My dog has a lump in his mouth. Is it an emergency or can I wait?

Question

Any clue to what this could be? Was not there, to my knowledge, last night. It's in my Boxers mouth on the bottom in the front. He doesn't seem too bothered by it, but I'm freaking out and can't get to the vet until tomorrow. Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Male | neutered | 87 lbs

Jessica Keay, DVM · Accepted Answer

I am sorry to hear about Tobs! Luckily I do not think this is an emergency situation so I wouldn't worry about not being able to get him in to the vet tonight. This appears to be an oral mass or tumor. We can have tumors in the mouth that are benign (meaning they do not behave aggressively/don't spread elsewhere or cause issues) or malignant (aggressive cancers that can invade locally or spread elsewhere in the body). Unfortunately with most there is no way to tell just by looking at them. We will sometimes recommend an aspirate of the mass to try to collect cells for identification, or sometimes just remove the mass and send it off for pathology. You can read more about oral masses at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=130. It is possible the mass was much smaller and he hit or rubbed it causing some swelling/internal bleeding leading it to increase rapidly in size and perhaps this is why you didn't notice it earlier.

My dog has a lump in his mouth. Is it an emergency or can I wait?

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