Open sore with black center.

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that Nessa is having problems.

It's always hard to talk about lumps or sores without being able to see the dog. I'll give you a few of my thoughts on what this could be.

It is possible that this is a tiny abscess with some type of foreign material in it such as a thorn or sliver. If so, she may need oral antibiotics prescribed by the vet in order for it to heal.

It's also possible that this is a cyst. Cysts are generally not a huge concern unless they rupture and get infected.

Does it look like the black dot in the middle is moving at all? It may be something called a cuterebra which is a parasite that looks like a grub and can live under the skin of an animal. If nothing is done, this will eventually come out and mature into a fly. However, this can take some time so usually I remove them. This is not something you would want to do at home by yourself because if you rupture the grub it will release toxins.

It does sound like it's a good idea to have your vet take a look at this lump. Until you can get there you can try applying a warm compress and soaking in epsom salts a few times per day.

I hope all is well!

Dr. Marie

---This question was asked in our Ask A Vet For Free section.---


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