by Jane Allyson

Created on: August 24, 2010

Looking after our dog’s best interest will include regular mouth examinations to check for signs of illness. Finding an ulcer in your dogs mouth can be very worrying and make us fear the worst, but doesn't necessarily mean that your dog has cancer. Ulcers can also be caused by a number of other health issues, but the most important thing you can do for your animal is to make a prompt visit to your vet who will be able to give a proper diagnosis, and suggest a suitable course of treatment.

Perhaps you have a young dog that loves to chew. If she has got hold of something that has become embedded in the tissue of her mouth, then this could be the cause of the irritation and may have become infected. An x-ray will be needed to ascertain the problem, and perhaps surgery will be performed to remove the alien matter.

The location of the ulcer could give an indication of what is causing it. For example, ulcers found in the back of the throat towards the tonsil area could indicate some form of oral cancer, which should be attended to immediately.

If you have found something worrying on the hard or soft palate in the tooth area then your dog may be suffering from a dental problem such as a fistula or root infection.

The presence of ulcers could simply be a sign that your dogs physiological being is out of balance and you may need to revise your pet’s diet and exercise plan.

Sometimes the dogs own immune system will attack the skin and moist tissues by creating blisters, sores, crusts and ulcers which can then become infected with a secondary bacteria, exacerbating the original condition. This is usually caused by a group of diseases called pemphigus which cannot be cured by antibiotics alone, and signifies the dog’s own immune system becoming overactive and errant.

Stomatitis in dogs can cause a number of significant health issues including anorexia, difficulty in swallowing, halitosis, oral cavity bleeding enlargement of the lymph glands and mouth thrush. All of these conditions occur for a number of different reasons and may require a biopsy to aid a correct diagnosis.

So, if you have checked your dogs mouth and found an ulcer, no matter how unobtrusive it is, is vital that you seek the opinion of a trained professional who can check the ulcer properly. Some forms of mouth cancers can be very aggressive and spread within weeks. Even if the ulcer does not indicate oral cancer, there are many reasons why these ulcers form and consequentially will require different forms of treatment that cannot always be found in the kitchen cupboard or purchased at the local pet store.

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