A five-week old pug presented for dysphagia and a fluctuant cervical swelling. Bilateral cervical cranial lung herniation was diagnosed with radiology, fluoroscopy and CT. Fluoroscopy demonstrated compression of the cervical oesophagus by the lung apices. Hyperinflation of the cranial lung lobes and collapse of the associated lobar bronchi was observed on CT. Congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) was the presumed cause of lung herniation. The condition progressed and the patient died at home. No postmortem examination was performed. This is the first report of suspected CLE causing lung herniation and the first report of dysphagia associated with this condition.