A dog has a black tongue - reasons, what to do

Why does a dog have a black tongue?

A dog's black tongue is actually just pigmentation .

Basically, these spots are freckles or beauty marks of the canine world. They are harmless marks that occur when more pigment deposits on one area of the tongue.

These spots are usually blue to black in color and can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The pigmented patches have the same texture as the rest of your dog's tongue, but the skin appears black or blue. These spots may gradually change shape and color over time, and this is quite normal. Most dogs are either born with black tongues or they develop them at a young age.

Features of feeding

After oral surgery, the dog will continue to experience difficulty eating for some time. To alleviate this condition, you need to review your pet’s diet:

Liquid nutrition. If your pet is accustomed to industrial food, then canned food in the form of pates or soft pieces in jelly will suit him. If his menu is completely natural, small portions of minced meat, jellied meat, or liquid porridge in meat broth will do.
Room temperature. Both food and water should be at a comfortable temperature. Hot or extremely cold foods can make the situation worse.
Access to drinking water. Always leave a bowl of clean water for your pet. Replace it regularly with a fresh one.

I thought only chow chows had a black tongue?

Chow Chows are known for their black tongues - a common myth is that dogs that are mixed with Chow Chows have black tongues.

While this may be true, there are many purebred dogs that have this characteristic. It all comes down to genetics.

Scientists and veterinarians are still a little unsure about what causes black spots, but they do know that it is an inherited trait. This means that they are passed on from parents to offspring.

I was surprised myself when I noticed that my dog had black spots on his tongue. Then I did some research and found out that this is a common trait among dogs.

If you have a mixed breed dog, identifying a black tongue on your dog may inspire you to consider a dog DNA test and find out your dog's ancestry - who knows where Fido came from?

Many students also worry whether a black tongue means the dog is not purebred. Absolutely not . There are several breeds of purebred dogs that typically have a black tongue. Feel free to check out the list below of popular breeds that may have these characteristics.

Possible diseases

There are breeds that are predisposed to various heart defects, which cause blue tongue and other dangerous symptoms:

severe shortness of breath;
cardiac cough;
breathing with wheezing, gurgling and whistling;
greedy swallowing of air even after minimal physical exertion;
neck stretching;
restless behavior.

All this can be an alarm bell for the development of ventricular septal defects or tetralogy of Fallot.

Unfortunately, there are no effective treatments for heart defects. You can only choose the right supportive therapy to support the heart and eliminate the possibility of fluid getting into the lungs. Pneumothorax is considered no less dangerous for dogs, which can be caused by the following reasons:

chest wound;
broken ribs;
cuts in the abdomen;
teeth marks from bites from other animals.

With pneumothorax, the pet becomes lethargic, refuses to eat, and shortness of breath and coughing are heard at the slightest exertion. When examining the oral cavity, you can see bluish gums and tongue.

Since there is a high risk of suffocation, you should not delay a visit to the veterinarian for even a minute. An X-ray and ultrasound of the chest may be needed to understand the cause of pneumothorax. Next, air is pumped out of the lungs using drains in the pleural cavity and oxygen support is provided. In cases of serious injury or injury, sedatives or anti-shock therapy may be prescribed.

Many dog owners are terrified by the diagnosis of heart failure in their pet. It most often develops with age, but many congenital cases are known in brachycephalic breeds. Heart failure can be diagnosed based on the following signs:

sudden cough;
lethargy;
refusal to eat;
shortness of breath at rest;
blue color of the tongue, palate and gums.

Adult dogs are also susceptible to pulmonary edema, which can be caused by chronic bronchitis or heart problems. It develops rapidly, making the animal restless. There is a gurgling cough, grunting and severe shortness of breath. In severe cases, the tongue and the inside of the cheeks turn blue. In this case, it is better not to hesitate, as there is a risk of losing the dog. The solution to the problem is to find and exclude the causes that led to pulmonary edema and take diuretics.

More rarely, the tongue may turn blue due to collapse of the trachea, to which breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier and Shih Tzu are predisposed. It can be congenital (inherited) or acquired (as a complication after suffering respiratory pathologies). At the initial stage, you may notice that the pet clears its throat after palpating the trachea area or slightly pulling the collar. Subsequently, shortness of breath and blue tongue appear. For diagnosis, endoscopy can be performed, thanks to which it will be possible to see the trachea from the inside. Treatment is medicinal and surgical, depending on the age of the animal and the severity of symptoms.

What breeds have a black tongue?

