Please Help! My dog's face is swollen on one side.

[PitLover1978]

Hi! This is my first post and I am in need of a kind hearted person to help me with a bit of advice.

A few weeks ago me and my fiancee put a deposit down on two pitbull puppies (brother and sister) who are joining our family in an hour. I woke up today to find my 11 year old pit Crystal, swollen on one side of her face. She was fine last night and I have no idea what could have caused this.. I am not very anxious about introducing her to the new pups.

I am currently authoring a book, and my fiancee, who had a fairly decent job, got laid off two days ago. I searched online for similar issues, and benadryl was the common theme of responses, regarding an over the counter method of treatment. I am hoping by attaching a picture, maybe someone can help.

The only possible thing I can think of that caused this, is the neighbors who live in the duplex we are attached too, moved last week and the fence separating our backyards was taken down by the landlords yesterday. I found out my fiancee who let Crystal out last night, saw her sniffing around where a raggedly old shed used to reside. Who knows what vermin may have been living in that shed.

Other than that, I can not think of what would have caused this?! Spider bite possibly? She doesn't seem to be in discomfort, but you can tell by the attached picture, she is not OK.

Crystal is update with all her vaccines.

Please, help me with any advice/ideas you can muster up. Thank you!

[talk2tammy]

just a thought...you might want to check his teeth. My dog had swollen up under eye and he has a abscessed tooth. If it swells again. you might want to check that out. It might be cracked or broken. The vet can usually tell or you might be able to see it yourself. Hope he is better now.  

[Margot49]

Great news, thanks for the update

[PitLover1978]

Thank you Connie! Will do!

[TwoBitsMom]

Happy to hear that it was a minor injury....!  Thank-you for an update...!  May I suggest, that when you take your new pups to see your vet, be sure to ask your vet about using Aspirin as a short term pain reliever for Crystal. That way, just in case she should ever need it, you will know the proper dosage for her.  If your vet does not approve of aspirin, he/she may be willing to give you a prescription for some other pain reliever, just so you could have one or two on hand, afterall, Crystal is getting older.  My vet is OK with aspirin for a very short term use only. For instance, over a weekend if her office is closed.
Speaking of Crystal getting older, please be sure to have blood work done on her next visit to the vet.  Every "older" dog should have yearly blood work done to assess their kidney and liver functions.
Best wishes and good luck with your book..!
I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas..!
Connie

[Misfits4Me]

Great news!!!!! Thanks for the update & Merry Christmas....Karla

[PitLover1978]

She has healed, I think the swelling was indeed due to the accident. She looks normal again and super cute as always =)

[TwoBitsMom]

Do you have any all night veterinary clinics in your area...?  I know that my vet does not like to prescribe aspirin for dogs, but on occassion she has allowed me to do so. If you do have an all night clinic, it would be worth a call to talk to them and find out what they would recommend for a safe and correct dosage. Be sure to let them know of any current illnesses or medications your dog is taking.

[TwoBitsMom]

Wait a minute...Tylenol is not Ibuprophen...( sorry ) it is acetaminophen. It cannot be given to your dog.

[TwoBitsMom]

Do not under any circumstances give your dog Tylenol....Ibuprophen can cause severe kidney and liver damage, and may even be fatal to your dog.  

[PitLover1978]

I just realized something. Last night my fiancee fell backwards over Crystal and may have hit her accidentally with the heel of her foot. She was putting ornaments on the Christmas tree and was backing up and didn't realize the dog was there and fell. The whole apt shook and I ran down stairs to see if she was alright. She injured her arm a bit, but nothing serious.

If this was the case, and the injury to Crystal was from swelling, it would make sense how it appeared so quickly. I am not ruling out a spider bite, but the mass (swollen area) is very solid, and could have been from blunt force (fiancee's foot/heal).

Any suggestions on how to reduce swelling from such a injury? Does Aspirin or Tylenol reduce swelling? I doubt she would let me put an ice pack on her face for any length of time.

I hope this is what happened, it makes more sense since there is no swelling anywhere else (kinda rules out ingestion of a toxin in my mind)

[lindapalm]

I would definately think something bit her, my sons dog had that problem, and had to get a shot and also take the Benedryl.  Another posibility, because of her age, could be that her teeth are bad.