My dog has a lump on her shoulder after playing. Is it dislocated?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Rufus. I would recommend that he sees his veterinarian for x-rays for the swollen area of the affected limb. Unfortunately bone cancer is a common cause of swelling in the shoulder area. Hopefully this is not the case and he just sustained a soft tissue injury, but you will need the x-rays to know. In the meantime, keep him quiet to allow that limb to rest and do not give any over-the-counter pain medication as these can be toxic to dogs. I hope this information helps.

If your dog has recently been vaccinated, this lump could be a vaccine granuloma and will go away on its own. However since the lump has grown quickly, you may want to have it healed out by your veterinarian. The vet can do a fine needle aspirate of the lump and look at the cells under a microscope and then may be able to determine what is causing the lump. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

These skin lumps can arise from a few different causes and they are usually not a big concern. The first thing I would check is if Juna has had any vaccines or injections lately. These are often give in the back near the shoulder blades and can sometimes swell a bit. They also sometimes get these from bites or other trauma. In these cases, the lump is just some fluid buildup under the skin. These usually start going down within a couple of weeks. Other causes can be from a blocked gland, fly warble, abscess or a tumor. You can safely wait a week or two to see if it goes away on its own. If it continues to grow of doesn't go down, then it's best to take her into the vet to get it checked out.

Hello. I am sorry about your concerns about Chewy. It is possible that this is just a significant bruise & possible hematoma under the skin ( & probably in the muscle ) that is just taking a long time to resolve. A simple seroma should have resolved by now, but if there was a large blood clot that formed from the trauma, that may take a bit longer to resolve. The other, but less likely possibility is that the joint capsule at the scapulohumeral junction ( where the upper leg bone connects to the shoulder ) has torn. This can result in the leakage of joint fluid into the surrounding tissues. This can be repaired surgically if necessary. Your veterinarian will probably recommend an x-ray & try to sample the fluid to see if it is blood tinged ( a seroma ), bloody ( a hematoma ), or clear & stringy ( joint fluid ). None of these is life-threatening, but if this is joint fluid, Chewy could wind up with some arthritis in the shoulder. So do not worry too much until you have a chance to have things looked at. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Since Hazel's shooting accident was so long ago, I wouldn't expect her current limp to be directly related to that injury. I suspect this is something new. It's difficult to say if the lump is the cause of her limping, but it's certainly possible. The lump could be related to an abscess (infection) secondary to a wound, or could be either a benign or malignant growth. It would be best to have Hazel seen by a veterinarian to determine the cause of her limp and the source of that lump on her shoulder. If it's an infection, she will need to go on antibiotics and the lump may need to be drained. If it's a cancerous growth, your vet can discuss the procedure and cost associated with having it removed. Regardless, this is not likely to be a problem that will resolve on its own so it's best to have Hazel seen by a vet. Hope this helps.

This lump requires ideally an immediate check up to determine its underlying nature. Given the treatment failure it is unlikely to be caused by an infection, and differentials would include skin cysts and benign or more malignant type of tumors. Your vet will probably take some samples from it to analyse the type of cells in it.

Without seeing the actual mass and palpating it, it is impossible to give you an exact diagnosis. Any mass this size is very concerning, as it could be a large tumor, a large hematoma or a cyst or an abscess. Seeing that Chloe is fairly heavy for her breed, this could also be a harmless fatty tumor (lipoma). It would be best to make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam. He can then look at the mass and determine whether it needs to be removed or can be drained.