Contrary to popular belief, dogs with black spots on their tongues or black tongues do not necessarily have Chow Chow blood running through their veins. These random spots can be found on the tongues of many other breeds or mixed breeds. There are actually more than 30 dog breeds known for black tongues, and several of them are listed below. There are many dog breeds that can have a black tongue, including:

Australian Shepherd;
Bichon Frize;
Chinese Shar-Pei;
Collie;
Cocker Spaniel;
Dalmatian;
Doberman Pinscher;
English Setter;
Flat Coated Retriever;
German Shepherd;
Golden retriever;
Scottish setter;
Pyrenees Mountain Dog;
Irish Setter;
Labrador Retriever;
Mastiff;
Newfoundland;
Pug;
Rhodesian Ridgeback;
Rottweiler;
Shiba Inu;
Siberian Husky and a few more!

Visit to the veterinarian

At the appointment, the veterinarian examines the four-legged animal, listens to its chest and checks its heart function. To do this, he uses the following research:

auscultation, detecting extraneous noise;
pulse oximetry, which measures the degree of oxygen saturation in the blood;
urine and blood tests to detect concomitant disorders;
ECG, which determines heart rhythm;
Ultrasound and x-rays that reveal pathological changes inside the lungs and heart.

The doctor may supplement the standard list with pleural puncture, bronchoalveolar lavage, or other studies. The final amount depends on the difficulty of identifying the main cause of the ailment.

Diagnosis and treatment

To diagnose glossitis in adults, the following basic methods are successfully used today.

Examination
An experienced dentist in 95% of cases is able to diagnose glossitis based only on visual data.
RPR test
A special test that detects antibodies to the cardiolipin antigen.
Scraping
It is taken from the surface of the tongue to exclude syphilis, whose symptoms are similar to glossitis.
PCR
The most modern and accurate diagnostic method for identifying a wide range of infectious pathogens.

Treatment of glossitis depends on the form of the disease and analysis of concomitant diseases, but in any case it should be comprehensive:

enhanced oral hygiene;
general strengthening therapy aimed at increasing immunity;
local treatment with antiseptics;
strict diet;
targeted medications (for example, for candidal glossitis - antifungal agents).

You can find out more about how to treat glossitis of the tongue in the article.

Is it worth treating glossitis with folk remedies?

If you have a question: how to cure glossitis, don’t waste time looking for folk remedies! If you notice characteristic symptoms that do not go away for more than a day, you need to seek help from a specialist. Treatment of glossitis should be carried out only by a dentist, who will determine the cause of the changes in the oral cavity, carry out all the necessary therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, prescribe a set of therapeutic measures that the patient can perform at home, and also monitor the entire treatment process, making changes to it as needed. necessary adjustments. Moscow dental clinics are presented in the “Search” section on our website.

Glossitis, like other periodontal diseases, is fraught with many complications, so treatment with folk remedies can only serve as an aid in complex therapy.

In order not to come face to face with glossitis, it is enough to brush your teeth regularly, including brushing your tongue, and do not skip preventive examinations at the dentist. In addition, doctors recommend avoiding excessive consumption of spicy foods and spices, limiting the intake of alcoholic beverages and smoking. Remember, disease is easier to prevent than to treat.

Reasons for dogs eating feces

Imitation

For a month, the bitch eats the excrement of her puppies. Gradually, with the introduction of complementary foods, the shape and composition of feces changes, and the bitch stops eating it, sometimes eating separate piles. Puppies can simply imitate their mother. If this behavior is not stopped in puppies, they will continue to eat their own feces as adults.

Curiosity

This cause of coprophagia is suitable for small puppies who pull everything into their mouths, including feces. In this way, they learn about the world around them.

Dietary disorders

Instinctively, wild dogs, to improve their own gastric digestion, eat manure, which contains special enzymes and beneficial bacteria that help break down heavy foods and improve digestion. Domestic dogs eat cat feces, human feces or bird droppings purely on instinct. In the city there is no manure, so the pet is literally looking for an alternative.

Coprophagia due to poor nutrition may occur due to:

preferential feeding of cereals;
feeding only meat;
feeding fatty foods, too salty or bones;
cheap ready-made feed;
overfeeding and bloating;
unbalanced diet;
an excess of treats that are not suitable for dogs (for example, confectionery);
irrational mixing of raw food products with ready-made ones.

Problems in the gastrointestinal tract

The animal is not able to say that something hurts or that there is some discomfort. Often the symptoms of the disease appear only when the disease has developed and has already caused serious harm to the body. Chronic pathologies in the gastrointestinal tract are accompanied by flatulence, problems with emptying the rectum, feelings of heaviness and other uncomfortable sensations. This also includes problems in the functioning of the pancreas and various types of infections. By eating feces, the dog is trying to help itself. That is, if you notice the act of ingesting any feces, you should first consult a veterinarian.

