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What's this red patch on my dog's tongue? When should I see a vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | neutered | 4 years and 7 months old | 10 lbs

My dog has red patch on tongue please help

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jeffrey Milner

Veterinarian

Published on July 20th, 2017

Hi, this appears to be an ulcer or some kind of wound. I would check his mouth for other ulcerated areas. If there are none, he could have licked something that burned him like a chemical or something hot. Luckily, the mouth heals very fast and there should be no treatment required. If you find that it is not healing, he should go to the vet for antibiotics. Good luck I hope this helps!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Amy S. Eutsey, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 4th, 2020

    Hello. Those are ulcerated areas where the top surface layer of the tongue is damaged. This tipically is due to licking something that has thermally burned or chemically burned the tongue. Occasionally it can be from an infection. This can be painful, cause excessive salivation and become infected. It may affect his eating until it heals. Your veterinarian can prescribe pain medication and/or antibiotics if the area is causing your dog problems, otherwise, monitor for changes, foul odor, bleeding, etc that would indicate that it is not healing on its own. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

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