please please help me - my dog has a large fluidy lump underneath her chest just behind her front left leg. it fits neatly into my hand when i cup it and was notr there about an hour ago. she is not in pain with it. Rosie has been to and from vets over last two months with a skin infection , gash to her leg ( which looked to me as if her skin had just split ) and last week her nail just seemed to fall off leaving the quick exposed. Im worried that there could be something more serious going on - please does anyone have any advice / ideas what the lump could be ? sorry for typing errors it just im a bit flustered. thanks for any help in advance!!

Number one, Lumps which come up that fast are rarely that serious. So saying, there is obviously a reason. The main danger is usually if it presses on something important such as throat, where it could affect breathing.

Is there any wound? Thinking of a stick stabbing her? (I've seen it where the wound was nearly invisible) Another possibility is a bee or wasp sting? This would come up quickly and of course could bring on an allergic reaction.

If you have any doubts then you really do need to contact your vet immediately, to leave it until tomorrow is a judgment call which only you can make.

Regards, John

Hi Sugar - When my pup was about 15 weeks we noticed a large fluid filled lump on her bum (she is an afghan and has a rather protrusive 'pin bone' in that area and the lump was over that.  I could put my hand around it, although it didn't seem to bother her.  Turned out to be a haematoma or harmless bruise!  Probably caused by lying on our hard kitchen floor (so vet reckoned) eventually it did dissapear but it was rather large and unsightly and a bit worrying at the time.  Does your dog throw herself down or wear a harness - sometimes these things can cause a reaction, or as John say's maybe an insect bite etc.  Get her checked out by the vet anyway...Its no good me saying dont panic, because their our baby's and we do worry :)
Let us know how you and your dog get on.
Sarah

Thanks John And Rozzer - took Rosie to vet first thing the following morning and although the vet wasnt completely sure what caused the lump did say it could be from a bite , or , from a bang which like Rozzer's dog resulted in a bruise! Gave Rosie an injection and 4 days worth of tabs. Lump had almost gone by the next day and now there is no sign of it at all. Hopefully there wont be anything else wrong for quite a while!! Thanks again for replying.
     Kate

Nice one Kate - thats good news :)
Sarah