.

Hi,
I also have a 5 wk old mini dachshund with puppy strangles, and all info that I read on the disease plus all research that I did on the Internet suggests that this is an Immune problem, which is NOT contagious. Any secondary infections caused by the Prednisone Steroid can be taken care of by an antibiotic (in our case, Clavamox).

Just thought I would put in my 2 cents worth, as I also have to keep this little baby away from her siblings too...but it's only because at this age they are learning to play bite and jump on each other, biting ears, etc...this is excruciatingly painful the for afflicted puppy, so to get around it, I put her for periods of time, into a small cat cage and put the entire cage into her 2 x 4 ft pen...that way she gets to see and play with her siblings at a safe distance. She comes out to nurse when I put momma back in with them...she is wanting to begin weaning them, so she comes and goes every 3 hrs or so, and I have control. If the others are sleeping I can let her out for awhile with them, and all is fine as long as they don't all wake up wanting to play.

It sounds like this is a long time consuming disease to take care of, but I am hopeful, as are the prospective owners of this pup, who after being given the bad news, still insist on having her and one of her siblings. I am, on my end, taking care of all the vet bills and will allow her to go to her new home only upon completion of her medications...even though it could take a few weeks or months. It's the least I can do for her, and as for future problems, it's an open question with no definitive answer, but it does seem there may or may not be some problems down the road, but nothing is proven, and I am hearing many make it to adulthood and beyond with no problems except some scarring from the abscesses.

My fingers are crossed for all encountering this dreadful problem...

I've just came back from the vets with my 4 month old bullmastiff with the diagnosis of puppy strangles, my vet spoted it straight away which i am very pleased about as not many vets seem to no this disease, but he did say that one of the pups that was in the same litter as mime also has it but very bad as my pup has only a mild case of it which i am very thankfull for after reading some of the messages. My vet only gave me steriods and not antibiotics I was wondering whether we should have had them as well, but she is not showing any signs of illness just a small lump in her neck, also is this disease anything to do with the breeder?

Puppy strangles or more properly juvenile cellulitis is an odd disease that occurs in puppies from 3 weeks of age up to about 4 months. It is considered a disease of immune dysregulation but some refer to it as an autoimmune disease, although the pathology is not exactly understood and lots of theories about immune 'deficiency' are suggested but since the problem does not recur, it may be hard to credit some of these theories. It commonly affects the head, but the whole body can be affected and the lymph nodes are often huge. Short haired breeds are over-represented/predisposed. The treatment is steroids and the response is usually good in a few days, although treatment for 3-4 weeks is usually needed to clear it up. Antibiotics for secondary infections may be needed. It is not the breeder's fault.

My Lhasa apso, Aurora 7 Months old, is currently being treated for Puppy Strangles, steroids and antibiotics twice a day and slowly getting better every day, thank goodness!

She started being very quiet and to be honest I was enjoying the peace as she normally a "fruit loop"
by day two she had stopped eating and became very listless and I took her to the Vets.

She had a high Temp 40.1 and swollen lymph nodes in her neck. Anti inflammatory and antibiotics for a week. I wasn't happy with her on day 4 so I took back again where they admitted her for 4 days. They x rayed her for pneumonia as she started coughing and tested her blood and urine for infections, all clear. They put her on the drip and injected her with and antibiotics as getting her to eat them was impossible. She lost lots of weight and looks very sorry for herself.

She didn't have any ulcers or sores on her face which normally comes with this decease ? Dont know why ?

Aurora has eaten this morning and taken tablets at home so Day 1 at home is looking good.

louise

I am surprised your dog has been diagnosed with strangles at this age as it is not supposed to occur after 4 months of age.

My 5 month old dachsund pup came down with this most horrible skin affliction. It started out as pink spots on her belly and then rapidly moved to large lumps all over her head, face and ears completely disfiguring her appearance. The vets are not sure what it is. They think it may be puppy Strangles but from what I have read it is not usually supposed to afflict dogs older than 4 months. Her mouth and eyes were not as inflamed as other px I have seen. It rapidly became a life/death situation. She is in hospital on steroids IV, wondering if this could actually be Puppy Strangles?

As you point out strangles does not usually affect dogs over 4 months but I am sure the cut off is not absolute. This could also be an infection or reaction to something the dog has eaten or come into contact with. If it does not respond as expected for strangles then I expect biopsies will need to be taken.


Sorry for the delay in replying but I have been on holiday.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/2011 07:42AM by MarkRicher.

Hi. my dachsund had puppy strangles when he was 3 weeks old which lasted until he was 3 months old. He has been fine until a few days ago then became lethargic and his muzzle started to swell along with his lips and lymph nodes. Then two days later his left ear started to swell and pus started running from his ear and it is the most horrible looking ear I have ever seen. I have had him to my vet and at first she wasn't sure what he had as she said strangles don't usually happen after 4 months or so. My dog is 3 years old now.
My vet gave him an injection to bring down his temp which was 39.7. Then she put him on an antibiotic the first day, the second day he was even worse. Now he is on the antibiotics plus prednizone and drops to put in and rub on the ear, after I have cleaned off the debris that keeps collecting on the inside of the ear along with the skin and hair that keeps coming away.

