My dog has a growing red lump on his leg. What should I do?

Without a physical exam or diagnostics, it is difficult to determine if this is something to worry over. Ideally, a fine needle aspirate or biopsy should be done to collect samples for pathology. This may provide a diagnosis. X-rays of the limb may be recommended to rule out bony involvement. Since you state it is growing, it should be removed before it becomes too large. As it is, that is a difficult area to close after a mass removal.

It could be a small cyst, pustule/papule, or possibly a Histiocytoma which is a benign mass that is common in young dogs. Since it is getting more red, she should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. The vet may want to aspirate it and examine the contents under a microscope. She may need an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, it may need to be removed, or just monitored (histiocytomas typically resolve with no treatment). You could use an over the counter spray, like Vetricyn, and see if that helps relieve any redness or discomfort.

I am sorry to hear about Rocco. This looks like it could potentially be a tumor that has a small ulceration or wound. We can have tumors that are benign and do not spread/cause other problems, but others are aggressive and should be removed. I would recommend bringing Rocco into the vet for an exam. Your vet may try to get some cells from the tumor to examine under the microscope in order to determine the type/behavior of the growth and determine if it should be surgically removed or if it can just be monitored.

Hi again and thanks for sending the pic to us. In this case this lump seems to be a tumor and would need ideally to be checked by your local veterinarian to differentiate in between benign and more sinister ones. The lump seems big enough to be able to take a fine needle aspirate from it without using local or general anesthetic. A small needle can be inserted inside the lump to get some cells out and analyse them.

That is a large, lobulated lump (no just one defined lump) in a location that would generally never have something like a swollen lymph nodes. I recommend making an appointment with your vet for a fine needle aspirate (where they aspirate cells from the mass and put them on a slide to be sent out for review) to determine if it is an abscess or a tumor/cancer of some sort. Best wishes for Diesel!

This bump on Aspen's leg could be a cyst, a lipoma, a benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. Any suspicious bumps 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 bump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would take Aspen into the vet tomorrow to have the bump examined and diagnosed so it can be treated.

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!