New bump on his back

Hi all, I'm new to this forum. My 2.5 year old male lab just started showing a decent sized bump on his back, right above his right thigh. I noticed it last Friday. Since then, it has gone down a bit, but it's still noticable. I can't figure out how he got it. His sister (1.5 year old collie mix) plays rough with him, but we've never seen any scars or bumps. Could he have just knocked into a door or something? How long do accidental bumps last? Since it's been almost 4 days, I'm starting to get worried. He hasn't complained or started limping or anything... in fact, even when I run my hands over it, he doesn't flinch. So I don't think he's in pain... I just wanted to know if it's serious enough to get him looked at.

Thanks!

Keep an eye on it for a few more days. You might even want to measure it to see how it changes. If it changes appreciably (other than going down significantly or disappearing) you need to see the vet. Sometimes dogs with large muscles get something called 'ganglion cysts' which need to be removed by a vet.

Yeah, I'll keep an eye on it. It seems to be going down, but I want to be sure.

I didn't know anything about this cyst thingy... thanks for the info.

Hi, DogCrazy. Don't panic. Big breeds like this always seem to have something popping up! I would always have my dogs cysts and bumps aspirated on their annual checkups to make sure there were no cancerous cells. It was usually just a fatty tumor that you need to keep you eye on. But one time, with my golden, one was an occlusional cyst. Kind of a freak of nature like called "twinning"... a genetic thing where cells just kind of go crazy and start to try and produce another dog! Sometimes they contain hair, teeth, bones, or eyes. His got kinda big then burst (internally) I freaked out and they aspirated and found that's what it was. And that it wasn't life threatening and the body would naturally dispose of it. Can you say EWWWWWWWWW! But it's not life threatening. And I'm not saying that's what you've got on your hands. Just don't freak out and get it aspirated... there's much more it could be than the bad stuff...

Thanks for that post, EliNHunter. Kharma's got a bump on the top of her head; her father had one, her aunt/half sister Buffy had one. I think I may ask the vet to aspirate it to find out what it is. It's a strange, gelatinous feeling thing, slightly domed with a ropey strand you can feel in the central area when you rub it between your fingers.

Is this aspiration thingy an in-and-out procedure? They don't need to knock him out or anything, do they? Also, does insurance cover these costs?

Hi DogCrazy... yes, it's a VERY simple procedure that they don't even need to numb it for. They just insert a very thin needle (much like when our babies get a regular shot) and draw out some cells. Then they can look at the cells under a microscope (usually immediately) to see if they have concern for cancerous-looking cells. I don't know about insurance, since I have none. But I know it doesn't cost too much, either. It's not like a surgery or anything like that. Let us know what you do!