My senior chihuahua has a growing, dark lump. Should I get a second opinion?

This looks like a decent sized mass. It could be benign and nothing to worry about or it could be malignant. I would talk to your vet and ask them to get a sample to look at it under the microscope to ensure it doesn't need to be surgically removed. I hope this helps.

Thank you for your question, and including a picture-this is very helpful. This little lump is likely something benign like a skin tag or similar, but I always recommend that if an owner notices changes in color, size or shape of a lump, especially if it is growing quickly, that it be evaluated by your veterinarian. If you are very concerned it would not be wrong to request that the lump be removed, then it can be submitted for review by a pathologist to let you know exactly what it is. You could always arrange to have Mieya's teeth cleaned at the same time, small breed dogs are prone to dental disease and this is a good age to start preventative dental care!

This may be a little abscess, a cyst or a tumor (warts are benign tumors, btw.). You should have it examined by your veterinarian, as it is not possible to distinguish these by just looking at a photo. An abscess can usually be treated with antibiotics and/or be lanced, and a cyst can be evacuated. To identify a tumor, your vet may want to do a fine needle aspirate (he takes some material from the bump with a needle and then looks at it under the microscope) to determine whether the mass is concerning.

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.

It could be malignant, but I cannot diagnose it from a picture. 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 Cookie's vet a call to make him an appointment. I hope this helps!

Hello. That is a lot of money to do a dentistry & remove a small tumor, but prices are extremely variable in different parts of the country. I assume that your dog is an older one, otherwise, we do not recommend removing teeth just for the fun of it. If there is quite a bit of peridontal disease, then dentistry can actually extend a pets life. The small tumor looks pretty irritated, also your dog has been licking it quite a bit. I have no problem removing it now rather than waiting or doing an aspirate mainly because if it grows much bigger, regardless of whether it is malignant or benign, your veterinarian will have trouble finding enough skin to close the site. The best thing to do is to get a second opinion & see if there is agreement as to how to proceed. If so, consider having both procedures done. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello my name is Dr. Elyse Macartney, and I would like to help answer you questions regarding Brandi's skin lump today. First of all thank you for sending the picture of the lump. From the picture you have sent the lump appears to be a skin growth. There are several types off lumps or masses that can grow in the skin of dogs such as sebaceous cysts, warts, abscesses, lipomas, and several types of cancers. Some of these cancers are benign and some are malignant, so careful observation is important, as well as having a vet examine it if you are concerned. My first step of advice for you would be to use a ruler to measure the lump today. Then repeat that measurement every few weeks. Continue to monitor the lump for growth, ulceration, pain, bleeding, swelling, and changes in texture or color. Rapidly growing and changing masses are more concerning, and may be a sign of malignancy. Because this is a new mass and because you have already observed growth, I would suggest taking Brandi in to have the mass examined by her veterinarian. The veterinarian will most likely want to take a sample of the cells within the mass using a FNA (fine needle aspirate). Using cytological examination of those cells, the type of mass can be identified and a treatment plan created. I hope this information was helpful, and I have included the link to further articles below. https://www.petcoach.co/article/lumps-on-dogs-when-you-should-be-concerned/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/can-pets-get-skin-cancer/