# Tumor on the tongue?



## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

So I got some not so great news today when I picked up my goldie from the vet. A little info to catch you up... Two weeks ago I noticed Stitch wasn't eating as much as usual.. I kind of assumed it was his teeth as they were pretty gunked up. He's never had a dental and I'm awful at brushing! I took him in and the vet agreed that it could be his teeth. He had a temperature, so he thought it may be an infection. He put him on a ten day cycle of Clindamycin and his eating did increase. The second he was off the antibiotics, he stopped eating again. So back to today. I dropped Stitch off at the vet's office this morning to get a dental. All went well with that however they found a "lump" on his tongue. My vet said it could either be an infection or it could be cancer. He's putting him back on the antibiotic and we have an appointment on Wednesday to check the lump. I don't even know what to think at this moment. Stitch is 12 years old and has never had any health issues beyond arthritis. What are my options if this is cancer?


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Stitch*



Stitch2002 said:


> So I got some not so great news today when I picked up my goldie from the vet. A little info to catch you up... Two weeks ago I noticed Stitch wasn't eating as much as usual.. I kind of assumed it was his teeth as they were pretty gunked up. He's never had a dental and I'm awful at brushing! I took him in and the vet agreed that it could be his teeth. He had a temperature, so he thought it may be an infection. He put him on a ten day cycle of Clindamycin and his eating did increase. The second he was off the antibiotics, he stopped eating again. So back to today. I dropped Stitch off at the vet's office this morning to get a dental. All went well with that however they found a "lump" on his tongue. My vet said it could either be an infection or it could be cancer. He's putting him back on the antibiotic and we have an appointment on Wednesday to check the lump. I don't even know what to think at this moment. Stitch is 12 years old and has never had any health issues beyond arthritis. What are my options if this is cancer?


I will be praying that it isn't cancer, but I believe they could remove it from the tongue. I'm sure someone on here can speak to this.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Wishing you continued luck on this....I am not sure about cancer in the mouth, but with a 12 year old pup, it could be a challenge. Hoping it is an abcess! I cannot understand why the vet did not biopsy this while the dog was out getting his teeth cleaned? Seems very odd to me!


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## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

My vet is great, but I agree! It would have been nice to just get it over with. He did biopsy another lump that I was concerned about and said it was just a cyst. I'm not sure why he didn't biopsy the lump on the tongue when he did the other? I was a little irritated because they didn't even mention it to me until I was getting ready to leave. Like "oh yeah and he might have cancer". It was just the techs however as my vet had already left the office. They did call him for me and I was able to speak to him on the phone. I've been going to this vet not only since Stitch was a puppy, but even before that with a rescue lab. I trust him and he's done us well over the many years. In my experience with him, he's very thorough and leads on the caution side. My understanding from our conversation was that he thinks it's just an infection, but he wants to watch it very closely just in case it's not. But again, I do agree with you that he should have done the biopsy while he was out. Especially since he did the other!


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Mouth Cancer in Dogs | petMD

I hope it's not a cancerous tumor.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I really hope Stitch is okay. I hope your vet's instincts from clinical practice pan out, and it is an infection.


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## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

You guys are great. Thank you so much. Everyone keeps telling me not to worry, but how can I not? 

Dallas Gold: thank you for that link! The only symptoms he has is the bad breath (which is much better since the dental) and the decreased eating. I hope that's a good sign, but I know it could be either or. He is eating again today. He's not usually a beggar when I eat, but today he was begging! 

I do have another question for you all though. Stitch has only urinated about three times since I brought him home. The first two times it wasn't all that much. The third was increasing. However each time the urine has been very dark and has this awful smell. The only way I can think to describe is like a very strong medicine smell. Does anyone know if this is normal after anesthetic? I looked it up online, but couldn't find anything matching what I'm smelling. I did call my vets office and spoke to a tech and she didn't say anything about the smell. She just said keep an eye on it, if he doesn't start urinating more bring him in. (duh!) I'm more concerned about the smell as he is urinating more, but the smell isn't getting any less powerful.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Any time a dog stops/slows urinating and then starts again, it will be dark and smelly. That is normal. 

I have never noticed my dogs doing that following anesthetic, but it still may happen?

If he is on antibiotics that might explain it, especially any sulfur based antibiotic such as Bactrim. These are hard on kidneys and dogs/people need to drink a lot of water when on them. 

Is he drinking a lot? If so, do not worry, that all is ok as long as he is drinking. If he stops, get him back to the vet. 

Hope all goes well.....


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## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

Thank you for your reply! He's taking clindamycin and they gave him an antibiotic shot the day of the dental. I'm not sure what kind though. The smell isn't as strong now, so I guess that's a good sign. He is drinking, I wish he would drink a little more though. I guess I'll just be keeping an eye on it. Wednesday can't come fast enough!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Stitch*



Stitch2002 said:


> Thank you for your reply! He's taking clindamycin and they gave him an antibiotic shot the day of the dental. I'm not sure what kind though. The smell isn't as strong now, so I guess that's a good sign. He is drinking, I wish he would drink a little more though. I guess I'll just be keeping an eye on it. Wednesday can't come fast enough!


