What Causes Lumps in a Dog’s Throat?

Why Does My Senior Dog Have Swelling Under His Jaw?

“I have a 12-year-old Jack Russell Terrier. He is in great shape for his age but has had a few issues in the last 4 years. First, he has terrible gum and teeth health. He’s fed top-of-the-line roast beef, carrots, and rice with pumpkin. His treats are pure duck sticks, so I can’t understand why his teeth are so bad. For $2000, my local veterinarian cleaned up his teeth. However, within 6 months, he was back to having brown, plaque filled teeth and very sore-looking gums.

Now, he has lumps in his throat, and I can not afford to go back to the vet. One lump turned into four, and they were soft and squishy. After applying castor oil, they went down to two lumps, which are very hard.

He does have trouble breathing, and I’m sure he suffers in other ways he can not express to us. Please give me some advice. Thank you so much.” – Michelle

Causes of Lumps in a Dog’s Throat

When you mentioned the lumps in his throat, I guess you are talking about his lymph nodes. We might be able to see them on a photo if they are swollen a lot, but if they are not visible, you can usually feel them at the bottom corner of the jaw. Unfortunately, I am not able to tell you exactly what they are without taking him back to have his lymph nodes examined.

There are several possibilities:

• Oral infection: The most common cause of swollen submandibular lymph nodes is dental disease. The infection underneath the gum line leads to an increase in pus, and those white cells and the bacteria are drained and caught up in the lymph nodes. The swollen lymph nodes may be nothing more than a chronic infection from his bad teeth, or a pocket of pus that was not picked up when his teeth were x-rayed before his dental work. The fact that your dog’s lymph nodes decreased in size after the castor oil supports the diagnosis of swelling secondary to infection.
• Lymphoma: Since you said that the one lump turned into four, I am more likely to tell you that it is a form of cancer called lymphoma. About 98 percent of dogs with lymphoma first present with lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes), so this is a real possibility. (1) The reduction in swelling after the castor oil could have been caused by the massaging, so we cannot rule this out.
• Ear infection: You did not mention any other symptoms of an ear infection, so I think this is unlikely. If he has been shaking his head more or scratching his ears, you will want to consider this before assuming it is one of the first two possibilities on this list.
• Generalized infection: A generalized bacterial or viral infection can also cause swollen lymph nodes but not just in the jaw. You should run your hands over the back of his back legs (popliteal lymph nodes), in front of his shoulders, and on his belly (inguinal lymph nodes) to see if he has swollen lymph nodes in other areas. If he has a generalized infection, he might respond to just antibiotics.
• Allergies: This is unlikely to be the problem, as you did not mention any other symptoms, but if he is itching excessively, this is something you should consider. If this is the case, he might respond to some over-the-counter medications.
• Other causes: A severe mineral imbalance and some other infections (like tick-borne infections) can cause lymph nodes to be swollen but are unlikely in his case. If he has any other symptoms, be sure to send us a follow-up question.

Visit a Veterinarian for Proper Diagnosis

The only way to definitively tell which of these conditions are causing the swelling is to have him examined and probably have the lymph nodes aspirated so that the contents can be examined under a microscope.

Since you obviously care a lot about him and have already spent so much on his teeth, you need to do your best to pay for an exam so this can be diagnosed. During the exam, your veterinarian will also listen to the lungs and determine if the difficulty breathing is from the throat or the lungs and will tell you what can be done for that problem. If you cannot afford to do the diagnostics at your veterinarian´s clinic, you should at least put him on antibiotics for an oral infection.

If you cannot afford the exam or the diagnostics, there are antibiotics available at pet stores that are sold for treating fish. Doxycycline may give him some relief at 5 to 10 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, but if he has a deep infection (like a deep abscess) this is a temporary fix at best. If he has lymphoma, this is not going to help at all.

I cannot tell you that antibiotics are going to help without an exam, so this should be your last resort.

If My Dog Has Cancer, Should I Treat Him?

If he has lymphoma, he probably only has a short time if you cannot afford chemotherapy.

Dogs who have a mild form may make it for several years, but if he has the most aggressive form, even with chemotherapy, only about 10% of dogs survive over 2 years. (2) Without chemotherapy, he will probably only survive for 2 or 3 months.

There is some research on some alternative less expensive treatments but none are readily available at this time. One thing that might help is prednisone, as well as a low-carbohydrate diet, which does not allow him to produce enough glucose to feed his cancer. However, this has not been studied much in lymphoma.

Before you start any of these treatments, you really should have your dog examined and have the lumps aspirated. If he has any other symptoms, though, and we can help you pin down his problem more, let us know, and we will help if we can.

Sources

1. Jeong SY. Evaluation of factors influencing survival time in 77 dogs with lymphoma. Open Vet J. 2023 Sep;13(9):1124-1134. doi: 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i9.8. Epub 2023 Sep 30. PMID: 37842100; PMCID: PMC10576590. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10576590/
2. Marconato L, Stefanello D, Valenti P, Bonfanti U, Comazzi S, Roccabianca P, Caniatti M, Romanelli G, Massari F, Zini E. Predictors of long-term survival in dogs with high-grade multicentric lymphoma. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2011 Feb 15;238(4):480-5. doi: 10.2460/javma.238.4.480. PMID: 21320018. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21320018/

This article is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from your veterinarian. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

© 2024 Mark dos Anjos, DVM