Dog has head lump after injury, steroids failed. Could it be a tumor?

Hi there. It could be a tumor-but it could also be an abscess, a lymph node, etc. if you could upload a picture it would be very helpful to let us see exactly where the lump is located and the size of it. We can help more from there!

Hi, and thanks for your question. Although a picture of it would help to determine the underlying cause more specifically, generally speaking this kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, an enlarged lymph node, infections, benign or more sinister type of tumors. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I would guess she's being exposed to something that is still causing an allergic reactions. Unfortunately, this could be anything from food to fabric softener. Before changing everything, I would recommend to take her back into her vet and likely put her back on steroids and for a longer course. Sometimes the immune system can be stubborn to calm down. Take a photographs of your old food ingredients as well as your new food ingredients for comparison. I would recommend ruling out diet issues first if the allergic reaction comes back for a 3rd time. I hope this helps!

If he received injections at that time, this may be a reaction to the site of the injection, most of which resolve after approximately 6weeks. If there is any pain or heat in the area or if it continues to increase in size you should have it assessed by your vet to rule out growths or abscesses/infection

They will feel what the mass is attached to and see about aspirating some cells for a cytology. This can give them an idea of what the cause is. If the cells are inflammatory or infection, then they may try antibiotics to shrink it. If they see tumor cells, they may recommend surgery to remove it

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. The lump could be from a recent vaccination or it could be some type of tumor. If he was vaccinated recently, I would monitor the mass to see if it goes away on its own. Shadow could be dealing with an allergy or the licking could be due to pain as well. If the licking persists despite a steroid injection, I would recommend having an Cray taken of the back end to make sure there are no obvious bone changes that may be causing this. If there are not, then I would recommend starting a shampoo such as Douxo PS calm shampoo and bathe twice weekly. I would also recommend using welactin omega 3 fish oil and essential 6 spot on by dermoscent to help with a potential allergy. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Based on previous diagnostics I would proceed with a biopsy ( a larger sample) as well as a culture and sensitivity. If there is growth on the sample, I would proceed with a longer duration of antibiotics as indicated. It may be worthwhile in the interim to start a low dose of steroids to reduce any inflammatory/allergic response, but I would only start after collecting a good biopsy and culture. This could be an infection, but it is also possible that it is a type of neoplasia like lymphoma or mast cell and a larger sample is likely needed to determine.