My dog has a painful, infected growth on his leg. What should I do?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It looks like it could be a sebaceous cyst that got infected and ruptured. These are benign but sometimes they do keep opening and become bothersome to the pet until you surgically remove them. That being said, in a dog of this age, I always recommend seeing your vet for a closer inspection and a needle aspirate if needed- just to make sure it’s something benign. For now, I recommend an E-collar for Hank so that he can lick/chew at it. Then clean the wound with some hydrogen peroxide. Best wishes to you and Hank!

Hello, Unfortunately, the only remedy for this is to have it surgically removed . Otherwise it will continue to be infected and cause problems. The sooner it gets addressed, the better because the bigger it gets, the more difficult the surgery will be. Once it is removed, your veterinarian can send it off to determine if it was benign or malignant. Try to get an appointment with your veterinarian soon because it is likely already infected if it has a bad odor. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

I would consider having this removed and biopsied. My concern is it is already ulcerated and will most likely need either oral or topical medication but if you wait to remove it and it continues to grow it is going to be very difficult to remove. The reason for this is because there is not a lot of skin in that location so they may not be able to close it adequately. I would recommend at the time of removal to biopsy it to determine the true cause of that. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This looks like furunculosis which is a deep bacterial infection of the skin. It will not resolve without a long course of oral antibiotics. Now, that being said, this could be a primary issue or a secondary issue - I cannot tell you without examining her myself and doing some testing. You really need to take her to your vet for an exam as soon as you can. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Poor Baxter! This looks like quite a deep wound, and it appears to be infected. I can't say from looking what might have caused it - it's possible that this could be a skin growth of some kind that has become infected and burst open, or he may have injured himself somehow. Regardless, this is definitely something that needs to be seen by a veterinarian - using topical antibiotic ointment will not be enough to treat it effectively. Your veterinarian can prescribe oral antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds, and may also recommend taking a biopsy of the affected area or other testing if needed to help determine what's going on.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks like a small focus of infection. It could be due to allergies or even just secondary to minor trauma. You can try to shave around it and clean it. If it continues to look superficial (as it looks on the picture), you can consider applying a thin film of triple antibiotic on it in case it is just a mild infection. If it does not resolve within 1 week of starting such treatment, have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

Hello. This looks like a possible infected hair follicle of sebaceous gland infection. It is probably not dangerous, especially since your dog is still quite young. I would gently clean the area with something like Hibiclens ( available at all pharmacies ) & if it seems to be getting worse, bothering your dog, or begins to ooze, please see your vet as soon as possible. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.