My Golden Retriever has a new growth on her neck. What could it be?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing what it is just based on its appearance. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good night!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Biff. Skin growths/masses typically fall into a few categories. Raised growths can be tumors (benign or malignant), granulomas (a collection of inflammatory cells), and some assorted epidermal growths. If this lesion persists, enlarges, changes in any way other than shrinking, I would have your veterinarian evaluate Biff. They can get a history and do an examination of the area in question. They may advise some diagnostics (fine needle aspirate, biopsy) to determine what it is or may just advise removing it (excising it) and submitting the growth to a pathologist so they can determine what it is. Some skin growths shrink and resolve over time so if it persists, enlarges, starts to bleed, looks different, again I would have your vet check it out right away. From a clinical standpoint, it looks like a benign growth but I have learned over the years that you never know until you do some diagnostics. Good luck with Biff and I hope this resolves without incidence.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It's hard to make out where the white object attaches to her skin. Dog and cats can form keratinized horny growths on their skin. I recommend making an appointment with your Vet to have it removed. If it is small enough maybe they can remove it with a local block. I hope this helps and I wish you the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing what it is just based on its appearance. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good night!

Hello there, You're absolutely doing the right thing by Finn for getting the mass biopsied, and it sounds like your vet's plan is perfect. Judging from the picture, there are two main types of masses that can appear similar to this in a young dog. One is called a histiocytoma, which is a benign growth of allergic type cells. These generally do not return after surgical removal and require no further treatment. The other type is called a mast cell tumor. This is a type of cancer that's severity heavily depends on the staging. If the mass is a mast cell tumor, the biopsy will give you staging information that can help determine the severity. In the event it is cancer, it may require extensive follow up and treatment. Both of these types of masses are easily irritable, so the bloodiness during grooming doesn't alarm me either way. I will keep my fingers crossed for young Finn to have a benign result during his test this week! I hope this has been helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing what it is just based on its appearance. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. This is unlikely to be an emergency so it is ok to go to the veterinarian on Saturday unless something changes with him at home and she does not appear to be doing well at some point. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good night!

It looks like Pia has a growth on her belly, and it could simply be a benign growth. I would have her seen by a vet for it. Any suspicious growths should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the growth to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. The vet can diagnose what is causing the growth and if it needs to be removed or not.