My dog had a black lump removed after grooming. Scar or cancer?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This does not mean that he is getting cancer necessarily. It could be a change in pigmentation. The lump may be a benign or malignant growth. This could even be an infection. This cannot be completely assessed just by looking at pictures or a description and usually requires sampling such as fine needle aspiration to determine its origin. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good day!

It sounds like this is some kind of skin growth. Dogs can develop melanomas of the skin along with many other benign growths. I would recommend having your vet take a look - they might recommend taking a sample with a small needle to determine what this might be, or they might recommend going ahead and removing it.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It always COULD be cancer - the only way to diagnose for sure is to remove it and send it to the lab. But I doubt it based on its current appearance. FAR more likely is that it’s a completely harmless “skin tag”. I’m not surprised at the color; even though her fur is fawn, you can see that Gracie’s actual skin is blackish in that area. Keep an eye on it. If it becomes suddenly big, hard, or seems to bother Gracie, get it checked out. Best of luck to you and Gracie!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing for sure without an examination though this represents a reason to seek veterinary care. This is usually determined with an examination and a fine needle aspirate (FNA) or a biopsy. Treatment depends on the findings up to that point. I recommend you have Maddy evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

As the lump as already been removed, it is quite safe to wait that long, the main reason for sending it to the lab is for you to know if it is a benign tumor or a malignant tumor, if it is a malignant tumor, the prognosis will not be good, even if the lump has been removed cleanly. if it is benign then you have very little to worry about.

It's difficult to tell without seeing it and even then it will require some testing to narrow-down the cause. Usually scab lesions are caused by an infection, or from trauma. There are certain benign cysts and skin cancers that can have this appearance also, but I wouldn't be too worried until a vet has a look at it. It's best that you don't disturb the lesion too much right now. It's not an emergency, but best to have it checked by a vet sometime in the next week. I hope that helps and all is well with Silo.

You don't mention exactly what the first growth was that was removed from the left side of his neck, but hopefully that was either benign, or perhaps not but was completely removed with the surgery. Lumps can appear anywhere on a dog, and they certainly seem to increase in frequency as dogs get older. I wouldn't panic, but yes, the 2 situations you've already suspected are possible, and I'll add a third: 1.) The groomer went too close with the clippers, and nicked him. 2.) This is a new growth, which may or may not be related to the first one (i.e. may be the same type or something completely different). 3.) The groomer could have nicked a growth with the clippers! It does sound like it's pretty nasty, and I tend to be fairly aggressive with wounds that may have happened at the groomers, since they can easily get infected. I would recommend getting Brody in to your vet today for evaluation, cleaning of the area, and possibly oral antibiotics.