Lump on Muffin's face

[sirrahved]

There is a small, hard lump on one side of Muffin's face, just above her mouth:

Any ideas about what this could be?

She also has a spot that she's been digging at on her tummy:

How should I treat this?

I know also that she has a cold (kennel cough?) she's been sneezing and her eyes are runny. The vet wouldn't believe that she was sick because she doesn't have a fever

Thanks for the input!

[heinz57_79]

Ugh... Kennel cough isn't fun... There's not much you can do 'besides wait it out, then get her vaccinated! As for the hot spot on her tummy, you can find soothing lotions and such OTC at pet stores, or you can get stuff from your vet that will heal and taste like crap so she won't keep chewing. If she's scratching, you may need to wrap it up.

The lump may or may not be anything major. The best thing to do is to get a vet to take a look and do a biopsy. It may just be a simple growth that is easily removed, or it could be malignant. Either way, a vet is the best way to go.

[heinz57_79]

Oh, I mean to mention, with the icky eyes and such, you can take a hot wash cloth and clean the area a couple times a day. Dogs have a higher body temp than we do so you can have the water almost scalding and it won't hurt her. You can clean her nose and stuff the same way.

You also might want to get any other animals (if you have any) vaccinated against kennel cough, since it's very contagious.

[lizzielou742]

My dog Dixie kept getting those in the summertime. Turned out there was a bees' nest in our backyard she kept messing with when she was let outside!! The stings caused her to swell up!! But her lumps were never really hard. I'd definitely take her to the vet if you can. Good Luck and keep us posted! I am sure she'll be fine.

[sirrahved]

She went to the vet yesterday, and has an appointment for two weeks from yesterday. The vet wasn't very patient with us He's usually really good, but the past few times we've had the son... he is nicer
she had some bites on her ears and such from other dogs.

The lump will move around... almost like a foreign body! Very bizarre.

She's also not eating much... just a couple of hot dogs... won't eat anything else. I'm going to mix up something for her, hoping she will eat.

Do you think I should make another appointment for that lump, or is two weeks soon enough? I just don't know... *sighs*

[heinz57_79]

the lump MOVES??? How odd... If she's losing her appetite, try and see if you can mix up something special and see if she'll eat. Give it a day or so, if she still won't eat I'd step up the vet appointment ASAP. Hopefully, it's nothing major and she's just feeling under the weather cuz of her cold, but better to be sure.

Keep us updated!

[sirrahved]

Maybe I should clarify: the lump doesn't move on it's own, just when you feel it, you can move it around! (no little critters living inside her!)

She was vaccinated at the shelter on 6/22 for kennel cough. Obviously that wasn't soon enough!

I mixed up cheese, turkey, a hot dog, water, and her dog food. She ate some of it, but no dog food *sighs again* she hasn't even touched Marsha's food... and every dog I know eats cat food every chance they get! I'm wondering if I should get some wet food, but I'm worried she'll think she has to have it all of the time. We might call the shelter to see what she ate there... maybe she doesn't like the brand??? It would be so much easier if dogs could talk!

She was just spayed Monday afternoon, this could be part of it, too.

Can Marshmallow catch kennel cough?

Thank you, everyone for your help!

[catnapper]

Is the lump squishy or hard? Squishy, as in feels like a gumdrop. Nicki has squishy feeling lums that you can move too... they vet said that they are fatty tumors and its "good" if you can move them, if they were "attached" to something like muscle or bone, then we should worry. She's got those lumps all over...



She was quite upset that I was trying to photograph her arm, so she said WOOF WOOF WOOF


Can you see the lump? Its actually pretty big - about the size of a golf ball. Vet said not to worry until she start to limp because the only harm to come from this type of lump is that it gets too big and starts to affect her mobility, as you can see its right under a joint. I'd still go to the vet and have them confirm that its a fatty tumor (they're benign by the way)

[Glacier]

Originally posted by sirrahved

She was vaccinated at the shelter on 6/22 for kennel cough. Obviously that wasn't soon enough!

Can Marshmallow catch kennel cough?

The vaccine for kennel cough is not terribly effective, even if given regularly. Kennel cough, like the human cold, has hundreds of variations and the vaccine can't catch them all. I had it go through my pack in March of this year--imagine 18 dogs hacking at the same time. It was fun!

Marshmellow is a cat right? Cats can not get kennel cough.

The spot on her belly looks like the ones my Sleet gets when her allergies flare up. Allergies could also explain the sneezing and running eyes. Kennel cough has very distinct symptoms--she would be coughing alot and bringing up a white-yellow foamy bile when she coughs.

If she has kennel cough, that's why she's not eating! It depressed their energy and appetite. Be careful with trying to get her to eat. An otherwise healthy dog will not starve itself! If you keep giving her treats, she'll continue to not eat her food. You'll end up with a spoiled dog on your hands who never eats properly!! Being spayed might be affecting her too. Some dogs take longer to recover than others. If she had kennel cough when she was spayed, her recovery will take longer. The spay probably should have waited until the kennel cough was gone, but some dogs don't show the symptoms for awhile.

I have a dog who is a fussy eater. What I do is give him his bowl, wait 20 minutes and take it away. If he hasn't eaten I'll offer it again in a couple hours. if he still doesn't eat, he has to wait til the next regular meal time. He's been fussy since he was a puppy and on average eats once every three days. His weight is perfect, he's got tons of energy and is very healthy. Dogs are better at regulating themselves than humans are! They don't eat because they are bored, sad, stressed ect. They only eat because they are hungry. I'd be 10 pounds lighter if I could do that!!

Good luck and have fun with her!

[BCBlondie]

Glacier gave some very good information.

My dogs also had kennel cough about two years ago. Sesh got it first and he'd throw up white mucus stuff. He'd also be coughing a lot. My dogs never got runny eyes though. The kennel cough should be gone in about a week or two.

The spot on her tummy could be a hot spot... usually caused by allergies. Does she have fleas? Sesh gets hotspots if he gets fleas. Like Glacier said, runny eyes are also symptoms of allergies.

[tatsxxx11]

Awww, Muffin's a sweetheart! My best advice would be take her in for a check up to get all of your concerns addressed