What are these black spots on my chihuahua's feet? Are they serious?

You will need to have this examined by your veterinarian as this could either be a harmless wart or it could be a beginning melanoma which may need to be removed while it is small. It is not possible to determine what exactly this is just from a photo. Please make an appointment with your vet.

Hi there! That’s a really helpful picture, thank you for including it. I am definitely concerned about the possibility of that growth being cancerous. However, whether is is benign or malignant, the location is troublesome. Removal of a mass of that size on that area of the foot can be very difficult. There is not much room/ skin to work with, and obtaining good clean tumor free margins of tumor removal is challenging. I would highly encourage you to have SweatPea examined by your veterinarian soon, as the larger it gets the less likely surgery can be done. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. Given the length it has been present, it likely represents something benign though you will not know until it is sampled. This is most of the time differentiated with a test called a fine needle aspirate which is easy, cheap and pain-free. Sometimes, a biopsy is required for a diagnosis. Have Latte evaluated by your veterinarian to have this test performed to try to sort out what the diagnosis is so that the best course of action can be determined. If it is a malignant tumor that warrants surgery, it is better to find out sooner rather than later. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is something benign!

Without being able to perform a close physical exam or view an image, it's hard to say for sure what these might be. Some dogs will have black skin pigmentation in this area that can appear as black specks, especially if they have a history of allergies or itching in this area. I would recommend having this examined by a vet to be safe - it may not be anything concerning, but it may also be a skin infection of some kind or even early signs of a skin tumor such as a [melanoma](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/malignant-melanoma/). Your vet can take a look and let you know if it is a cause for concern or not.

This looks like simple hyperpigmentation but of course I cannot say for sure without an exam. I would watch it closely. If it is changing or bothering her I would have your vet look at it. If you are unsure, you could have your vet take a look at it just to ensure it is nothing to worry about. the darkening of the skin can be just normal age development or secondary to an old infection or inflammation. Keep a close eye on it! I hope this helps!

Hello That spot could be a site of infection but certain tumors can also form on the skin like melanoma. I recommend Pugslee see his veterinarian for a very close exam of that spot and to discuss if it should be removed and sent off for further testing.

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Considering how far this appeared and the glistening appearance of this swelling, this appears to be a possible engorged tick. I recommend confirming that suspicion by looking really close for where it comes into contact with the skin to see if you can visualize rhebtick legs. You may have to pull up on the body of the tick a little to see clearly. Then proceed to remove this tick using tweezers or a tick removal kit from your local pet store. There are videos on YouTube that demonstrate how to remove ticks successfully. You want to make sure you grab it close to the skin so that you remove the entire tick head along with the body. Do no place any oils or any chemicals on the tick or this will only agitate it. If you don’t feel comfortable removing it yourself, then take Taco in to your vet for removal. Then discuss with your vet about after care and possible prophylactic treatment with antibiotics to cover any potential tick borne diseases. There is only a slight chance this is a mass, at which point a vet visit is recommended to get samples from it to determine what kind of mass it is and how we should proceed treating it. I hope this helps and best of luck with your pet Taco moving forward. Take care.