Hunger

In extreme hunger, an animal will eat absolutely anything that even remotely resembles something that can be eaten.

Lack of attention from the owner

Sometimes, when eating his own or someone else's feces, a domestic friend does not think about punishment, he waits for a reaction from the owner. Swearing is often perceived by a pet as additional attention. This opinion is very controversial, but some animal psychologists argue that this may well be the case.

Jealousy and Insecurity

Animals perceive feces as a kind of territory marker. Very often, when there are mustachioed pets in the house, the dog begins to eat the feces of the cat in the house, literally freeing its territory from foreign odors and fecal marks.

Causes of glossitis

improper oral hygiene;
bacterial infection;
fungal infection;
heavy metal poisoning;
bad habits (smoking, alcoholism);
congenital pathologies of the tongue (folded tongue);
allergic reaction;
tongue injury (often caused by malocclusion);
oral infections;
lack of iron in the body;
burn of the mucous membrane (hot food or drinks);
infectious diseases (AIDS, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, measles).

Causes of sticking in the corners of the mouth

If you lick your lips frequently, the red border becomes dry and this predisposes you to irritation and inflammation. Cracks form in this area and may bleed. Then a secondary infection may occur.

Most often, the cause of inflammation is yeast-like fungi, but bacterial infections, for example, the action of staphylococci and streptococci, cannot be excluded. Sometimes, against the background of fungal inflammation, bacterial inflammation, provoked by staphylococcus, joins.

In some cases, it is impossible to determine the exact cause of inflammation. This is called idiopathic angular cheilitis.

What proportion of dogs are affected by the problem?

The study found that of more than 1,500 dogs, 23% of dog owners had seen their pet eat feces at least once in their lives, with 16% of animals described as “frequent fecal eaters.”

These dogs are most likely to be:

Greedy for food, “gluttons”;
Live with other dogs;
Terrier or hound (the most common were Scottish Shepherds, also known as collies, and most rarely, poodles)

It is important to know! No associations could be found between fecal intake and the dog's age and diet.

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Poor digestion can lead to coprophagia

Even though your puppy often eats his own stool or the stool of other dogs. Animals that are fed a balanced, nutrient-rich diet should grow out of this behavior.

If your puppy continues to eat feces, contact your veterinarian to determine the problem. Your puppy may not be digesting food well. The food may be low in digestible nutrients, causing it to come out essentially the same as it came in, or your puppy may have problems with his digestive system.

In these cases, your puppy's poop tastes very similar to the food he just ate.

For the former, switching to better food may solve this problem. Regarding the latter (if changing food does not help), you will need to have your puppy checked by a veterinarian.

What about adult dogs?

Most puppies eventually grow out of their desire to eat their own or other dogs' poop, but there are some dogs that either continue to eat poop or seem to develop the habit themselves.

Keep in mind that most dogs will eat cat or horse poop. Owners simply need to prevent dogs from having access to such “treats.”

Adult dogs may eat their own feces or other animals for a number of other reasons, such as boredom, illness, anxiety, fear of punishment, attention seeking, as a learned behavior. What should the owner do in these cases?

Ask your veterinarian to check that your adult dog is healthy. If this is the case, all treatments for coprophagic puppies are also suitable for adult dogs.

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Always feed your puppy quality food

Consult with your veterinarian to find quality food so you can be sure your puppy is getting all the essential minerals, vitamins and other nutrients he needs to grow properly.

Monitor your puppy for signs that he may be suffering from poor digestion:

Poor growth
Insufficient weight gain
Vomit
Watery stools
Stool with large particles of undigested food
Presence of parasites and worms

If you see any of these signs, contact your veterinarian. This can be a serious problem.

Why do mucous membranes turn blue?

The color of the mucous membranes depends on the oxygen saturation of the blood. If for some reason a sufficient amount of oxygen does not enter the blood, the mucous membranes acquire a bluish tint. If cyanosis is persistent and the body does not receive the required amount of oxygen for a long time, a serious condition for the animal’s body may develop, even leading to death. Normally, the color of visible mucous membranes is pink (from intense to pale pink). The color is easy to see in the oral cavity: gums, lips, inside cheeks, tongue; if the dog is aggressive and there is no way to open its mouth, you can see the color of the conjunctiva (the inner surface of the eyelid).