My bitch has had a lump come up on her back which looks, for all intents and purposes, like a boil?  I hae been bathing it in salt water and putting on magnesuim sulphate paste.  It wasnt bothering her until a couple of days ago when she started licking and trying to bite it?  Went to vets yesterday who has put her on a weeks course of AB's and said to carry on bathing it.  It isnt bleeding or weeping, no discharge at all, but it does look inflamed and red.  She said if is hasnt gone in a week they will take a LARGE area around the lump away and send it for analysis.  A non malignant tumour was mentioned and also mast cell tumour? 

Has anyone else seen anything like it?

Lynn

PS, this has come up since having a litter 11 weeks ago, could it be a hormonal thing?

Obviously have not seen your dog, but if it is any help my lab had mass cell tumor and the lumps were not red or inflamed anywhere, they were just raised lumps.  So am thinking it probably is not this, although your vet would be able to tell with a simple needle aspiration (sp)

My vet said that the fine needle aspiration (sp) is no good at telling if it is the mast cell tumours and that they need to take a large amount away, that worries me.

I am hoping that the AB's work and that the lump goes down.   I am bathing in salt water several times a day too. so fingers crossed.

Lynn

Could just be some sort of a cyst Lynn. Lumps coming up fast is often a good sign. The slower growing ones are often the worst.

Hope it goes well for you.

Regards, John

Thanks john, I hope it is some sort of cyst..  You know whats its like... you just cant help but worry.  Thanks for the support.

Lynn

I understand exactly Lynn, we've all been there before. But our dogs bring us so much pleasure that we would still go there again.

Best wishes, John

Hi,
My when my dog had mass cell tumor my own vet (now not mine) kept telling me it was a pressure point and not to worry, unfortunatley I believed him until my second dog developed a different cancer, then insisted on referral to cancer vet, she was amazing, but she also tested the lump on the first dog with needle asperation sent the cells off and sure enought it was mass cell tumor, so it can be diagnosed with needle asperation, so cannot understand this at all.

Well the AB's dont seem to have worked....  so it is back to the vets.  Although I am sure the lump itself has gone down.  The surface of it still looks nasty.  It seems to have flattened out and it looks more like  a scab on the surface now..... so strange?

I will let you know... thanks for the replies

Lynn

HI - could be a hystycytoma ( sp)  My dog had one removed  a while ago and a friends dog also had one at the same time ! apparently they are quite common in large breed dogs ( so my vet said anyway - I don't know ) and most of the time they are fine -My lad had one taken off his leg and the lab report came back fine . It sounds similar in the way you describe it , just a large flat lump , no obvious 'Head' to it
Let us know how you get on

Hi Catweazle,

Well the lump itself has gone down and it now looks like a ptch of shiny bald skin.  She wont stop licking it and neither will her step sister!  I have been putting teatree cream on it, they hate the smell and it seems to be helping.  I will give it a few more days and see what happens.

Thanks for the help :)

Lynn

It does sound very like a histiocytoma (sp?). They tend to go up and down, and when rubbed get enlarged and red (because of the histamines contained in them I've heard?). Glad to hear she's doing better - have you thought about bobbing a t-shirt on her to help with the licking?

Kathy
xx

Hi only just read this. Glad to hear its all going down though.
Nutkin