My white Bull Terrier is old and has all sorts of fatty lumps on him. Recently, tho, a squishy red one has appeared inside his thigh and I’m dying to lance it.
Would that be terrible? Could I do some damage? I was going to put ice cubes on it and make a lightening fast swipe.
I’m so sick of vet fees, I’m their star client, and much as I love them, I need to stay away.
If it were me?
I’d get a scalpel, some hydrogen peroxide, a buddy ready to help with restraint, A Video Camera and a YouTube account and go to town.
I do hope you’ll post the link when it’s up.
Why not have the vet look at it? I’ve had a number of dogs get sebaceous cysts, and most of the time removal was recommended only if the dog needed a dental cleaning. Most of the time they suggest leaving them alone and watching them. However, I’ve been told that if a cyst bursts in its own antibiotics may be required due to a high potential for infection. I am crazy, but I’d let the vet take a look at it but I wouldn’t try to mess with it for fear of causing a significant infection.
Ha! 
That’s why I asked!
Want to avoid the vet. Usually we are do it yourself types, but now I don’t know…there is a point where we don’t want to be idiots.
Like my old cowboy friend who stuffs a cat into a cowboy boot to castrate it.
The fact that it’s a different color is what makes me say to leave it alone. sebaceous cysts are usually dark in appearance, while fatty tumors are usually the same color as the skin. Red or pink could mean a mast cell tumor and you go putting holes in that you’re going to cause a whole mess of problems.
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8139333]
Ha! That’s why I asked!
Want to avoid the vet. Usually we are do it yourself types, but now I don’t know…there is a point where we don’t want to be idiots.
Like my old cowboy friend who stuffs a cat into a cowboy boot to castrate it.[/QUOTE]
I know, but if it is actually just a cyst, then I would think, from my experience with cyst-y dogs, that it would only be an exam fee. If you lance, that stuff in dog cysts can cause a really bad cellulitis type infection which will be much more expensive vet visit than having it looked at and leaving it alone. If the vet does think it could be something more sinister, then you would want a vet to remove it with proper margins. I can’t see that any good would come of lancing it. If you really don’t want to go to the vet, then I would consider doing nothing other than watching it but not messing with it.
Now you have terrified me enough so I will leave it alone. I was thinking about cancer and having it start galloping…or a lot of blood. Thanks.
Vet. I would be very concerned it’s a different color than the lipid cysts/fatty tumors and would not want to risk checking it myself.
I have to say that grabbing a scalpel, hydrogen peroxide and someone to restrain sounds like a pretty horrible thing to do. Would you want someone doing half-assed surgery on you while you were awake because that’s what that is. Not only do you not know how vascular this thing is, whether it is a mast cell and could cause an anaphylactic reaction, but your dog would feel pain during the entire thing. This isn’t a pimple you want to pop, but an actual mass you want to cut into. These are definitely things best left to people who studied for years to learn how to do it properly, are licensed to do it and if you don’t want to pay for taking care of your dog properly, then don’t have one.
^^^ mvp is actually a very sane individual and her post was a kind of joke amongst COTH’ers on this board – there seems to be a weird fascination for anything ooey or gooey and squishy, especially if pus is involved.
Bully can wait for his next essential visit to the vet - I’m just about going steady with him. That’s why I asked…
He’s got horrible ski, itchy, yeasty and a constant problem.
Sockmonkey - I thought your last sentence to your post was entirely uncalled for - this whole board has members on it who cannot resist giving nasty pokes.
Holier than thou, much?
Nope. Just tired of people with pets complaining about vet fees. I hear all day long.
I’m not quite sure you can be both the vet’s star client & the DIYer who wants to stab a random lump on her dog. It could be an abscess, or it could be something more nefarious. My vet generally starts with a fine needle aspirate of the lump to get an idea of what’s going on before talking about treatment.
Arapaloosa - Don’t you get it - that’s why I came on this board to try and get advice from some mature people.
Sockmonkey - I am certainly not complaining about my vet’s fees…not at all.
He has been marvellous to us for over thirty years…
Sigh - some people…tiring.
I agree with the others that it might be more than you think.
My spayed bitch had a tiny mammary lump, and it felt so smooth and slippery and moveable that the vet and I joked about how it would take him 5 minutes to remove it, but it would take me more like 20. (It seemed so easy to just make a tiny incision and let it just fall out.)
But when he did the surgery, it actually had it’s own blood supply, which concerned him enough to do a full double mastectomy on her. The biopsy came back benign (can’t remember what it was…cystic something) but even he was surprised based on the feel.
If it does turn out to be a cyst, this might be helpful:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/08/16/sebaceous-cysts.aspx
Of course, it may be something else entirely, but this video refers to cellulitis with squeezing them, which is a risk that I was shocked to learn of (I’ve had a lot of dogs prone to cysts).
One of my dogs actually just had a suspected cyst on his leg that the vet took barely a look at last summer and said he suspected it was a cyst, but if it was still there if he needed a dental in the future he’d take it off. He mentioned the risk of cellulitis from messing with it, and having been through that with a horse I definitely paid attention. Over the winter, he started obsessively licking his leg and the cyst burst. That was able to be treated with regular cleaning of the area which fortunately avoided infection. I love watching things be squeezed as much as the next person, but because I’ve had dogs with cysts I’ve talked to several vets about them and all have mentioned infection - so I just wanted to pass that information along. It definitely was something I hadn’t thought of and something I do think of now. Hopefully it IS just a cyst, but there are still some risks with those, though much of that can be avoided by leaving them alone.
I’d just be cautious…if it’s a mast cell tumor “lancing” it could release enough histamines that could cause sudden death. It’s unlikely, but a good reason to wait for a vet visit 
I hate lancing things in humans, even though I am trained to do it. Usually, I have found some poor sucker, usually a family practice doc, who is willing to do it in exchange for my seeing a screaming baby.
First, it hurts when you lance something, so people often move and scream. Second, if it is an abscess but isn’t quite ripe or you don’t hit the right place, no pus comes out. Then, you have to stab the person again and hope you find the right spot on the second try. Even if you get the right place, you have to break up any loculations/areas of tissue that keep the entire abscess from draining by moving a sterile forceps around inside the abscess. Then, you have to decide if you put in a drain so it will keep draining any residual pus. In people it is good to culture the pus. That way, if the person runs a fever, or the cyst stays infected, you know the best antibiotic for the infection. A sterile surgical blade and good, clean, technique, are important parts of the procedure. Sometimes, the area is so painful that strong pain meds or sedation are needed before draining the abscess.
Sticking a knife into a possible cyst is not something I would do to my own dogs.
No, honestly - you guys have told me enough! It is reddish, and pointy with a little bit of white on the pointy tip…I’ll definitely ask when I’m down there.
For some reason, boils were common at my school and they were pretty gross…but on your advice, I will take heed and not do any home first aid.
That is why I asked, because there are always people who have knowledge of all sorts of stuff. Thanks.
[QUOTE=sockmonkey;8139731]
These are definitely things best left to people who studied for years to learn how to do it properly, are licensed to do it and if you don’t want to pay for taking care of your dog properly, then don’t have one.[/QUOTE]
As a matter of fact, I don’t own a dog and, I’ll point out, I was suggesting that someone else do this to her dog for my entertainment (among other things) and because she was contemplating that anyway.
I’ll leave you to figure out whether I’m joking or not and just how much of an a-hole I am.
Otherwise, OP: Yikes! The people who know about these things do point out all kinds of reasons not to do my “kitchen knife and brandy” procedure. I’d leave it alone, too, given their experience.
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