I think the big-bud development is normal.

Looks like you’ll have a lot of blossums next spring.

@jrb451 is spot on.

The "big buds" are the upcoming spring FLOWERS. This is a great ID feature to separate your Cornus florida dogwoods from many of the other common landscape species. Good eyes; just remember that when you are looking at other species and complaining that you can't tell them apart...

SPECIAL EXTRA CREDIT INFORMATION: If you - like I have done since my youth in the profession dating back to the mid 1980s - get to go out and walk field nurseries in winter or even stroll through garden centers while plants are still dormant, you want to LOOK FOR THIS FEATURE when selecting individual plants for yourself or for a customer/client. One like this full of flower buds - versus one THE SAME SIZE without the "big buds" - will make all the difference in first year satisfaction in the landscape. You will be happier; your customers will think you are a STAR.

Additional note: all those "big buds" flower buds will be terminals - at the ends of branches/branchlets - which is why humans find them so darn attractive. The leaf buds will be found in the axils of the current leaves (where leaf petiole attaches to stem/branch) or at the ends of branches that don't have the "big buds".

'I don’t know why the pic landed in the middle of my post.'

Wherever the cursor is when you hit the photo button, is where the photo will come in at.

Happens to me all the time after I'm editing some text. :=/