What's this growth on my 9-month-old Labrador's skin? Is it serious?

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! It is difficult to say what the growth you are seeing is since there are no pictures. Seeing that Carl is quite a young dog, I would suspect what you are seeing is benign. Many times in dogs this young when we see a mass it is likely a papilloma secondary to exposure to the papilloma virus or a histiocytoma. Both of these typically resolve on their own and will occasionally need surgical intervention for removal. If the mass is not going away on its own or is multiplying in number, I would have this examined by a veterinarian and have further testing performed to help further determine what this could be so that the most appropriate treatment can be recommended. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! I am also available via consultation if needed.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. Even young dogs can develop growths. This can be a viral wart or another tumor type like a mast cell tumor, histiocytoma, among many others. 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 night!

The way to know if this is a problem or not is to have your vet do a fine needle aspirate and cytology, which takes cells from the growth to identify under a microscope. This way you can get a diagnosis and come up with a treatment plan. If it is cancerous, it will likely need to be removed surgically.

Pictures can be deceiving but it appears to be a circular, raised mass with a slight broken surface. In young pups a benign growth known as a histiocytoma can develop which resolve over time. All lumps should be checked physically by your vet to rule out other possible options such as infections , abscess or tumour

There appears to be some staining which may indicate chronic licking. The "lump" could be a lick granuloma caused by the chronic licking. That may be due to itching, discomfort, stress or boredom. You would need to have Luna physically examined by your veterinarian for a definitive diagnosis. A fine needle aspirate can be done in the clinic to collect samples for pathology if it is a lump and not a granuloma. This may provide a diagnosis.

If it recently got bigger than you should have a vet take a look at the lump to determine the cause. She could have an infection, cyst, or a mass and your vet can do a needle aspirate to help diagnose and then determine if any treatment is needed.

This could be a seroma from an injury, a cyst, abscess or a tumor. Cysts and abscesses need to be drained by a vet. If your vet suspects a tumor, he will do a fine needle aspirate to determine whether it is a harmless lipoma, which does not need to be removed unless it is ulcerating or bothers the dog due to its location or size, or another tumor that needs to be removed. Please make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam of the mass.