My dog's swollen, red skin tag is bothering her. Should I see a vet?

Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. I'd give Bella's vet a call to make her an appointment. Best of luck.

Ouch! I'd have that checked out by your vet in person, especially if it appeared suddenly or is bothersome to Bella. They can take a sample of the spot to rule out any more serious issues such as tumor growths, infections that need treatment, cysts, or see if it's something benign such as a skin tag or other small growth. Until you can get into your vet, it's a good idea to keep the area clean and dry, and monitor it for any signs of changes such as oozing debris, having irregular margins, worsening, etc, as these can all help your vet pinpoint the cause. An Elizabethan (cone) collar can also keep Bella from licking or chewing at it which can reduce irritation and prevent a secondary bacterial infection from taking hold.

Thank you for your question! Unfortunately we cannot diagnose a mass based on looks alone. We don't know if this mass got irritated and is inflammed/infected and grew because of this, or if it is growing in size due to the nature of the tumor. I would recommend making an appointment for Gotham's vet to look at the growth. In the meantime, if he is licking the area put an e-collar (the cone shaped collar) on him to prevent this which could introduce bacteria and irritation. You can put a topical antibiotic ointment onto the area until you are seen. The fact that it is growing quickly in size would make me personally recommend removing the growth, especially since he is bothering at it. Another option would be to do a cytology of the growth, where some cells are collected and looked at under the microscope to help identify the nature of the growth. Best of luck to you and Gotham.

That mass could be several things. Red raised hairless masses can be benign growths such as warts, histiocytomas, reactions or infected hair follicles. They can unfortunately also be malignant grows such as Mast Cell Tumor or Plasmacytoma. I would recommend to have it checked out by the vet who may be better able to tell how concerned you should be by palpating the mass and the surrounding lymphnodes. The good news is that the majority of masses are benign but it's always better to be safe. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

This looks like a like mass, skin tag, or possibly a nipple. You can try to give him some Benadryl to see if this controls the itch. See link below. You can also spray the area with Benadryl spray. If that doesn't help or if the mass is changing, I would have your vet take a look at it. Your vet will be able to aspirate it to make sure it is benign and also get him started on some meds to help him if needed. I hope this helps ! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/#

Hello, Smurf's skin tag may not be much to be worried about since it has been there for over a year. However it is not your typical skin mass in terms or color and appearance and some of those dark pigmented skin masses can be malignant. The only way to really know though is by removing it. I would consult with your veterinarian about removing the mass and submitting it for biopsy so that your can know for sure if it is benign or malignant. The mass is small so surgery shouldn't be too extensive, but they may require pre-surgical bloodwork and x-rays. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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.