My dog has a growing, liquid lump. Can I drain it myself or see a vet?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Thanks for the pictures! I see these commonly around the ears and neck. They tend to be benign cysts. They are clear because there is fluid in them. You can have the cyst drained but they tend to fill back up. You can discuss removing it with your Vet, if the cyst is smaller than 8 mm maybe they can remove it with lidocaine. I hope this helps and I wish Toby the best!

Hello, thank you for your question about Chloe. Based on the photos that you've attached and the symptoms that you are describing it sounds like Chloe may have a mass/tumor on her eyelid. These are generally benign and do not lead to systemic problems. Other possible causes include a cyst or local infection. Since this lesion is growing in size I would recommend having Chloe seen by your veterinarian. If it continues to grow it may lead to problems on the surface of her eye. Your veterinarian can examine Chloe and determine the need for diagnostics such as ocular examination and potential removal of this lesion. Hope this helps!

Oh, those do look bad! This could be malignant lumps. Unfortunately in a dog Toby's age, there's always a chance any lump could be malignant. They could also be cysts or from a skin infection. 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 his vet a call in the morning to make him an appointment. Best of luck.

This could be a seroma from an injury, a cyst, abscess or a tumor. Cysts and abscesses need to be drained by a vet. If your vet suspects a tumor, he will do a fine needle aspirate to determine whether it is a harmless lipoma, which does not need to be removed unless it is ulcerating or bothers the dog due to its location or size, or another tumor that needs to be removed. Please make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam of the mass.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Toby but since he has had this growth for so long, I doubt it has much clinical significance. I would be worried about it if it started bleeding, changed in size (got bigger), changed in appearance/shape/consistency, etc. One thing about growths on legs is they are a lot easier to remove when they are small. Large growth removals often leave little skin to allow closure of the surgical wound. So even though it's been there for a long time, I would consult with your veterinarian and see what they say. They may advise surgical removal due to the location for the reason I mentioned above. Good luck with Toby.

Poor Lefteye! It looks like this is probably a skin growth or tumor of some kind, especially if it has been there for months with no change. I'm afraid there it no way that you can safely do anything with it at home - even if there is fluid inside, draining it will not fix the underlying problem and would be very painful for her without sedation. I would recommend taking Lefteye to the vet next week to have this checked. Your vet can talk to you about options for removing it, and possibly sending it to the lab for identification to find out if it's cancerous or not.

It looks like a possible insect bite.If it is not bothering Toby then no treatment is needed it will likely resolve on its own. If ti happens to not resolve within 1-2 weeks, then it is a mass and should be examined and possibly tested through your vet to determine if it is a mass we should seek surgical removal on or not. I hope that things work out well for your pet Toby moving forward. Best of luck and take care. : )