My dog's elbow has a hole after a dry mass came out. What is it?

Things like this can be an enlarged pore that has accumulated a wax ball or sometimes a cyst that has dried up and the body has blocked off. Generally these pets will be fine. Wash the area gently with soap and rinse it well. Gently pat it dry. Make sure Stella does not lick at it as this can make it inflamed and prone to infection. Look at it daily for any signs of redness, swelling or discharge. If these are seen, take her to the veterinarian. Generally these lesions will fill in and don’t require you to apply any treatment. They may also reappear at a later date. If anything looks suspicious, have it checked out. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It's hard to say for sure what that is because the picture is fairly blurry. It may be a cyst or even a small abscess (infection) that you are seeing. You can try applying a warm compress to the area and gently cleaning it. However if it gets larger or appears painful or red it's best to have it checked out by your veterinarian.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely just a callus which happens commonly at the elbow joint given it is a pressure point due to the presence of a bone in that region. I would not be too concerned about this. However, if you ever notice any discharge or open wound in this region, have him evaluated by a veterinarian as that can be an infection. Best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is a callus that has formed at a pressure point. This is very common in the elbow. This actually does not need any therapy per se. However, one way to try to prevent it from getting any worse would be making sure to have a dog bed and well padded surfaces throughout the house as this forms from laying on hard surfaces. These only need treatment if they are severe and become infected which is not the case with Oliver. I hope you find this information helpful. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern! From the pictures you have provided, this appears to be what we call a sebaceous adenoma. This is a benign skin mass that we typically start to see develop in middle aged to older dogs. They do not cause any harm but can become sore and open from time to time. If these masses become infected or are painful I then recommend having them removed, otherwise, monitoring them is absolutely fine to do. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This looks likely to be a cyst, which is a benign skin growth that can rupture and exude a thick proteinaceous discharge. I recommend having Roscoe seen by a Vet, as cysts can become infected when they rupture, and Roscoe may need a course of antibiotics. Your vet can then let you know if they have any concerns about the lesion when they’re able to examine it. In the meantime, keep it clean using soapy water (Dawn dish soap works well) and soak/wipe it clean a few times daily. Hope this helps!

This is likely to be due to a skin cyst which is getting intermittently infected. Only by removing the capsule of the cyst surgically the problem can resolve as the capsule itself is secreting the white material. I am not sure whether this has been already done or not, but commonly this is the underlying problem. A recurrent and resistant infection may be present as well and ideally a bacterial swap should be perform to rule out this possibility. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!