Red tongue

[Mandalong22]

Nati’s tongue is red. I am concerned something may be wrong. I have a vet appointment tomorrow but worried. Gums seem a little red as well. She seems to be acting ok. We had a bout of bad stool because I ran out of enzymes for one day. Still soft but getting easier to pick up. We switched to victors pro food and it had a purple tint to it. Also she is in slippery elm

[Jean]

not dealt with this one, or not realised

is it particularly hot over there ? maybe she is panting too much , is she drinking a lot,? or maybe, not enough

I cannot imagine slippery Elm would cause it, it is, as far as I know, a very safe herb

as to the food, there is both chicken and chicken fat in it, and from what I can see grain surgum, which is maize from what I understand

Most of our dogs dont do well on ANY grain or rice, and again, dont tollerate chicken or poultry fat , mine never could, but cook her fresh chicken that was a different story

white fish was NO NO

but again, I cant see it causing a red tongue

will you let us know what the vets say

Jeanx

[jilbert57]

I found this article on tongue color. Maybe it will help you.

https://www.petassure.com/new-newslette ... n-tell-us/

Jill

[Shirl D.]

The article Jill posted is interesting. I have had one experience with a very red tongue, but I doubt it's going to help you any. Many years ago, a non-EPI dog I had developed a very red tongue. If I remember right I noticed it right after he had a dental cleaning at the vet's office. I asked the vet about it, and they checked a few things, but other than the red tongue, there were no symptoms that we saw. We never did figure out why it was bright red, and it eventually went back to a normal color. I chalked it up to one of those weird things that happens but resolves on its own for who knows what reason.

The only other thing I can think of is that Nati is starting to have some mouth irritation from the enzymes. Do you incubate the enzymes in the food before feeding? Maybe try to increase the incubation time, or make sure Nati takes a drink after eating to wash out the mouth.

Hope it's nothing like with my dog! Good luck and let us know what the vet says.

[Mandalong22]

Went to the vet today. She thinks it’s from the enzymes. Currently incubation for 20 minutes and use a lot of water. Going to try and increase incubation

[Shirl D.]

Some people have done other things to make sure the enzymes get rinsed out of the mouth after they eat, too. Some suggestions are to wipe her lips with a wet cloth after she eats; use a squirt bottle to rinse the inside of her mouth out after she eats; drop a few kibbles or treats into her water bowl after she finished eating so she'll "dive" for them and essentially dunk her mouth and nose into the water bowl to get them, rinsing her mouth with clean water as she does; give her an ice cube after eating to rinse her mouth out. Good luck!

[Olesia711]

Glad you took Nati to the vets.. as others have suggested, there are a couple of things you can try:
1. incubate the food 5, 10 or 15 minutes longer.
2. or add a wee bit more water/liquid to the food to reduce the caustic properties
3. or rinse the mouth out with a squirt bottle of water after eating
4. or give the dog ice cubes to chomp/lick/play with after eating... kind of a self-rinsing technique.

Also, sometimes a very red tongue indicates some sort of bacterial infection going on, and with EPI dog this can easily be SID.
OR... this can be one of the signs of dehydration.... and you just need to make sure the dog drinks a little more water

Hope this improves soon!

[Madelon]

Hi. Glad the vet thinks it's nothing serious. Another tip if it is the enzymes and incubating longer doesn't help - you could try grinding the kibble in a blender - we've had luck with some that are very sensitive to the enzymes when they grind the kibble.

Keep us posted.