What could this possibly be?

Question

We have a vet appointment for Thursday morning, but I know I'll just worry myself sick till then. I'm hoping someone else may know what this might be.

My 9 month old English Mastiff has developed 4 little bumps. One on his back, his right hind leg, left front shoulder, and right side. They are something akin to flea bites (as they would appear on human skin), but he doesn't have any fleas that we can see. No itching, no flea dust, no fleas in the flea comb, etc. My husband said he noticed the one bump on his hind leg a while ago, but thought it was just a bite, so ignored it. He is not on any medication.

Any ideas on what this might be would be most appreciated as It drives me nuts waiting for vet appointments.

Answer 1

In a pup as young as yours, I would not expect any type of fatty deposit and I also do not think these are hot spots because you would Know if they were (hot spots are large and moist - they can grow quickly and they stink!). It is very very difficult to say what these bumps might be without a photo or complete history, but they could be sebaceous cysts (some breeds and some dogs are prone to them), could be another type of bite, could be another unspecified form of dermatitis.



When you go to the vet, please ask for a skin scraping and a FNA. The skin scraping will give you a general idea of what's going on with the upper layers of the skin (ie: is there bacteria, is there a fungus, etc). A FNA is a Fine Needle Aspirate whereby the vet will draw out a very small sample of cells from the bumps and determine exactly what those bumps are.



Both the skin scraping and FNA are very common and simple procedures and they should give you enough information to figure out exactly what's going on.



I know you're worried, but honestly, I think your pup will be just fine. He's young, the bumps are small, your pup is in a growth phase and ALL kinds of weird things happen when puppies, especially large or giant breed puppies, go through a growth phase.



Good luck!

Answer 2

My dog got a few bumps on his back like that and he lost a bunch of his hair.. Turns out he's allergic to the filler they put in some dog foods. We switched his food to a brand that is basically ALL meat and his fur grew back and he only has like 2 of those bumps left.

So it could be an allergy like that, or it may be a skin irritation, or something else. But check where he sleeps, there may be something on it that has been bugging his skin.

Hope I helped.

Answer 3

It may be some kind of fatty deposit, or some kind of skin rash. Keep an eye on it and see if you notice any different in it in the next couple of days until you take him to the vet.

Answer 4

It could be a ton of things from other bug bites to little cysts or warts etc. Don't stress yourself out until you know. Your stress is actually hard on the dog who thinks something is wrong. I know that is easier said than done but you are doing the right thing and having it checked out by a professional. It will all work out.

Answer 5

My dog gets little red itchy bumps, she has allergies. My vet gave her some meds. It only happens in the summer months for my dog.

Answer 6

It doesn't sound like anything to serious so don't worry to much but keep the vet appointment to make sure!

Answer 7

I'd make a vet appointment, it could be an under-the-skin bug... worms, maybe.

Answer 8

could just be sists. they're growths like cancer, but they don't do anything except be really annoying. they just kinda chill.

Answer 9

it could be demodex or hot spots. have you changed his food recently?