Puppy strangles is a classical disease though fortunately not a very common one. It comes up suddenly manifesting as marked swelling of the muzzle, eyelids, and face in a puppy between the ages of 3 weeks and four months of age. The owner may be inclined to think the puppy was bitten by a stinging insect or a spider.
Soon, the lymph nodes of the throat become spectacularly enlarged giving the puppy the appearance of having the mumps. It doesn’t take long for the swelling to give way to pimples which rupture, bleed, and crust. The inner surface of the ear flaps are commonly involved as well and occasionally lesions in other body areas occur. Lesions are painful more than they are itchy.
Fever, joint swelling, and loss of appetite occur in approximately 25% of patients. If treatment is delayed, permanent hair loss can result in the most severely affected areas. If the puppy is sick enough, the condition can be life-threatening.
Predisposed breeds include: the Golden Retriever, Dachshund, and Gordon Setter.
Despite the extreme inflammation and secondary infections the heart of treatment for this condition is immune-suppression. High doses of corticosteroids such as prednisone are needed as this condition appears to be an immune-mediated disease. In other words, the immune system of the puppy is acting excessively and inappropriately and it must be subdued. Antibiotics may be needed for the secondary infections but antibiotics alone will not treat this condition. Once suppression of the overly active immune system occurs, improvement is usually rapid.
Courtesy of Mar Vista Animal Medical Center
