Ask the Veterinarian/swollen glands

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Expert: - 6/3/2010


Question
Hi i have a 3 yr old mini schnauzer called Mia.

Every time Mia gets clipped/groomed her saliva glands become swollen and she tends to vomit.
I have had to take her off dog biscuits as this irritates her throat too.
She's now on a freeze dried raw diet 'k9' product.
Shes had heaps of antibiotics over the last 3 years and also medicines to treat allergies to see if that would help her in anyway, which it didn't.
She had a saliva gland biopsy and it came back as  infected salvia gland.
It just seems weird that it flares up after using the clippers around her neck/throat area.
I don't know what to do or where to go from here .. have you ever heard of this before in other dogs?
Can you help?

Answer
No I haven't heard of clippers irritating salivary glands. There is no direct connection to this but I would suspect that the dog gets very upset being groomed which leads to the vomiting.

I would have the salivary gland removed if it was infected. What is the point of keeping it in there if it's causing these issues. They can lose one and not be affected by it.

Raw diets will have no affect on this either. They do, however, affect their overall health status for the worse. Raw diets are NOT recommended by vets for very good reason. Dogs do not get the nutrition they need from them. They are no longer raw if they are freeze dried freezing is like cooking them.

Could be a tonsil issue causing the infection to leak down into the glands. She could have a tonsillectomy and see if that will help.

Tonsil infections are more common in dogs than people realize, but salivary gland infections are much more rare.

Get another opinion from a vet and mention tonsils.

I hope you find the cause.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

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I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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