[LDarnay]

Hello poodle gurus. Came home from work today and noticed our 6yo standard, Finnegan, had a swollen lump on his face under the eye, above the top jaw. Seems a little soft and warm. He just got his teeth cleaned in Feb, so hope it isn’t an abscessed tooth.
I asked my son if he’d gotten a bee sting or anything today while outside. He said “he was rooting around in the bushes, but didn’t act any differently all day.”
He seems in fine spirits, has eaten and drank normally.
I called the vet and they scheduled him for a visit on Wednesday…didn’t sound too urgent or worried.
Would love some thoughts from the poodle team!

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

Does he flinch when you touch it?

Does it feel unusually hot to the back of your hand?

 

[lily cd re]

As noted by Basil I would really make sure it doesn't feel hot or tender/painful to your pup. To me it looks like it could be an abscess and if that is what it is it could rupture and end up messy to treat. If an abscess he should start an atnibiotic asap. I hope he recovers easily.

 

[Starla]

I would be too concerned to leave that until Wednesday. Is there anywhere local you can get him in? Or will your vet try to squeeze you in if you call them back and say you believe it is more urgent?

 

[LDarnay]

Does he flinch when you touch it?

Does it feel unusually hot to the back of your hand?

Good questions! No flinching and it’s just warm, not unusually hot.

 

[twyla]

A swelling like that could an abscess, too close the the sinus cavity and dog brains for me. It's better to go sooner to a vet rather than later

 

[LDarnay]

A swelling like that could an abscess, too close the the sinus cavity and dog brains for me. It's better to go sooner to a vet rather than later

We can take him tomorrow to the vet urgent care. He’s happy, eating, not acting like it pains him at all.
My husband said he saw some horseflies out back, so we gave him a Benadryl. Seems to be going down quite a bit. Hopefully it was just a bug bite!

 

[TK9NY]

Just an FYI: Some vets will allow you to drop off without an appointment, essentially boarding the dog for the day so they can see to the dog when they have time between other appointments. Worth a shot to ask your vet if they do this, if only to avoid the higher costs of an ER or urgent care vet..

The vet i bring my pups to will do this, and have done this, for "urgent" cases in the past especially for known clients and/or clients who can't pay a couple hundred bucks just to get in the door at the emergency clinic. Two people i work with recently had health scares with their pets and they couldn't get an appointment so they dropped their pets off in the morning and by the afternoon the pets had been "squeezed in" and seen. They weren't charged extra for this service, either.

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

We can take him tomorrow to the vet urgent care. He’s happy, eating, not acting like it pains him at all.
My husband said he saw some horseflies out back, so we gave him a Benadryl. Seems to be going down quite a bit. Hopefully it was just a bug bite!

Interesting what tomorrow morning might look like... hoping for the best!

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Hoping it’s just a bug bite and he’s back to normal tomorrow! Keep us posted. What a darling face.

 

[Misteline]

I swell up like that sometimes when the mosquitoes get me. My first guess was bee sting. I understand horseflies bite hard so that seems like a plausible explanation, hopefully you're right. But it's good the emergency vet is an option.

 

[LDarnay]

Good morning! I think we were on the right track with bug bite. The Benadryl last night and a good night’s sleep has the lump nearly gone!
We called the vet this morning to update and they felt confident that only a bite would have reduced by that much overnight and we should only worry if it comes back or if his behavior changes (eating, lethargy, etc).
Thank you all for your help and healing vibes! Finnegan is on the mend!

 

[Misteline]

Boop the snoot for me if he isn't tender!

 

[Basil_the_Spoo]

Usually we (the community) are pretty good at guessing.

I would be curious to see what different native bug bites look like on a dog for learning purposes.