Thursday, May 26, 2016

The Time My Dog Cut Her Tongue

About a week and a half ago, Shiner sustained an injury to her licker. Also known as her tongue. She cut it. I haven't posted about it here on the blog yet, but I have been trying to share some of her progress on our social media accounts.

Giving me her best stink eye while we wait to see the vet. 

One day, my 4 year old daughter informed me that there was something yucky on a pillow on the bed. There was a nice bloody and drooly area on the pillow where Shiner had just been licking herself. After looking Shiner over, I found that her paws looked a little bloody. (Nothing too crazy!) I cleaned them up and determined that she must have quicked her dewclaw. She likes to bite her nails and it looked a little short. I put a rubber bootie on her foot, and she went to take a nap.

Fast forward a couple of hours and I found another spot of blood on the bed, this time with a clot. I checked Shiner again and decided that I didn't know where the heck this stuff was coming from. I tried to get her to give me some kisses, but she refused. I thought she was just upset with me for having another dog around.

A picture I took for Shiner's vet. I think it looked worse in person, but maybe that's just me being an over-reactive dog mom?

Finally, I discovered the blood was coming from her mouth. I couldn't look in her mouth by myself and it would be an hour before the dog daddy came home to help me. It was tough, but I got an OK look in her mouth and found a pretty big cut on the underside of her tongue. Of course, after my messing with it it started to bleed again. Tongues bleed a lot in case you weren't aware... but they also heal pretty quickly, which is good.

For a few days, I made Shiner wear a cone of shame. This was to prevent her from licking herself. She's overly fond of licking and when she licked, her tongue would bleed some. The vet prescribed antibiotics to prevent infection. I tried to keep her mostly quiet for a few days. This also put a delay in our socialization efforts with new dog, Farrah.

She looks grumpy, but she did great with her cone of shame. 

Even without her licker, Shiner did very well. I don't think she felt all that great for a few days but other than laying around more than usual, she still ate normally.

Yesterday, we went in for a tongue re-check with the veterinarian and her tongue is on the road to recovery. She's off her antibiotics and so I'll monitor to make sure the tongue doesn't become infected.

Visiting the vet for a re-check!

If you're wondering how Shiner cut her tongue, well your guess is as good as mine at this point. I was asleep when it had to have happened. Dog Daddy took her outside and watched her. He fed her breakfast. She wasn't around the other dog either. This is one mystery I haven't been able to solve yet.

For those of you who sent Shiner well wishes already, she sends you her licks and love! We've been busy around here and should have another update soon with how everyone is settling in with a new dog around.

18 comments:

  1. I hope you will find out what happened to Shiners licker. I'm glad it looks better and it heals up without problems. POTP for your licker, dear Shiner and a big hug. The mama knows how much blood will drop on the floor in case of a hurt tongue... but she knows the reason she cut her tongue...she licked on a knife... :o)

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    1. Your mom did that Easy? That sounds awful! I don't think I'll ever find out how Shiner cut hers =/

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  2. Poor Shiner. Katie fell face first on the asphalt and bit her tongue causing it to bleed a couple weeks back. Tongues are not fun to try to get to heal. Glad Shiner is doing better.

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  3. Poor Shiner ! We're glad you're feeling better, but we wonder how you did it. Purrs

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  4. shiner....we iz knot on facebook; we iz sorree ta heer bout thiz.....we iz buzzed happee yur doin WAAAAAY better tho, even if ya had two go two de place oh eeeevil, it waz werth it.....troo lee.....sendin st francis' blessings, just coz.....hope all iz well bee tween ewe & farrah ☺☺☺

    we iz off line til twooz day sew heerz two a porbeagle shark kinda week oh end ♥♥♥♥

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  5. Wally bit his tongue a while back. I didn't know it at first...all I saw was blood everywhere, including on him. I finally figured it was coming from his mouth but I couldn't see anything. There was nothing bleeding at that point. A trip to the vet the next day confirmed that he had bit his tongue (just like what we humans do sometimes). The vet showed me the teeny puncture wound. There really wasn't much to be done at that point.

    I'm glad Shiner is okay now...I can understand how scary it must have been.

    ~Island Cat Mom

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    1. I wonder if she bit hers too. But there is nothing on the top side of it, so I don't know about that.

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  6. Did she cut it or could she have bitten it? Cookie has a small deformation on her tongue which looks like she must have bitten it at some point before we dot her.

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    1. Well, I can't say for sure. Either way is definitely possible.

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  7. Glad it's healing up nicely. But that is odd of a place for an injury!

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    1. It is kind of! But apparently, it happens to groomers sometimes when they are trying to cut facial hair and a dog licks their lips. I still wish I knew how Shiner managed to pull this off.

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  8. Poor Shiner. We're sorry you hurt your tongue, sweet girl. We are glad it is healing up, and that you're feeling lots better.

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  9. I had a similar thing happen with Sheba once. I could only ever determine she was bleeding from her mouth, but couldn't find where. Luckily it just stopped on it's own, and I never even had to take her to the vet. I also had no idea why she might have been bleeding from her mouth. I would just guess they could bite their tongues accidentally like we do.

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  10. Ouch, Shiner! Tongues do bleed a lot and for a dog to have to hold his licker is rough! I'm glad it is getting better. ♥ By the way, that might be the ultimate stink eye photo! BOL!

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  11. That took some real detective work to figure out, glad she is going okay. Love Dolly

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  12. You've got a lot going on girlfriend don't you? Take care and hang in there. Hugs to Shiner.

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  13. My dog got a cut on her tongue and it was from playing with her best buddy, they got a little aggressive wrestling and the buddy's teeth got her tongue, it was a very clean cut and healed well. Just a thought, if your dog was playing with another dog, that could be the cause.

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