# beagle with enlarged lymph nodes



## moblock87 (Apr 24, 2008)

I need to get thoughts on this:
Our eight yr. old beagle, during yearly check 1/22/08 was found to have enlarged lymph nodes under jaw, shoulder blades, and on one rear leg.
Also found that teeth were in bad shape, but before dental work was done a bloodwork was run to check for elev. calcium (sign of lymphoma).
Blood tests came back OK - no indication of any problems, so we went ahead with the dental work in Feb., which resulted in pulling of two lower rear molars and one lower front tooth - as well as discovery of an abcess on the gumline.

He shows no signs of any sickness - activity, appetite, weight are all fine.Now we are atr end of April, and nodes have not gone down in size.

Is this good or bad? Vet said lymphoma would hit hard (giant swellings of nodes) and fast if it were present. So far he is still doing great.

Could the nodes be damaged from fighting the oral problems (these were probably present for several months before we got him checked)?

Also he has allergies that affect him - could this be a possibilty?


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## sallysims (Oct 30, 2008)

Sadly I am cynical re vets. But would ask for referral to a Royal Vet. Coll., or equivalent, for opinion and biopsy. best wishes.


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## kimsum (Oct 14, 2008)

i'm not sure if i can be of help but will offer up my experience. my dog had her swollen lymph nodes brought to my attention by fluke. a meter reader came by while the dogs were out and she spent some time petting them. she pointed out the swollen nodes under bailey's jaw as well as behind her knees. she had recently lost her dog to lymphoma and said she had been unaware of what to watch for. i guess since that point she automatically checked any dogs she visited with and tried to educate people.

i was grateful to her (although i felt like a total loser and wondered why i hadn't noticed).

a vet appt was scheduled and they biopsied a couple of nodes. the verdict came back as lymphoma and although they said that her blood work was very good..that it was engaged in both her front and her rear nodes.

i learn now that it's the calcium level that they are checking and thank you for that info

at no point has she displayed any overt signs of a real illness..although recently she hasn't had good control over her bowels and has been making "mistakes" with more frequency. she too has had problems with her teeth and because of a bad heart murmur hasn't been able to deal with anesthesia associated with a dental.

now..logically i would think that an infection of any sort would engage the lymph nodes. at least..it seems to be that way with people. so i too am wondering. as far as "hitting hard"..it's been 5 months and so far (thankful thankful) nothing much has changed. she still has some swelling in the nodes.

i have her on prednisone..and that seemed to diminish some of the swelling. was your beagle administered any meds..and if so..did it seem to make any difference? has he been rechecked?

i don't know..i'm pretty uneducated when it comes to alot of things. if i'm wondering about something and feeling out of my depth..i tend to book an appt with one vet or another. getting a 2nd opinion of a professional never hurts much more than your pocketbook

not sure if it helps but sure wish you well.


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## Client (Oct 27, 2008)

moblock87 said:


> I need to get thoughts on this:
> Our eight yr. old beagle, during yearly check 1/22/08 was found to have enlarged lymph nodes under jaw, shoulder blades, and on one rear leg.
> Also found that teeth were in bad shape, but before dental work was done a bloodwork was run to check for elev. calcium (sign of lymphoma).
> Blood tests came back OK - no indication of any problems, so we went ahead with the dental work in Feb., which resulted in pulling of two lower rear molars and one lower front tooth - as well as discovery of an abcess on the gumline.
> ...


Some advice to help your dog: look here. There should be stuff needed for treatment.


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## 5beagles (Dec 31, 2010)

Hi,

I am writing to moblock87 and kimsum regarding your experiences with canine lymphoma. I realize your posts are from two years ago; however, I'm hoping I am still able to get in touch with you in order to gain further insight.

moblock87, your post could have been written by me, because I am in the EXACT same position at this time with my 8-year old beagle, Bentley. I found the swollen lymph nodes on his neck less than two weeks ago. Since his breath was beginning to smell, I figured they were maybe swollen glands from a possible tooth infection. After having the need aspiration done in the vet's office, I was floored to find out it was mid to high grade lymphoma. His teeth are bad, I'm ashamed to say I didn't realize how bad they were. His blood tests show no elevation in his calcium level. My husband and I elected just treat him with prednisone, since the chemo does not offer a cure. The swelling in his lymph nodes has disappeared. He has slowed down some in the last week, but the vet thinks it is more likely a result of an infection (most likely from his teeth) than the lymphoma. The vet put him on an antibiotic to get rid of the infection. Bentley has shown promising improvement in the last 24 hours after starting the antibiotic. We'll know in the next day or two, but if he bounces back completely we are considering having the dental cleaning and extractions done.

My question to you both is "What happened next?" I'm sorry if I am bringing up a sad situation, but since I noticed the post from moblock87 on a couple different forums, I thought you might understand my wanting to get as much information as possible. Unfortunately, I realize Bentley is not going to live out his normal lifespan, but I'd like to know if you feel the dental cleaning on your beagle helped to increase the quality of his remaining time. In other words, if you had it to do over, would you do things the same way? Is there any advice you can offer me from your experience?

kimsum, five months out at the time of your post is very impressive and gives me some hope; especially since the vet tells me the average survival time on prednisone-only treatment is just two months.

Your input would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks so much!

P.S. One other question... do you remember what the prednisone dosage was? Bentley is 35 pounds. They currently have him on 30 mgs once a day. This dose will decrease. Just curious, what the dose was you were giving your dogs, and how long before it was decreased.


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