Stitch

I will be praying for he and you. 
Is he urinating more? How is the smell?
I would call the vet and ask, again, but I did find this after I googled: 
Does a dog's urine smell after anesthesia:
My Dog Just had Surgery and Her Urine Smells? - Yahoo Answers

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...zqqeeOEBHI8KgYgICvYoY8g&bvm=bv.75775273,d.aWw

Jan 22, 2009 - My dog just had to get teeth extracted. ... The anesthetics will make the urine smell strongly for a few days after surgery until her body totally ...


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6 answers

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More results from answers.yahoo.com


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## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

Thank you, Karen. For the prayers and the link! I feel much better now about the smell. I'm not sure why I didn't find that. I googled several different combinations. Oh well. The smell has decreased quite a bit. Initially the reason I even smelled it was because he went in the bedroom that first night. He couldn't control his limbs due to the pain shot and anesthetic, so it wasn't a big deal. I had left the room for a second and he relieved himself. When I came back I smelled it before I even got in the room, it was that strong. Since then he's been able to walk normally so he's been going outside to potty. My family thinks I'm nuts, but I follow him and when he's finished, I stick a finger in the urine so I can smell it. (obviously I wash my hands thoroughly afterwards. These are the things you do for your "kids") As of this morning the scent was almost back to "normal" urine smell.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Stitch*



Stitch2002 said:


> Thank you, Karen. For the prayers and the link! I feel much better now about the smell. I'm not sure why I didn't find that. I googled several different combinations. Oh well. The smell has decreased quite a bit. Initially the reason I even smelled it was because he went in the bedroom that first night. He couldn't control his limbs due to the pain shot and anesthetic, so it wasn't a big deal. I had left the room for a second and he relieved himself. When I came back I smelled it before I even got in the room, it was that strong. Since then he's been able to walk normally so he's been going outside to potty. My family thinks I'm nuts, but I follow him and when he's finished, I stick a finger in the urine so I can smell it. (obviously I wash my hands thoroughly afterwards. These are the things you do for your "kids") As of this morning the scent was almost back to "normal" urine smell.


Stitch: So happy to hear that the smell is back to normal. 
I think I googled: Does a dog's urine smell after anesthesia?


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## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

Good news! Oh I am SO relieved. We went to the vet about an hour ago and my vet took a look at his tongue. He said it was looking better and was pretty confident it wasn't cancer. He thought it was just an infection. I asked him if he could have cut his tongue on something and it just got infected. He said that was probably what happened. I guess when the tech was doing the dental, she found the spot on his tongue. She said it was filled with hair and all kinds of crud so she cleaned it all out. My vet said it was very red and inflamed on Friday, but all that had gone away. He's eating more and actually gained two pounds! We are doing 5 more days of Clindamycin. That makes a total of 20 days on it. I hope it does the trick, but he may need more as it seems to be a pretty deep infection. My vet just instructed me to keep a close eye on him and his eating. I truly appreciate all of your kind words and prayers. They worked!


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## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

I also asked him about the urine smell and he said it was his kidneys breaking down the anesthesia and completely normal!


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## Doug (Jul 17, 2010)

I am so happy for you guys!! 
Continued prayers for healing and lots of quality time


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## Stitch2002 (Sep 9, 2014)

Thanks, Doug! 

p.s. Your pups are too adorable!


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

Great news...sounds like you are on to the next adventure....

God Bless you all


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## Bosn'sMom (Feb 11, 2013)

so glad it wasnt anything worse to be worried about!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Phew!!*



Stitch2002 said:


> Good news! Oh I am SO relieved. We went to the vet about an hour ago and my vet took a look at his tongue. He said it was looking better and was pretty confident it wasn't cancer. He thought it was just an infection. I asked him if he could have cut his tongue on something and it just got infected. He said that was probably what happened. I guess when the tech was doing the dental, she found the spot on his tongue. She said it was filled with hair and all kinds of crud so she cleaned it all out. My vet said it was very red and inflamed on Friday, but all that had gone away. He's eating more and actually gained two pounds! We are doing 5 more days of Clindamycin. That makes a total of 20 days on it. I hope it does the trick, but he may need more as it seems to be a pretty deep infection. My vet just instructed me to keep a close eye on him and his eating. I truly appreciate all of your kind words and prayers. They worked!


So relieved to hear the thing on his tongue is nothing awful!! SO HAPPY for you and Stich!!
So glad the smell from the urine was nothing!


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## SandyK (Mar 20, 2011)

Glad to read the good news about Stitch!! Hope the antibiotics clear him completely!!


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