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Ask the Veterinarian/american bull dog's massive jowels

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Expert: - 3/1/2011


Question
our son has a 15 month old American Bull dog with extremely massive jowls, and it seems the dog is starting to have difficulty eating and drinking because of them. We have raised his dog food bowl so that he doesn't have to bend over the food, but he is even having difficulty picking his food up at all now. It is taking the poor guy over 1/2 an hour just to get 2 cups of food in, and drinking is getting more and more difficulty as well. He is constantly drooling as well, in fact it never stops on his one side of his mouth ( his jowls appear bigger on one side) IS there an operation to help?

Answer
This dog has more going on than muscular jowls. There are millions of dogs with large jowls but they normally don't cause a dysfunction of eating.

If that is the case, then the dog needs to be neutered to let these go down in size. He also needs to have the dog looked at if one side is larger than the other. This is an abnormality as is the drooling. Healthy dogs don't drool from their jaws being large.

He either has something in the muscles, or he has an infection or he has massively swollen lymph nodes or salivary duct issues.

What you are describing needs to be examined by a vet. There is a medical problem going on here. Call the vet tomorrow.

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

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!

Experience

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.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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