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Why is my senior dog's belly swollen and distended, but no pain?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed | 11 years and 7 months old | 65 lbs

My dog is an 11 year old Chocolate Lab. She has arthritis and has trouble walking, but she's not in any pain. In the past few days I've noticed that her belly is very swollen and distended. She doesn't act like she's in pain, she still has her appetite and other than her arthritis she seems totally healthy, what could this be?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

Veterinarian

Published on June 20th, 2017

I'm glad that Bailey seems to be feeling okay despite her new abdominal distension. The abdomen can become distended from either a mass or fluid accumulation from right sided congestive heart failure, liver failure, or cancer. Any of these conditions can progress and worsen rapidly, so I recommend taking Bailey to her vet fairly urgently for evaluation to get to the bottom of this issue. She may need to have chest and abdominal x-rays and/or ultrasound, or have a sample of fluid drained from her abdomen for analysis. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Bailey!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on October 26th, 2019

    Oh dear! This sounds very concerning. Without being able to examine Milo in person and do some testing, I can't say for sure what's going on. But, a swollen belly that happens in a relatively short period of time is often due to some kind of fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity, which could be the result of heart disease, liver disease, internal bleeding, or some type of cancer. This is always a concerning symptom, and may represent a life-threatening problem - so I would recommend taking Milo to an emergency clinic right away to be seen. The veterinarian there can do blood work, x-rays, or other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem and see what kind of treatment is necessary.

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