Sores on dogs tongue - any insight?

I have a 9 mo old belgian malinois. He developed these “cold sore” like sores on the very tip of his tongue and has had them for a several weeks now. Red and white looking papules on tip of tongue. Firm to the touch and can be seen from the underside of his tongue as well. Some have the appearance of white heads. Has not been spreading, but is also not going away. Does not seem to be in pain, eating just fine and engaging in all activities as normal. We contacted our vet and they are unsure what this is. Will be going in to the vet again to take another look, but was wondering if anyone else has come across this before? Vet recommended taking all his rough chew toy away so he has only had access to his plush toys and blanket and does not seem to be getting better. We live on 5 acres of land and when he is running around will just randomly try and pull weeds from the ground, which may be causing some irritation. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Hello - like your vet, I am not sure, but I would guess that it falls under one of the following headings: infectious disease eg viral or fungal;  trauma (eg d/ t plants); inflammatory disese eg allergy.  Cancer can take on most appearances so I always list it, although it wouldnt necessary be near the top in this case.  The question is - how to tell the difference between these things.  Where trauma is strongly suspected, I can see the value in changing habits and waiting.  Alternatively, a biopsy may offer useful information more quickly, helping your vet to work out whats going on at a cellular level.  Im not sure where your dog is / has been a local, but sometimes local pathologists might recognise lesions from pictures, or help to narrow down differentials in a discussion.   Wishing you and your vets all the best in getting to the bottom of this - please will you let us know if there's any news?