Dog elongated saliva gland/growth under tongue

[SandraW]

Merlin is 4 1/2 years old. One yr ago I detected an elongated saliva gland under Merlin's tongue. He's seen two vets that performed 3 surgeries. The third vet and 4th surgery was at U C Davis and they removed the saliva glands on right side. When the growth reappeared after one week they wanted to perform yet another surgery. I've been working w/ Pam@purrrfectlyholistic for about 2 mo. and getting some results, however the growth gets very large and then gets very small, cycling indicating we are not getting at the cause! We have him on Pau D'Arco, Calcarea florica, Animal Essentials Detox Blend and Apple Cidar Vinager. We love our boy and want to find out how to deal with this issue that no one seems to understand.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Sandra, welcome to HA! and thanks for making your first post!

I'm sorry to hear about Merlin's recurrent ranula (which is the vet speak for the salivary swelling under his tongue).

How's his BEAM (in spite of the swelling)? BEAM=behavior, energy, appetite, mood and are the 4 symptoms which you can see that are reflections of the balance of his vitality.

BEAM is an easy way to put every symptom into context (the higher the BEAM, the better the balance despite the symptom).

Great news that the same symptom returned after it was suppressed!

In homeopathy this is a sign that his body's vital force is strong and is very good prognostically!

If possible, please some pics and the past 2 or 3 test results. Along with the great forum posting info. this should help us trend his bloods to find internal early warning signs of imbalance.

Blood tests are really just one way to find internal symptom clues.

The external symptom clues that you observe is another.

Details of all his symptoms, though (like his BEAM, modalities, the ranula etc.) can help you and your vets understand his dis-ease and help you decide what to do.

IMHO, the solution to Merlin's ranula is based in conserving and balancing his internal energy.

Unfortunately, this concept uses a different paradigm of medicine (where both the physical as well as the energetic matter).

I look forward to helping sort things out (now I'm off to a Laughter Yoga session).

https://laughteryoga.org/

 

[GinnyW]

So, what IS this thing? I've not encountered these. I'd probably put him on LDN, and an appropriate homeopathic remedy. If it keeps coming back, I'm thinking a deep chronic disturbance which he is trying to push out. What's going on with him, and what has occurred in his life?

 

[HA! Support]

1. Merlin
2. 4.5 years old
3. Male
4. Neutered
5. German Shepard
6. 100 lbs
7. What's their BEAM Merlin is a happy, healthy, energetic, playful and constantly inquisitive dog. We see no other issues with him.
8. Diet: Two cups AM & PM Iams Lamb & Rice. Also ½ apple w/ breakfast, a handful of greens w/ dinner. From ice cube tray (one cube) boiled ground turkey at noon.
9. Vaccination history / Current on all vacinations
10. Problem began October of 2020. Nothing has changed. He developed an elongated saliva gland under his tongue on the right side.
11. The size of the gland can change from day to day, however a large sack can last over a week. In September it cycled approximately weekly and it is now cycling approximately every 2 weeks. It might shrink to 20% of the original size for a few days & then increases incrementally until it’s huge. We see no correspondence to heat, cold, outside influence.
12. See Attachment
13. Merlin had four surgeries for right side saliva glands in the last 10 months. The last one was done at UC Davis. They removed both saliva glands on the right side. When the swollen gland returned in a week they wanted to schedule another surgery
14. Currently we are working with pam@purrrfectlyholistic. We have seen some improvement ie. The gland will get small & get larger cycling. This is an improvement over working with vets because we saw no change with them! As prescribed by Pam, Merlin is taking Par ‘D Arco 1,000ml per day, Calcarea fluorica 6c two times per day, a liver cleanse that just ran out. Also Apple Cidar Vinager, TBL 3 times per day. I also give him several drops of Chlorophyll with each meal.
15. Merlin was a rescue dog, we got him when he was approximately 9 months old. He has a fear of men with a hat, especially if they are carrying anything.
16. A neighbors pit bull bit Merlin about a month before the symptoms started. There was a tooth indentation on his back that we treated and it went away.

 

[SandraW]

Photo's of elongated saliva gland

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Yup, that's a ranula (salivary swelling under the tongue)!

How is Merlin's guts regarding past diarrhea, vomiting, etc?

Do you use any probiotics?

Ever give him any raw food or eggs?

Also Sandra, if you happen to email with Pam in the next few days, I'd appreciate if you ask her to email me about Merlin when she has a chance.

 

[SandraW]

Hello Dr Jeff,
Yes, Merlin has had a rough time of it. I have sent all the documents re: his issue. When we first got the boy at around 9 months old he had a terrible bout of diarrhea for several months. He is now 4 1/2. I attributed it to being bounced around and having numerous different foods. We finally settled on Iam's Lamb & rice. I give him a raw egg once a week. He gets a salmon berger one time a wk., a ice cube size of ground turkey for a snack every day. He generally gets greens in his food, sometimes a half of an apple.
He has no issues other than the ranula. His BEAM is very high!!!
Thanks
Sandy