My dog has a lump on his chest/neck. What is it and how to treat?

It is difficult to know what the initial lesion was, an insect bite, a skin growth, or a place where his collar has rubbed and irritated the skin are all possible causes. I would do the following; Replace his collar with a chest harness to let the area rest Clean the lump with warm water and then leave open to dry Measure the lump with a ruler In 2 weeks measure the lump again. Check for growth, changes in texture, colour or bleeding. If you notice any of these then I would advise a check-up at the vet.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Smith. He appears to have a small wound, irritation or potentially a growth. I recommend keeping his collar off (if it is safe to do so) so you can monitor to the area. Keep it clean and dry and it should heal within a few days. If this does not happen, then he will need to see his veterinarian. In this case, he would be examined to look for other signs of skin disease. Then the veterinarian will prescribed medication to help him heal. In the meantime, it is not necessary to apply an over-the-counter medication. I hope this information helps!

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sorry to hear that Link has this issue. This appears to be a cyst but it could also be a plugged hair follicle, an abscess or even a tumor. There is no way to know just by looking at it, unfortunately. If this was my dog I would not be overly worried at this point. I would leave the collar off, if possible, and only put it on as needed to prevent it from rubbing on it and just monitor it. If after another 7-10 days it does not resolve or it gets larger (or opens) then I suggest you take him to your vet for an exam. Don't put anything on it. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I would recommend that you have Lumpy checked out by a vet. It looks like it may be infected. The hair will need to be clipped away from the mass and the wound. Even if it is benign, masses don't heal very well since they are not normal tissue, so it may need to be removed so that it stops bleeding and will not continue to be a source for infection.

Unfortunately, even in person I would be hard pressed to give you a diagnosis based only on appearance. When a client comes in with a pet that has an unknown mass, we typically consider the following as possibilities, taking many factors into account: a mass/tumor, an abscess, a cystic structure, an insect bite, an allergic reaction, or a bruise from trauma. If the structure has burst open, it is most likely not allergic or from an insect. Depending upon your dog's age, the time the lump has existed, the consistency of the fluid you have noted, and the presence / absence of any other clinical signs, one of the other options is most likely. Something the vet might be able to do is obtain some cellular material from the affected area, place it under a microscope, and see if there is any cellular material that is useful in obtaining a diagnosis. Other times, appearance alone can at least tell a vet whether or not there is an active infection. As far as the possibility of cancer, tumors are certainly able to open up as you have described. They are typically more common in elderly dogs, though even this is largely dependent on the type of tumor. I would schedule a visit with your vet sometime soon. I would also in the meantime prevent Pancakes from bothering with the area. You can either buy an e-collar from a store / vet, or try and make something homemade until a commercial one can be obtained (with it being Easter, finding a store open that has one may prove difficult). The purpose of this is to prevent any current infection from worsening, or absent infection from beginning. Hope this makes sense.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The lump there could be from many different causes: 1. infected ball of pus under the skin from a previous wound. 2. A foreign object stuck under the skin from the wound 3. A lump there unrelated to the wound (lipoma, tumor, etc.) 4. Scar tissue and non-infected inflammation secondary to the wound. 5. Other causes. From the image the little red bit is suggestive that there might be a component of infection/inflammation ongoing, but overall it doesn't appear very angry or inflamed. Ideally I would recommend having it seen, and your vet will likely put a needle into it to see if it is a ball of infection or something else. Otherwise, if it isn't bothering Chase you can monitor it for now, and if it is getting smaller/going away don't worry, but if it is growing or hasn't started to shrink in 5-7 days I would get it checked. Best of luck with Chase!

The rubbing collar can set up inflammation and an environment for bacterial or yeast infection. The itching can cause inflammation that could cause something like a bump. I would recommend that you have Chester examined by a vet to see what exactly is going on. The vet may recommend anti-inflammatories or antibiotics or topical medications depending on what is really going on. Until Chester sees the vet, the best thing you can do is to keep him from scratching, so he may need to wear sock or pet shoes or a shirt that covers the area.