The pictures make my stomach turn a bit, so they might turn yours too.
This thing is on her front paw and has been for a few weeks. We first noticed it a couple of weeks ago after a walk because she was bleeding. It just looked like a cut, there wasn’t really anything there, so we left it to heal on its own.
Today I had her out for a walk and threw the ball. She went after it, skidded a bit, then did the whine and sat down with her paw up. I look, there is blood, and this THING. It’s not a pad, she doesn’t have anything similar on the other paw. I cleaned it up a bit tonight and moving it around doesn’t seem to bother her, but trying to pull on it does (thinking it’s something that might come out easily).
Any ideas? It doesn’t bother her otherwise and she seems otherwise healthy.
Take dog to vet so they can look at it, poke it, maybe remove it. From what you’ve said, it’s growing up fast… Could be an infection (something lodged there, ruptured hair, some other dermatitis), or it could be some sort of tumor (benign or malignant). Although you should remember it could be something very bad, please take into account that animals get many lumps and bumps, and most of them are not malignant (and even those that are malignant may have relatively good prognosis).
The vet may know more about your dog’s age, history, breed (you’ve given us none), poke it, and maybe find out what it is. Considering it is growing fast, I would strongly consider taking her in. If it is an infection, the dog will benefit from some drugs… If it is some sort of tumor (wart, cyst, cancerous tumor, etc.), the faster dealt with it the better.
Ah… Then that may lean me more towards “old dog tumors” (but don’t tell her I said ‘old dog’). Still, it looks as if it could be infected, either as a primary or secondary cause.
Because of my job/training, I get to see skin lumps and bumps from dogs with some frequency. Without poking/slicing them and looking at a slide under a microscope, it is a bit hard for me to say what it is, as many inflammatory things may look like a tumor and viceversa.
And again, even though it may look “Eeew”, that doesn’t mean the diagnosis will be bad. And also, whether infection or neoplasia, a minor surgery to remove it from the paw may be needed (that way you also get the whole thing out and can submit it to a specialist for diagnosis).
Even if nothing is done about it, even if it is a benign tumor that will stop growing and remain there forever doing nothing, it is a good idea to take it to the vet. At the very least, he/she can get a better idea of what it is and have a baseline.
Even if it is a papilloma, it seems to be infected or be prone to injury (remember, Em has seen this area bleed twice). Simple uncomplicated papillomas do not necessarily bleed (unless they get traumatized).
As you can see, two people have given you different answers, based on the pictures.
My bet is on “benign, but get it checked out in case it is not/get it removed so as to stop injury/treat any infection”. As to what flavor of “benign”… Will it really matter, as long as your sweet dog is alright?
Well, the vet didn’t say what it was but she wants to remove the ‘growth’ for biopsy. We have to consider our options right now as just that procedure will cost us $1100. We have pet insurance on her but they are great at denying claims (the recently denied our claim for kennel cough that turned into bronchitis). The vet is calling insurance to try and settle the old claim and see if they will cover this one.
I’m sure they won’t cover this, so we have to try and find somewhere cheaper. We can’t afford $1100 right now, we’ve already had too many big expenses this year.
That’s an absurd price for removing a tiny little thing like that. I suggest you call up your local humane society and see what they would charge. We got our dogs spayed there and it cost us far, far less than a private practice.
Good point, I hadn’t thought of that. A biopsy is not strictly necessary though. FWIG, the animal doesn’t have any other growths and is otherwise healthy. I know plenty of dogs that had warts or growths removed and the vet took a wait and see approach before performing a lot of expensive tests.
