What if my dog's face is swelling? Can I wait until morning for vet?

A sudden swollen face is usuaally caused by some allergy, either an insect bite or an environmental allergy, or could also be a rattle snake bite. Check for oozing little wounds, there would be a little blood oozing but not coagulating. If you find those on the head, your dog likely was bitten by a snake and needs to be seen by a vet right away. If your dog has breathing problems, vomits or is lethargic, he should also be seen by a veterinarian right away. If he is happy, eats and drinks, you can observe the swelling and it should go down within 24 hours. Of course you can also take him to the vet if he is not in distress. The vet will give him an exam and likely an antihistamine and/or steroid injection.

Swelling of the face and mouth/facial swelling are often initial symptoms of an anaphylactic/allergic reaction. These reactions can occur in dogs after vaccines, after exposure to a food or substance they are allergic to, or after a bite from an insect. As it is impossible to predict whether an anaphylactic reaction will remain localized or progress to trouble breathing, which can be life threatening, it is safest to contact a 24 hour vet for Bella at this time to have her seen. The ER may recommend a treatment plan including anti-histamines, corticosteroids +/- epinephrine and montitoring until the selling has gone down. They will also likely recommend an at home dose for Benadryl after establishing a valid patient/client relationship if this should occur again as it is uncertain at this point what Bella is allergic to. Wishing Bella a quick recovery!

It's probably an allergic reaction, as long as she doesn't seem lethargic and doesn't have any problem breathing, it's probably not going to be too serious. Most allergic reation of this sort resolve without treatment within 48 hours, but if the swelling is too bad I would recommend taking her to the emergencies to get an injection for the allergy.

This is definitely suspicious of an abscess. I've also seen trauma (hit their face on something hard) cause fluid swelling that looks the same, so hopefully this is the case rather than an abscess. Either way, it's not an emergency and he is safe to wait until morning to see the vet. I hope that helps and Ace gets better soon.

Poor Rinko! I would have this checked out by a vet in the morning. I'm concerned that her gums are swollen and her snout is puffy. This is likely painful to her, and you cannot give her any human pain medications. Many are toxic to dogs, and can be fatal if given. The vet can give her pain medications as needed. I hope this helps.

Poor Sassy! That is very swollen. If it is just the eyelid that is affected, it should be fine to wait until tomorrow to take her to the vet, but if anything gets worse overnight, I would take her right in. If you see signs such as squinting, redness, drainage from the eye, or a cloudiness in the clear part of the eye, I would take her in tonight. Injuries to the eyeball can be very serious and get worse very quickly. I hope this helps and that Sassy gets better very soon!

Check for any injuries or sting marks. If there are puncture wounds that ooze blood this may be a snake bite and you need to take Rikke to a vet right away. If it is an allergic reaction and not a swollen face due to snake bite, or a tooth root abscess or injury in the mouth or obstructed salivary duct or swollen salivary gland, then you can try Benadryl. Unfortunately we are not in a position legally to give out dosages. In order to do legally so we would have to have a patient-veterinarian-owner relationship with you. However you can look up a description of Benadryl as a medication here: https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/ If you suspect anything else beside allergy, if your dog is lethargic, has breathing problems or starts to vomit or gets diarrhea, you will need to take Rikke to a pet emergency room for an exam and treatment.