My dog's facial growth is open, bleeding, and infected. What now?

Hello, Unfortunately, the only remedy for this is to have it surgically removed . Otherwise it will continue to be infected and cause problems. The sooner it gets addressed, the better because the bigger it gets, the more difficult the surgery will be. Once it is removed, your veterinarian can send it off to determine if it was benign or malignant. Try to get an appointment with your veterinarian soon because it is likely already infected if it has a bad odor. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I suspect this is a skin mass It could also be chronically infected and inflamed skin, but it is less likely. A visit at your local vets is recommended to make the definite diagnosis (taking aspirates of the lesion may be necessary) and to start treatment for Coco. If it is a skin mass, surgical excision may be the only treatment option. Unfortunately, there is not much that you can do at home to help Coco.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am afraid that this is an open wound and will require further local therapy with debridement, cleaning, stitches, antibiotics and pain control medications. I recommend that you have Coco evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible for further assessment and treatment as these wounds are painful and can get infected easily. Good luck!

This appears to be a large, infected mass. You will need to take Roscoe to the vet as soon as possible. Your vet will likely recommend surgery to remove the mass and antibiotics to help the infection clear up. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Coco and for providing a picture of her lump, that is very helpful. I'm not sure when you last discussed having it removed with her vet, but given that it has grown more and is bleeding, I think you should discuss removing it again. Due to her age, there is a chance this lump could be cancer, but it needs to biopsied first before any determination could be made as to whether or not it's cancer. I'd schedule an appointment with her vet. I hope this helps.

This is very angry looking and inflamed. I would clean it with a warm cloth. Don't put anything on it as Koko will probably just lick it off. As this is getting bigger quickly a veterinary exam tomorrow is indicated. This may be a reaction to a spider or insect bite, a mass, or a fungal infection. They will do an exam and look at a slide of the cells under the microscope if needed to determine the cause. Once they have a diagnosis then they can give Koko the proper treatment. This looks serious so I recommend an exam soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Koko.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It looks like it could be a sebaceous cyst that got infected and ruptured. These are benign but sometimes they do keep opening and become bothersome to the pet until you surgically remove them. That being said, in a dog of this age, I always recommend seeing your vet for a closer inspection and a needle aspirate if needed- just to make sure it’s something benign. For now, I recommend an E-collar for Hank so that he can lick/chew at it. Then clean the wound with some hydrogen peroxide. Best wishes to you and Hank!