My dog has a sunken spot under his rib. Is it serious without pain?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Precious. Definitely ask her veterinarian about it tomorrow. If it feels firm like bone, you could be feeling the edge of a rib or her sternum. I have had patients with abnormally shaped ribs where you can feel a protrusion on one side, but not the other. She could also have a mass under her skin. In this case, her veterinarian will want to test it prior to her dental. If it is potentially cancerous, it could be removed at the same time. I hope this information helps!

This could be a bruise from and injury, a cyst, an insect bite or an abscess. As long as it's not painful, red or getting bigger then I would just keep an eye on it. I expect it will get smaller daily and should be gone in a few days to a week. If it doesn't get smaller or changes then a veterinary exam is recommended. With your description this is nothing I would be concerned about. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Merlin.

If the temporal and parietal muscles has been like that since you had him then I would not be worried about it as it may be due to congenital conformation. If otherwise you noticed a deterioration in the last month or so, then a check up would be ideal as lack of innervation (trigeminal nerve inflammation, or miositis of the masticatory muscles may be present).

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. If there was a traumatic injury that caused a pocket to form under the skin, this would create a dead space. Consequently when there is dead space under skin the body will try to fill this dead space in and fluid will accumulate in the pocket as a result. This is what we call a seroma. Many times after a single drainage by the vet this usually resolves. Sometimes the seroma needs to be drained multiple times. Seromas do not harm the animal in any way. Sometimes applying cold packing and warm packs to the area will help reduce inflammation and help the seroma resolve. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns you may have I am also available via consultation if needed

Yes, that looks like it could be from old fractures. If it is not bothering him I don't think I would be overly worried. If you do think it is bothering him or you are worried about it in general, x-rays would give you a definite answer so you may want to consider having that done. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

I’m sorry to hear about Pete! Unfortunately, I can’t help a whole lot without feeling the lump myself. This could be anything from a benign dermal cyst to bone cancer of the rib. I will say that any 12 year old dog who isn’t eating normally should see the vet sooner rather than later. I always worry for organ dysfunction (liver/kidney/heart disease) and of course cancer. Do yourself a favor and take Pete in for a physical exam to help decide if the lump is important and what else may be going on. Depending of what your vet finds on the physical exam, he or she may recommend bloodwork and/or cytology (poking the mass with a slim needle and looking at the cells under the microscope) to determine if it needs to be removed or just monitored. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Pete!

Hello and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is a bit hard to see this lesion but from the photo, it looks like there is a dark center. If this is true, it usually indicates tissue necrosis. This could be from a poisonous spider bite, an infected tick bite, a burn, an underlying abscess or a foreign object trapped under the skin. I do recommend to make an appointment for River in the next day or two for an exam. In the mean time, protect the lesion from trauma. Keep it clean and dry. Keep her indoors and laying on soft/clean surfaces. If River can lick at it, have her wear an elizabethan collar. If she can scratch it, have her wear a loose fitting doggie t-shirt. You can also by nail caps for the hind nails to dull the nails. I hope this helps and that she heals up quickly. Sincerely, Dr. Elizabeth