What's this raised, possibly infected growth on my dog's carpal pad?

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. With Stella's age, I would suspect this is likely benign and what we call a histiocytoma. To be on the safe side though, I would recommend having your veterinarian take a look at this and perform additional testing to help better determine what it could be. Your vet can insert a small needle into the mass and look at the cells under the microscope to help rule out what it could be. A histiocytoma is a benign (non cancerous) tumor that usually resolves on its own over time. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

Oh that does look bad, and I would be concerned in a dog La Michelle's age, this could be a malignant tumor. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. Give a vet a call to make her an appointment. Best of luck.

I recommend to take Greta to see her veterinarian. While most skin masses are benign, masses that a red/pink, hairless and raised are a concern for a malignant skin tumor called a Mast Cell tumor. It also appears as though this mass is ulcerated regardless and it needs to be removed. Once masses grow to the point of ulceration, they will heal and break open over and over again which can make them prone to infections not to mention oozing/bleeding. Just like with a human, the doctor will likely take a sample of the mass or remove the mass entirely and microscopically exam it. Thats the only way to know what it is accurately. In the mean time, protect the mass from trauma and wash it daily with an antibacterial hand soap (rinse it well). You can apply a small amount of coconut oil and rub it well into the skin. This may help the wound to heal a little faster. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any further questions!

There appears to be some staining which may indicate chronic licking. The "lump" could be a lick granuloma caused by the chronic licking. That may be due to itching, discomfort, stress or boredom. You would need to have Luna physically examined by your veterinarian for a definitive diagnosis. A fine needle aspirate can be done in the clinic to collect samples for pathology if it is a lump and not a granuloma. This may provide a diagnosis.

These type of lesions can have many causes. Dogs often get these hot spots (aka acral lick granulomas) for a few different reasons, so it's difficult to say what's causing it. Stitch may be over-licking the area because it's sore, or it has an infection. In fact, these types of lesions tend to develop infections in the skin despite the cause. I think it will be fine to try and treat this at home for now (even though we don't know the cause), but would recommend a visit to the vet if: 1) It doesn't get better in 2 weeks 2) It starts to bleed or there is a break in the skin Here are my recommendations: 1) Clip the hair around the area with electric dog clippers and expose all of the sore skin. 2) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least once a day. 3) Bandage the wound with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Keeping it covered and keeping Stitch from licking it will be the most difficult part of the treatment. You can help keep the bandage on by placing a good (really sticky) tape above and below the bandage. You can find sprays in the pet store, like bitter apple, that are meant to deter licking. This can be sprayed on the bandage (not the wound) to help keep Stitch from chewing it off. NOTE: Be careful not to bandage too tight or it can cut-off the circulation. If you notice that the toes/foot starts to swell, then remove the bandage and leave it off until the swelling goes down. Another strategy to keep the bandage on, is taping a clean sock over the bandage. These types of lesions tend to take a long time to heal, so don't be surprised if its not completely healed until a month later. Once the skin looks normal and Stitch stops trying to lick, you can stop the cleaning/bandaging. I hope that helps and Stitch gets better soon.

I'm glad to hear that Domino is not bothered by this skin lesion. It looks as though this lesion could be due to a benign mass (histiocytoma), malignant mass, granuloma (inflammation around foreign material under the skin), among other possible causes. The only way to definitively diagnose this lesion is through a fine needle aspirate whereby a vet will draw a few cells from the lesion and examine them microscopically. This test will help to determine if the lesion should be removed surgically, monitored for changes or treated with antibiotics. I hope that all goes well for Domino!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sadly a lot of skin masses can look the same. It could be a Mast Cell tumor (which is a cancerous growth that should be removed and biopsied), a cyst, a histiocytoma (though he is a bit old for that, they end to occur in younger dogs). Any skin bumps that is new, rapidly grows, changes or is possibly infected should be checked by a Vet. They can decide whether it should be aspirated and sent to the lab or removed surgically to send the entire specimen for biopsy. I hope this helps and I wish Boston the very best!