abscess/blister/cyst question

[budgrrl]

in the last couple of days my dog has developed a blister-like bump on the back of her front leg...just above her heel pad.
it is soft and squishy to the touch - leading me to believe that it is filled with fluid of some sort (blood or puss).
it is blackish in colour - although, that is the colour of her skin on her legs.
it is about the size and texture of an over ripe grape.

my first thought was woodtick...but there is hair on it in places, so that is out.

i bathed her monday and it was not there, and noticed it on friday - at which time i made a vet apt, but that is for this thursday. i am curious if anyone has any ideas as to what it may be.

i recently got a kitten who is after the dog's legs constantly - perhaps he poked her and it is now infected? she also tripped going up the deck the other day - perhaps she banged it?

it is not causing her any pain - can touch it and squeeze her legs and surrounding areas and she does not flinch. she is still very active, eating, and going potty the same.

any thoughts??

i will attach a pic - the lump in question is the upper black spot, the other is her heel pad.

[kandy]

Well that grew very rapidly if it's that size in less than a week's time. I'm sure your vet can tell you what it is and will perhaps take fluid from it for testing. Dogs can get squishy callous type things that can get quite large, but they grow much slower than that. My collie mutt had a small fatty tumor develop on his side - at first we thought he had gotten a metal sliver imbedded in his skin (he ran into a bolt on a stabilizer jack on our camper) but the vet said that the fatty tumors can sometimes develop after an injury.

I hope your vet tells you that it's just a fatty tumor and no worries!

[budgrrl]

thanks for the input kandy!
i am terrified it might be a tumour of sorts. but i would also think that it wouldnt develop that fast, nor would it be so squishy, and i would also think that it would cause her some discomfort.
to me, it feels and looks like a blister. i will NOT pop it...but it is that kind of consitency that if i had something like this on my foot, i would pop it and expect fluid to come out.

i do have a vet apt in a few days...i am just trying to gather a few thoughts prior to going there.

again, thanks for your time and input! )

[kandy]

When our collie mutt developed his tumor, we thought it was a blister. We tried to pop it, thinking that he had a metal sliver in there that was abcessing. It developed to its full size in a very short time frame.

Is this growth fully attached to the leg, or only attached by a thin strip of skin?

[budgrrl]

it doesnt seem to be attached to bone or ligament or anything...aside from the skin itself - just like a blister would be.

your collie's tumour was a merely fatty tumour - not the c-word??

[kandy]

Yes, the tumor that Malone developed was just a benign fatty growth. If it wouldn't have been located right where his harness rubs, we wouldn't have even had it removed.

If the growth is only attached to the skin then I'll keep my fingers crossed that it is a similar growth to what Malone had.

I hope that your pup's growth is easily treated and no big deal!!

[budgrrl]

thanks for your warm wishes kandy!!
did malone's look at all like kiila's?
i think i will opt to have it removed regardless of the diagnosis...it is very soft and squishy - feeling like it could easily pop...even our w-a-l-k-s in the last few days i have been very careful to not go into too wooded of an area so she doesn't puncture it.

[budgrrl]

after researching a little more, it really does sound like it may be a hematoma. she DID wipe out while running at full speed up the deck steps the day prior to me discovering it.
while any boo-boo is not good...i am hoping this is what it is!
*fingers crossed*
it does appear to be shrinking somewhat, and getting much softer to the touch.

still very anxious to see what the vet says!!

[kandy]

Malone's lump was skin colored (peach), and looked very much like an abcess or a blister. From what I can see on your photo, it did not look the same as Kiila's, but that could just be the difference in color.

I'm glad it seems to be shrinking. Maybe it's just a blood blister from her pinching the skin when she crashed. I hope that all goes well with your vet visit tomorrow!

[budgrrl]

YAY!! the vet checked her out and said it looked like a cyst and was filled with clear fluid. they did a needle biopsy and just called with the results - all negative! ♥

it was funny, it was a new vet clinic and she guessed her age to be 3yrs...she is 10.5yrs! even then she questioned me as to how long i had her as she was certain she was not THAT old...when i told her i had her since she was 8wks old, she still had a hard time believing it!

[hazelrunpack]

Excellent results!! I always hate the wait between tests and results. So what do they suggest you do to get rid of it, or should it just heal on its own?

Your girl has obviously had excellent care to have fooled the vet with her girlish looks.

[budgrrl]

thanks hazel!
yes, she is spoiled rotten! she gets better food and more exercise than momma! haha! ♥

the vet suggested just leaving it be. she said that IF it grows more, or if it starts to bother her, then it would have to be removed. but since she seems no worse off from it, it can just be considered a 'beauty mark' of sorts
she also said that since there is not a great deal of excess skin in that area, if it were removed, to close the gap, it might be quite tight - thereby making it uncomfortable for her, and also would be prone to ripping open and thus causing more problems.
i did ask about draining it, as it is just filled with clear fluid, and she said that if it were lanced or drained, it may lead to infection - that did seem a little odd to me...but i suppose it makes sense?

but i am soooo glad she is fine! as soon as i think "lump", i think the dreaded c-word! now momma can actually sleep at night and commence wearing mascara!