My dog has a jaw lump, scratching, not eating. Should I see a vet?

Hi, and thanks for your question. This lump/bump/growth should be ideally examined by your local vet to have a diagnosis established. Your vet may want to perform an FNA (fine needle aspiration) or a biopsy to sample the bump and determine its underlying nature. Differentials would include skin cysts, infections, benign or more malignant type of tumors. 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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. It could also be an enlarged lymph node. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and best wishes!

It does sound like Pepper is sick. This large lump on her side could be an abscess, cyst, benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. An abscess or malignant tumor would cause her to not want to eat or drink. It is serious that she doesn't want to drink, and I would take her into a vet now. If you wait until morning, she could become seriously dehydrated, and it's best to prevent that. The vet can examine the lump and can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it to diagnose it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump 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. The vet will also likely do routine blood tests and a urinalysis to diagnose why she is feeling so poorly, and how best to treat her.

This could just be a benign growth but without seeing Mac in person, I can't say for certain. 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 to make him an appointment. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! These could be benign or malignant growths. These could even represent infection sites or lymph nodes. There is no way of knowing what it is just based on its appearance. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good day!

It is possible something occurred while you were gone to cause the lump. The only way to know for sure is to have her examined by your vet and the lump needs to be aspirated (drained). The lump could be a detona, mass or even an abscess. An abscess can cause pets to have a low grade fever, lack of appetite, and moodiness. It's best to get this treated quickly with your vet and get her on a short course of antibiotics if an abscess is confirmed.

A lump near the shoulder could be an enlarged lymph node, an abscess, a cyst, a tumor, etc. I would recommend that you have Roscoe examined by a vet, especially since you have noticed a behavior change. The vet will do a thorough physical exam, and may want to collect a sample of cells from the lump to examine under the microscope. They may also recommend blood work or other diagnostics to see what could be going on.