Weird Skin Growth

[Veronica Z.]

So not too long ago we found a little pimple-like bump near the base of M.J.'s tail. I may be building it up in my head but it may have grown a bit since then (couple of months). It has a scab at the tip but I'm pretty sure that happened at the groomers or when one of us was scratching her. It is quite small but it still has me so so worried. It's kind of a tube shape and I just have no idea what to make of it. She has an appointment with the vet on Wednesday morning but that seems ages away. I'm considering taking her in to the emergency vet tomorrow or tonight just for my own peace of mind. Has anyone else seen something like this? Do dogs get skin tags? She's only 2 years old so that seems a bit young for her to be developing things like that.

I found an article on Dogster and it got me all sorts of freaked out. Skin Tags, Lipomas, and Other Lumps on Dogs

I've attached some photos. Hopefully someone has seen this before and can talk me down. TIA!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's hard to make it out clearly in the pictures, but nobody can tell you what it is from a picture on-line anyway. 

JD had a weird little growth near the base of his tail a few years back, too. The vet removed it under local anesthetic and had it biopsied just to be safe. It turned out to be some kind of mole, perfectly harmless, and he's never had another one.

Any kind of growth does need to be seen by the vet, but I really wouldn't worry. All of my dogs have had lumps and bumps of various kinds and none of them turned out to be anything serious. I hope the same for M.J. I don't think you need to go to the ER vet, Wednesday should be fine. Try to relax and stop trying to diagnose it via the internet, lol. 

[Veronica Z.]

Thanks Karen. You're totally right. Diagnosing via internet is the worst. I think I'm just being a crazy doodle mama and making myself worry more by looking this stuff up on the net. There are so many worst case scenarios on there! Hopefully the vet will have good news for us on Wednesday when we see him. Thanks again!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree with Karen. MJ is young and that works in her favor.

[Veronica Z.]

UPDATE: Vet is unconcerned and says it looks like a skin tag to her and nothing to be concerned about. Not unheard of in poodle breeds apparently. So that's a relief. She says we can have it removed when she goes in for dental cleaning as she will be under anesthesia anyway. Hooray! I am so relieved! I was starting to have worst case scenario nightmares about it (thanks a lot internet). ;)

Thanks for the replies!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Glad to hear this. :)