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sarahkw · 10-14-2019, 09:32 AM

Hello! First post here, but I've gleaned a lot of advice (and peace of mind!) from this forum over the years!

I took my yorkie - 7 year old Knox - to the vet on Friday for a well visit and to update his Rabies, etc. It's a new vet for us after a terrible visit back in March to a vet in our new town.

Overall, Knox had a great appointment. Lots of "his lungs sound great!" "no enlargements felt!" "strong heart!" but when it got to his mouth, things took a turn. I knew he had some teeth issues and needed to schedule some dental work. But he has a growth on his bottom lip, right in the front, that looks a lot like it would burst sort of like a zit if it were popped. It's about the size of a pea, mostly pink, smooth. I feel like a terrible dog mom in admitting that I had noted it but hadn't given it much thought. It's been there for at least a few months and has certainly grown slowly. He wore his front teeth down on a too big for him plastic Giggle ball a while back (took it away when I realized what he was doing) and always has something in his mouth. He has a tendency to bite down on his favorite stuffed toy and not let it go until he whines and realizes he can, in fact, let go.

The vet - who I later learned has only been practicing since late 2015, so not long - went from 0 to 90 in 30 seconds. It started with "could be an epulis" which is a benign growth to cancer, removing jaw bones because he has some loose teeth, oncology... She acknowledged she was giving me worst case scenarios and took him to another vet for an opinion when I appreciated. Other vet, who I didn't get to talk to, reminded her yorkies are famous for bad teeth and let's not worry, just remove it and biopsy it when he has his teeth cleaned (on Black Friday) given that he has no other symptoms, still eats dry food, etc.

So of course I've spent the weekend Googling and worrying. Terrible combination. I'm inclined to believe that the smooth and pink appearance coupled with no other symptoms aside from bad breath are good signs and lend themselves to the epulis, but I'd love your thoughts/experiences, as well as recommendations.

I have some follow up questions out to her, including asking if we need to do something sooner, but geez. What a way to spend the weekend.

If nothing else, thank you for letting me vent and worry!

10-14-2019, 09:32 AM	#1
sarahkw Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Virignia Posts: 17	Growth In Pup's Mouth Hello! First post here, but I've gleaned a lot of advice (and peace of mind!) from this forum over the years! I took my yorkie - 7 year old Knox - to the vet on Friday for a well visit and to update his Rabies, etc. It's a new vet for us after a terrible visit back in March to a vet in our new town. Overall, Knox had a great appointment. Lots of "his lungs sound great!" "no enlargements felt!" "strong heart!" but when it got to his mouth, things took a turn. I knew he had some teeth issues and needed to schedule some dental work. But he has a growth on his bottom lip, right in the front, that looks a lot like it would burst sort of like a zit if it were popped. It's about the size of a pea, mostly pink, smooth. I feel like a terrible dog mom in admitting that I had noted it but hadn't given it much thought. It's been there for at least a few months and has certainly grown slowly. He wore his front teeth down on a too big for him plastic Giggle ball a while back (took it away when I realized what he was doing) and always has something in his mouth. He has a tendency to bite down on his favorite stuffed toy and not let it go until he whines and realizes he can, in fact, let go. The vet - who I later learned has only been practicing since late 2015, so not long - went from 0 to 90 in 30 seconds. It started with "could be an epulis" which is a benign growth to cancer, removing jaw bones because he has some loose teeth, oncology... She acknowledged she was giving me worst case scenarios and took him to another vet for an opinion when I appreciated. Other vet, who I didn't get to talk to, reminded her yorkies are famous for bad teeth and let's not worry, just remove it and biopsy it when he has his teeth cleaned (on Black Friday) given that he has no other symptoms, still eats dry food, etc. So of course I've spent the weekend Googling and worrying. Terrible combination. I'm inclined to believe that the smooth and pink appearance coupled with no other symptoms aside from bad breath are good signs and lend themselves to the epulis, but I'd love your thoughts/experiences, as well as recommendations. I have some follow up questions out to her, including asking if we need to do something sooner, but geez. What a way to spend the weekend. If nothing else, thank you for letting me vent and worry!