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Good Size Lump

2K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  jafo220 
#1 ·
I was checking Cruz out today and found a pretty good size lump right above the right shoulder blade. It feels kind of elongated but still round a little over the size of a golf ball. It feels kind of fluid and soft. It's definitely not hard. It seems to have come up rather quickly. You can see it raising the hair in that spot. It wasn't noticed last night when my daughter was petting him.

He hasn't had any recent vaccinations or bug bites in that area. It doesn't seem to cause him any pain. He does like to jump off the deck stairs and does some running around the backyard playing with his new ball. He has not shown a limp or farvoring that leg. I've messed with it a bit and he doesn't seem to shy away like if he doesn't want it messed with.

Should we just keep an eye on it and see if it swells bigger or goes down? I'm right in the middle of a local move and timing is bad.

Lumps scare me. Cruz is around a year and a half now. Appetite is good, gets plenty of water and has numerous blood test at checkups. He is well taken care of.

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#2 ·
When Zoey was around 2, she developed a lump like this up high on her rib cage. Turned out it was a boil/cyst and the vet lanced it, that was it, like a big nasty zit, lol! Only guessing of course, but hers came on fairly quick too if I remember correctly.
 
#5 ·
Rocky gets fatty cysts pretty regularly. At first we were doing aspiration and cytology to rule out cancer, but then we realized they were just a thing he gets sometimes and when he gets them I keep an eye on them. They feel like big, soft lumps that aren't attached to anything.
 
#6 ·
We just took him in and he was running a 104 deg. fever. That makes the vet think that it may be an abscess due to either a possible spider bite maybe or getting poked by something. We are with him 100% of the time when he is out of the cage. So we could rule out being poked by something. There is a possibility that a thorn got him but not sure. I'm looking at a insect bite of some kind. Spiders are bad this year around here.

We left him at the vet and they are going to open up the area to see what it is exactly. It was a little rough because they had us bring him into the surgical area and we held him as they put him under. It was the same table they used to put Rocky our last GSD down on. It had almost the same feel. My wife was sobbing and crying as we left. It was a little rough on her. We'll know something this afternoon. He should be home tonight if all goes well.

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#7 ·
We got him back a few minutes ago. He seemed pretty upbeat and wanting the heck out of there. Can't blame him really. He has a 6 or 7 inch incision atop his shoulder and a long drain tube in there. Not draining much right now thank goodness as long as he leaves it alone. Got a tube sock on that rear foot too. He'll be going stir crazy for the next couple of days, vet wants little to no extreme physical activity.

Vet says it was and abscess and not sure exactly from what. Aiming towards a bite of some kind due to it coming on so quickly. He said it wasn't attached to any other tissue and came right out with little trouble. So he's ruling out anything like cancer also.

Now it's recovery time. On vacation this week so, so much for a vacation. I have to look at it like glad I had the vacation time and at least I can be here with him to recover.
 
#9 ·
Poor boy! I'm glad he's okay! What are you doing for care for the area? (I see people patients with sebaceous cysts/abscesses that need draining a lot) is he on antibiotics?
Yeh he's on antibiotics now. We are not doing a lot for the area. We're leaving it alone for now. The area is draining very little and there is not much residue. I cleaned and disinfected his cage before bringing him home yesterday. We keep him in a clean environment also as well as keeping a close eye on the area. We have a new tarp and clean old bed sheet we put on the front room floor for him so he can be out with us. That way he's not in the kennel all the time. The tarp is just in case he does drip a little. We put a clean tube sock on his rear foot and leg in case he wants to try and scratch. That's about the only time anything comes out of the tube. We try to keep him from messing with it as much as possible. He's done good so far but the tube seems to bother him understandably.

You have any suggestions if we need to clean the area around the tube or incision?The vet did an excellent job, very clean work. We go back Thursday to get the drain tube out.
 
#13 ·
Ha ha! I never figured this dog for liking to wear shirts but I think he actually likes it! The sock not so much.:laugh:

He is wanting out to run and walk sooooooo bad. He is going stir crazy but I think there is just enough pain left it keeps him from trying to bounce or run. I don't like for him to be in pain but if it keep him corralled until that last tube whole seals up, he's better for it. The lower tube hole still pops open a little and seeps but it's getting better.
 
#15 ·
I wish it could have been something less serious. We're still trying to get that opening at the bottom to seal off. It still drips once in a while. But the shirt helps protect and contain it.

I just wish I could figure out exactly what caused it.
 
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