I am very concerned about this and am worried that he may die from the same.

At this age this is not Strangles. This sounds like a severe cellulitis which could have been caused by a bite or some nasty strain of bacteria getting in the skin for some reason. Since it started with facial swelling my thoughts could be that this could have started from a severe reaction to a sting from a wasp or such like, or if you live in an appropriate area this would be typical for an adder (snake) bite. However it started I am sure that the antibiotics will sort it out but the need for steroids suggests some underlying factor which has set it off

In all my years experience and in all my partner's years of experience, neither of us had ever seen a case of strangles before. With this litter of pug puppies, we did have an unexpected issue with tapeworms that was resolved, and the puppies were all doing fine - healthy, happy, running around biting toes.

I was getting ready to call for their puppy checkup and first set of shots when Tuesday night the female had severe swelling on the side of her neck. I have a lot of alternative therapies at my disposal because we raise them as holistically and nutritionally sound as possible, so I gave her arnica montana for inflamation, and wondered if she had been bitten by another dog. However, I couldn't find any puncture marks. So Wed, while trying to get her into a vet, I tried to figure out what it was and the only thing I could figure was maybe an insect bite or sting, but the swelling wasn't going down. I gave her homeopathic ledum knowing that if it was a puncture of any sort, it would begin the healing process from inside out, pushing out anything bad, and if it wasn't a puncture, then it would bring her no harm. The pup was already on colloidal silver which acts similar to an anti-biotic because I noticed one small pustule on her vulva.

She had a high fever on Wed, so the CS helped with that, too, and now she is still on the warm side. Thursday when the vet could see me, she was diagnosed with puppy strangles and prescribed prednisone and ABs. She weighs less than 3 pounds, even though she is 9 weeks old (pugs are small, anyway, and her particular line is very petite).

I'm understanding that this is an issue with the immune system and that it is not hereditary, which is a relief because she is from show lines. However, she's so tiny, I don't want to do long-lasting damage to her organs or reproductive system with the use of steroids. She has no hair loss yet, no facial issues, and the CS seems to have kept the pustules mostly at bay. One of her two swollen neck lymph glands just let loose at lunchtime, about 60 hours (2.5 days) after the initial swelling occured and is draining nicely, freeing up motion in her neck.

I am in the process of consulting a professional homeopath as well as getting ready to give the pup a gentle detox (probably Essiac tea) that will draw the toxins out through her colon and hopefully avoid the rest of her lymph glands taking a beating.

I do not want her to go through pain and agony and I'm trying to do all the research I can immediately so I know whether to go the steroid route or if I can find an acceptable alternative that will support her system and minimize the symptoms. I've been so many places online, I'm going to bookmark this, but feel free to email me if you have any other information or suggestions that might help us!

Strangles responds so well to steroids it would be unwise to try alternative therapies. The length of the course of steroids needed is highly unlikely to cause any long term problems so do not worry about this. Be aware that silver is poisonous and in a puppy might cause problems if over used. Giving the dog a purgative as a dettox may cause harm and is not advised.

My Cairn Terrier came down with puppy strangles in July at 8 1/2 weeks of age. Started with lethargia, then high fever, vomiting, bumps all over her body, not just her face. She would cry out in pain if we touched her! She went to the ER the first night and was given antibiotics. My regular vet took Xrays and more blood work - had to knock her out to examine her mouth because she was in such pain. Still no explanation to her sickness. The next day the guy that was working on my deck said that she had a lump under her chin - back to the vet she went again. No explanation. Finally the breeder and I took her to a specialist who immediately diagnosed it as Puppy Strangles. By this time the breeder and myself had figured it out. She was put on prednisone for about 2 months and gradually decreased it over time. She looked HORRIBLE - oozing sores, etc. Anyhow, she survived, looks great and is a normal puppy at 5 months - running, jumping, etc. I am so glad I didn't give up on her. We have switched vets. Antibiotics are only helpful if there is a secondary infection - the only cure is steroids. She has no scarring and now looks and acts like any normal Cairn Terrier. By the way, if caught early the treatment is not expensive, but if the vet doesn't have a clue and tests after tests are ordered you are in for a big expense. The breeder was excellent and covered all the expenses.

I feel that I am now an expert in Puppy Strangles - watch out for the immunizations and keep and eye on your puppies.

I do not wish to be rude but steroids are the ONLY treatment for puppy strangles. The immune system must be suppressed in order for the condition to heal. Antibiotics are given to assist with other infection risks etc but will not cure the strangles itself.

Do not delay in using the steroids prescribed by a vet to a puppy of any age. The sooner correct treatment is started the better prognosis even with the associated risks with steroids



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2012 09:09AM by Zara The Vet.