Published on: November 10, 2021 • By: mdg · In Forum: Dogs
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Author
Topic
mdg
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November 10, 2021 at 11:34am
Hello! I've noticed this little (9o mm) growth on my 9 month mini schnauzer's chest. It doesn't seem to bother her, but it seems to me, that it got a tiny bit more pink and big over the last 2 weeks.
The thing is, we are now abroad. We'll be able to go to our vet's office in about a month. Do you think I should try to find a vet dermatologist now here or can it wait for 5 weeks? Have you seen something similar? Thank you in advance!
Hello! This sort of thing came up a lot during the darker days of Covid and I'm afraid that the answer is a circular argument. A lot of the time, a small round mole-like-thing will be fine to be left for a few weeks (small pimple, insect bite, follicular cyst etc). This lesion may be a large infected hair follicle for example (a single hair looks as if it might be growing out of it on the picture, in the opposite direction to the others). The circular argument lies in the fact that no-one can guarantee the identity of a lump without sampling it, and
Hello! There is a circular argument here. You want to know the identity of the lump to see whether it's worth getting it sampled right away, but the only way to truely know the identity of the lump is to sample it. The lump looks as though it may be likely to be inflammatory / an inflamed follicle, but of course sometimes tumours can present like that, so I can't tell you safely either way. I think that all you can do is your best. You can ask a local vet to see the lump for you, or you can call your vet up and ask them to triage it at a distance - they might at least book you an appointment for the day after you get home (what is their waiting time like at the moment?) Admittedly there is no perfect answer here. Questions like 'I know you can't tell me that this is definitely going to be ok; is it a risk you'd be willing to take in my shoes' may be helpful.