My dog has a bump on her private area. Dogs are also prone to the presence of benign and malignant tumors. For this reason it is essential to learn to recognize what type of dough they have. The first are the ones that are found most frequently and can vary between sebaceous cysts, caused by a glandular secretion of the dog; lipomas, which are typical fatty bumps of middle age; warts, which although caused in young dogs by a viral infection, are not alarming; blood lumps known as bruises, product of an injury; abscesses that are generated around a wound and help fight infections; and papules that are the product of skin irritation that may be allergic.
As for the group of malignant tumors, there are those produced from mast cell cells, which although they can be controlled, can be cancerous. These are common in the skin, hind legs, chest and genital area.
Dr. Danielle explains what bumps and lumps on your dog could mean
9 types of bumps on dogs’ skin
The bumps we can find around the skin of our dogs are classified in two: benign and malignant. Fortunately, benign ones are the most frequent and easiest to treat and cure.
Especially, in the malignant, early diagnosis and proper treatment are crucial elements to achieve a higher percentage of healing and ensure the health and well-being of our dogs.
Then we explain what the nodules – benign or malignant – that can affect our dear hairy are.
“We must observe and palpate our dog
frequently, to detect in time
any abnormal lump in his body.”
1. Warts or papillomas
Warts are clusters of abnormal cells, in the form of cauliflower, generated by the papillomavirus. It is a pathology of a benign nature, which is usually detected in the skin and mouth of the dogs. It appears more frequently in elderly dogs or dogs that follow some immunosuppressive therapy.
Although, as a rule, they do not require treatment, their evolution should be medically controlled, since they can lead to painful or malignant forms
2. Sebaceous cysts
They arise as a result of the blockage of a sebaceous gland and can affect any breed of dog.
Like most fat lumps, sebaceous cysts are benign and usually heal on their own after eruption and encapsulation. But, if they persist or bother, they may require surgical removal.
3. Hematomas
The hematoma is an inflammation full of blood that appears in a particular area of the skin, after a sharp blow. In general, it should not alarm us much, as it tends to reabsorb and gradually disappear thanks to the lymphatic system.
What we should check is the cause-effect relationship, that is, that the hematoma has been caused by a bruise and not for other reasons.
4. Papules
The papules, or pustules, are habitual lesions of the skin, without pus or serosity, with relief, stable and smaller than a centimetre in diameter.
The origin of the papules may be allergic, but they can also arise from follicular infections or exposure to irritating or toxic substances. These lesions usually disappear without treatment, but can become infected and then require veterinary attention.
5. Lipomas
They are fatty, soft lumps, typically benign and located under the skin of dogs. They are typically detected in middle-aged dogs and do not require their removal unless they cause some discomfort to the dog.
After diagnosis, if the result points to the malignancy of the tumour, the veterinarian will surely recommend its removal, which is usually straightforward, when it is a small mass.
6. Abscesses or wound inflammations
The abscesses are bags filled with pus, which are often seen around the infected wounds. These lumps are generated when the immune system tries to control a skin infection, such as that arising after a poorly healed injury or the bite or bite of an insect.
Generally, the treatment is simple, and the lump remits with creams or ointments. Still, the visit to the veterinarian will always be necessary to control the extent of the infection and prescribe the most appropriate treatment or intervention.
7. Vaccine packages
If you have vaccinated your dog and notice a small and hard lump at the point of the puncture, you should not worry much, since it is common and usually disappears over time; sometimes it even takes a couple of weeks.
8. Mast cell tumours
The mast cells are cells spread throughout the body, and whose function is associated with inflammatory and allergic reactions, but sometimes some inexplicably, can become malignant.
These masses can appear in any area of the body of our dogs, although more frequently inside or under the skin. The places, commonly affected, are the trunk or limbs.
They may have an appearance of the firm or smooth bump, similar to that of other benign and malignant lumps. They can change the size and present various signs, such as redness, bruising, ulceration, swelling or hair loss.
They affect older dogs and certain breeds more frequently, such as the bulldog, Boston, boxer, labrador or golden retriever.
Since it is impossible to diagnose these lumps with the naked eye, the veterinarian must perform tests to confirm or rule out whether or not it is a mast cell tumour.
9. Malignant skin tumours
Among the lumps of the skin, most worrisome of our dogs, are breast tumour, hemangiosarcoma, fibrosarcoma and squamous cell carcinoma:
- Breast tumour: it is the most common cancer in female dogs that have not been sterilized; In these cases, early diagnosis is of vital importance, so when detecting any lump in the breast area of our dog, we must take it right away to the veterinarian.
- Hemangiosarcoma: its characteristic symptoms are strange red or black spots on the skin; it is a tumour that grows from blood cells, which explains its colour; Only if it is located in the outer layer of the skin and removed without affecting other internal areas, can a hopeful prognosis be established.
- Fibrosarcoma: This type of cancer is associated with fibrous connective tissue; it has a stable, subcutaneous, painless and poorly defined mass appearance; It is of low predisposition in dogs, and preferentially affects certain breeds, including the setter, Breton spaniel, Doberman or golden; its prognosis is reserved, depending on each particular case and the possibility of a clean excision as well as the effectiveness of other specific treatments; Due to its severity, early detection is essential.
- Squamous cell carcinoma: this epithelial neoplasm is considered of significant malignancy; The good news is that it doesn’t usually produce metastases; The alarm signals may be lumps or sores that take time to heal, especially around the head. Before any of these symptoms, we must urgently take our dog to the veterinarian’s office.
We will not get tired of repeating that, even the smallest of the anomalies or bumps we observe in the skin of our dogs is reason enough for the medical visit, which can mean something as high as the well-being and health of the preludes.
Refences:
This article is purely informative; at redargentina.com, we have no power to prescribe veterinary treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian in case he presents any condition or discomfort.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24720433
2. Weiss, R. A., Fassati, A., & Murgia, C. (2006).
https://retrovirology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-4690-3-S1-S92