16 day old puppy with swelling and allergies?

by Rochelle
(texas)

My puppy is 16 days old and she has a swollen neck mostly on the left side and she has fleas from her mom, and the puppy has allergies already because she is sneezing and coughing and has a running nose.

I'm just worried about the swollen neck..



Hi Rochelle
You need to take this puppy to your veterinarian as she sounds as though she has a variety of health issues.

I doubt the coughing, sneezing etc. is allergies at this age, it's more likely that she's got an infection of some sort and she needs to be checked out as it could require antibiotics to prevent it turning into something serious.

It's not safe to treat a pup of this age for fleas and ticks, but if you treat the momma dog with a good flea and tick preventative, that will help as the fleas jump between momma and pups and they treatment will kill them.

The swollen neck sounds like it could be a condition called 'puppy strangles' (correct name Juvenile Cellulitis or Juvenile Pyoderma) which affects the lymph nodes and causes them to swell - sometimes quite dramatically.

It needs to be treated by your vet, usually with a combination of corticosteroids and anti-biotics. It doesn't get better by itself and your puppy could get very sick indeed if not seen by a vet so please get her an appointment asap.

Once treated both the swelling and infection should diminish and then disappear. I wish you the best of luck with your pup.