My puppy has a soft, fluid-filled lump on his head. What should I do?

This may be a cyst or a tumor, or a pimple (little abscess). You should have it examined by your veterinarian as tumors should be removed ASAP, especially if they are of a black color. An abscess can usually be treated with antibiotics and/or be lanced, and a cyst can be evacuated. Your vet may want to do a fine needle aspirate (he takes some material from the bump with a needle and then looks at it under the microscope) to determine whether the mass is concerning. You can also watch it for a few days and see whether it goes away again. I don't think it is anything terribly worrisome.

It looks like a cyst possibly, i would recommend taking Tootsie to the vet in order to get it checked, the vet will take a small sample with the aid of a needle in order to confirm that this is indeed a cyst and not something else.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This appears to be a fluid filled cyst from the looks of it. These can come and go at times. Typically there is no concern with these other than the fact that they are unsightly for some pet owners. This is something that could be removed under sedation if you would like it removed.

No puppies don't get fatty lumps like this overnight, so it's more likely a cyst or an abscess on Franko. A cyst and an abscess are not serious, but I would still have it checked out by a vet before his next round of vaccines. The vet can do a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's 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.

Hi, It's impossible to truly know exactly what it is without doing a fine needle aspirate of it. Although it could just be acne or a sebaceous cyst or ingrown hair. I would not worry about it. Have your vet take another look at the next appointment and see what they say. Hope this helps!

Many times these types of cysts will resolve on their own. You can use a medicated shampoo like Dechra DermaBenSs Shampoo that will help flush the follicle. However, if it gets big enough, it can sometimes get infected and need treatment from a vet. Try to avoid squeezing these cysts as you can cause some more damage. Here is a helpful article on sebaceous cysts, which I think is what you may be seeing: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/08/16/sebaceous-cysts.aspx

First, great pictures and highlighting of the lump! This appears to be a fluid-filled lump. Usually puppies get these when they bang their head on something and then fluid accumulated under the skin. However, I do worry about congenital defects that could cause accumulation of CNS fluid under the skin. If Thor is otherwise acting and looking normal, then either way, it's not an emergency. If he is acting weird, then best to have a veterinarian check him out. If it was just a bump, then the swelling will start going down within a couple of days. If it continues to grow, then it would be concerning enough to make an appointment with a vet. An easy way to detect growth or shrinking is to draw around the edge to the swelling with a magic marker. It will look silly, but it's really easy to tell if the border of the swelling has moved. I hope this helps.