Lump on dogs mouth & leg

Hi! I’ve had my dog for ten years now and a few years ago (I want to say maybe 3?) he developed this lump on his leg. It’s slowly growing, which is very concerning. But it’s about the size of a nickel now. I intend to have a biopsy done soon. However, very recently he grew this lump in his mouth and I’m not sure what it is or what to do about it. I’m kinda concerned it’s something serious. He’s an older dog but he’s never had great teeth and more recently, his teeth have been getting loose and his gums have gotten worse.  

Hello - there are many interesting types of oral (mouth) lump.  Your vet will examine this one and reccommend tests or trestment as necessary.  For example, epidulids are benign outpouchings of the gum, so not cancer- but they can destablise teeth and be extremely invasive locally.  They seem to favour certain breeds such as boxers, with flat faces and may occur alongside oral inflammation.  Another possibility, papilloma virus, is a viral wart - and infectious to other dogs.  Of course, there are a range of sinister and benign cancers that can arise on most tissues including gums.  It would seem that your dog has slow-growing lump on their back, which might be cancerous or benign.... if ypu type 'lump' into the blog on this site, you will find some stimulating articles on the subject.

Dental health is increasingly being recognised as influential to the health of the whole body, just as in humams.  If teeth are wonky, painful or infected, we would go to the dentists and we tend to reccommend the same level of care for dogs.  It is possible that your gorgeous boy may be overdue some dental attention - and its possible that if that turns out to be an epulid, it may not be unrelated.  Vets are experts in looking at a patient and figuring out what interventions are appropriate, given 'where we are now,' ie the context.  They would evaluate your pet as a whole, not just looking at the teeth and discuss options from there.