I posted a short time ago that my cocker, Maud, was suffering from an inflammation of her mouth caused by the folds in her mouth becoming infected.  We were told that this was quite common for this type of dog particularly in the hot weather when food might become trapped and become infected.  We were given a course of tablets to be taken twice a day for 10 days.  In addition we were bathing her mouth in salty water.  It cleared up considerably although I wasn;t entirely convinced it had gone completely.

Anyway, it's back and huband just returned from the vet with the same diagnosis and same treatment.

Has anyone heard of this before and does it have a name? 

Main symptons:

VERY smelly breath
Swelling around the bottom lip (outside and in)
Odd colour (lilac)
Not interfering with eating and doesn't appear to be causing her pain

I am tempted to continue bathing with salt water for a couple of days before putting her back on the tablets (they have to be taken with food and normally she only eats once a day) or going back to the vets for a second opinion.

I would be grateful for any thoughts.

Thanks, Caroline and a very smelly Maud.

Yes Maudlily, as I said at the time, it's called Lip Fold Excema, you simply must keep the lips clean, make it part of your daily routine with her. This should be done even when it's  not flared up. My Bailey (Irish Setter) has quite alot of trouble with the same thing.

I use iodine skin antiseptic on a cotton wool ball and I clean each side of his mouth separately. It's a nusiance and the smell is so bad when he has a flare up. I'm afraid there's nothing else for it, but to keep on top of it.

Dawn R.

[link]http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/24001.htm&word=lip%2cfold%2cexzema[/link]

HTH

We have since been cleaning her mouth daily with salted water so I wasn't sure whether this inflammation was hinting at anything else. Off to buy some iodine.

Thanks again for the advice.

My friend's cocker has this, she tried "Johnsons Tea Tree Cream" for dogs and cats (if its safe for cats then it shouldn't affect a dog)  After bathing with salt water and drying she then put a tiny amount of cream on.  This is extremely effective and she hasn't had to take him back to the vets for it since (cost her a fortune and the treatment made him very ill :rolleyes:)  I'm wondering if Tea Tree toothpaste for dogs would have the same effect (as its made to go in their mouths) or if the Cream acts as a barrier to saliva etc.

Hope this helps
Dill

I have cockers, I'm happy to say so far have never encountered this, but I have heard if you wash the mouth  area well with diluted Hibiscrub, then drying the area before applying Thornit powder works a treat!

Good luck!

Seem to remember, years ago, we had a springer with it, and we bathed it with Hydrogen peroxide.  It got rid of it, as far as I remember.

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

Thanks everyone for the posts, you have all been very helpful.  Nursery, I think you were quite right in your prediction and she does indeed have lip fold excema although the vet didn't offer my husband a name and he didn't ask helpfully, but it is exactly as you have described.  As it is so bad at the moment (both sides upon further inspection) I am using the tablets from the vets and bathing her mouth regularly at present with salted water and a wash from the vets but will use a more natural solution in future and have colloidal silver on order.

My vet has suggested that to prevent future bouts occuring they remove the fleshy parts of the lips and this will decrease the saliva created and thus infection will not be encouraged.  I am really not happpy with this suggestion.  I had never heard of the condition before but believe if I had looked after her oral hygiene properly in the first place (she hates chewing and is on wet food) it would not have occurred.  I am quite certain that spending time routinely cleaning in and around her mouth will solve the problem.  Am I being a little 'mumsy' over ruling out the op?  I think it sounds far too drastic for what is a relatively mild infection (although the smell can be really awful)  she is already improving after just a few days and think it will be cleared in about 10 days.

Thanks all
Caroline and a slightly less smelly Maud.

Hi Caroline, I too felt it unneccessary to go to the lengths of a surgical procedure to control this seemingly simple infection. So Bailey has his mouth cleaned as often as neccessary and It really isn't too much of a problem.

Keep up the good work.
Regards, Dawn R.