I have heard so many different theories about this. Please let me know what you have heard. Are black spots on the tongue a fault if you are showing a dog? Would you pay top dollar for a golden whose parents have black spots on their tongue? What percentage of goldens have them? Where do they come from? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My Sophie has them. She is a very well-bred purebred Golden. Her mother has them as well. I don't know about showing purposes. I did pay what is pretty standard for very well-bred Goldens in my area. They are sort of like freckles, from what I understand. It's just part of what makes her Sophie

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Steph

Mom to:
Sophie - Doolin's Sweet Siren, Always in our hearts
March 30, 2008 - May 18, 2011
~and~
Sawyer - Doolin's Can't Hold His Licker
May 20, 2010
~and~
Quinn - Sawyer's new best buddy and brother
January 17, 2011

Member of the "Crazy 4 Collars Clique"

My golden has a black spot. The forum calls them "treat spots", because that is where you put the treat.

I believe the treat spots are usually on dogs that have good pigment. It is not a fault that I know of.

Brady comes from very good lines. One interesting thing I noticed, is that he has a half-sibling on this forum, and his "treat spot" is identical to Brady's. Makes me wonder if maybe there is something genetic to that.

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My Belles is presumably a mix (though her looks are very golden); she's "found treasure," so her family tree is open for conjecture. She has the black spots on her tongue and I've always assumed it came from her "mystery dad." So, I'm curious how you will be answered. (Bella has the spots on the roof of her mouth as well.) My vet said it was pretty common in retrievers, actually, but "commonness" doesn't really establish whether it's a fault or not, does it?

I read someplace that it is one of the most common reasons people make a veterinarian for a golden puppy.

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I can understand that. Danny's came up very suddenly when he was two years old. Darn that Google, I found a ton of things saying that it was cancer!

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Maggie has a black spot on her tongue (we call it her spoil indicator...it waited until she was sufficiently spoiled...1 1/2 yrs...before it showed up.) I can't say anything about her breeding or show quality, but, I once read an article linking black spots to hemophilia, but then read 2 more stating that spotty tongues and hemophilia in dogs are about as closely linked as brown eyes and sickle cell anemia (as in..mostly coincidence)

It's just a birthmark. And just like freckles and moles, they can show up after birth. It doesn't mean the dog isn't purebred, and it's pretty common in Goldens.

HOWEVER, that said, when a new spot shows up on a dog's tongue, very very rarely, it can be an oral melanoma. Melanomas are often raised at least slightly, and an experienced vet can tell you in about two seconds that a spot is not a melanoma. It would be extraordinarily rare (and I've never heard of it) for a melanoma to completely mimic a spot of pigment.

If your dog gets a new one, keep an eye on it. If it continues to change shape, get larger, or becomes raised, then I'd worry. But like I said, I've never heard of a dog who had a melanoma that mimicked a pigment spot so completely that a vet missed it.

Oral melanomas are dangerous, so keep an eye on new spots, just like you'd keep an eye on human moles that change shape. Don't panic, though, 99.99% of the time, tongue spots are treat spots.

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My bridge kid Tucker had one on his tongue, it didn't show up until he was almost 2yrs old. It's their treat spots !!

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Waiting at the Bridge

TUCKER
6-30-96 to 1-29-09
Mom and Dad miss you
and love you buddy !










GO BUCKS !

Molly's sire has a HUGE one, and it sure hasn't hurt his career!

Here is a link to a good photo, showing the tip of his tongue: http://www.saracengoldens.com/index.asp?id=22

Molly has one too, but it's at the back, and to the side. Her dam's breeder says it shows she's extra smart.

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