Last month we found a minor lump growing on our dogs paw. The lump was quite small and therefore we didn't pay much notice to it. A couple of months later we saw that the bump was larger and therefore went to see the vet. When we saw the vet she said it didn't look like anything nasty but we needed to have it removed due to its location being between her toes. Since there is little skin here, when they remove a lump sometimes there isn't enough skin to stitch back together. The vet said that if we had left it longer it could have been a problem due to the size. In case you are wondering how big the lump was is was a bout the size of a small pea which isn't that big.
So in she went the next day - as usual very excited and happy until we had to go and leave her. The vet phoned us later that day to say the operation had gone well and she had been surprised at how large the lump was underneath the skin. She described it as being like a snowman! The head above the skin and the body underneath the skin. Fortunately she had been able to remove the whole of the lump which was enclosed inside a sac. They sent it off to the laboratory to be analysed just to be sure it wasn't anything awful.
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Only a short while later the vet called again to say that our dog was awake but missing us and crying so could we come and get her. I could even hear her on the other end of the phone. She was very sleepy when we got her but instead of going to sleep she was so desperate for food that she would not allow herself to sleep! It was hard to watch because she was really hungry but we couldn't give her anything to eat until later on in the evening.
The results took a few days and came back okay but what they found was that the sac contained millions of really nasty skin bacteria and if it had popped or burst at any stage our dog would have ended up with a very serious skin infection. I'm so glad that the sac hadn't burst.
So my advice is this. If you find a lump or wart on your dogs paw even if very small;
* feel it and if it is soft and slightly squishy it is probably nothing serious but visit your vet anyway
* don't let any lump on the paw grow bigger than a small pea - if it needs to be removed it could be difficult to stitch the skin back
* regularly check your dogs paws for lumps in between the toes as you might not notice it until it is already a fair size - the lump could be larger beneath the skin
* if it bursts get to the vet as soon as possible it could contain nasty bacteria - make sure you wash your own hands thoroughly and disinfect anywhere that has been in contact with the bacteria
Apparently dogs can often get these types of lumps but once they have had one they are no more likely to get them again as any other dog which is good news.
