My dog has a skin bump. Is it a tick, skin tag, or something serious?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | Akita | Male | 7 years and 5 months old | 60 lbs
Hi I have just discovered something on my dogs skin. Not to sure to as what is it. Possible a tick or skin tag. As this is what it looks like. If you could give me your opinion of be grateful
4 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on July 9th, 2017
Hi, I'm Dr. Johnson! Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It's great that you posted pictures because they can be very helpful. The only thing I can't tell from the picture is where the skin bump is located on Arny's body. If it is on his belly it could be an irregular nipple. Otherwise to me it doesn't appear to be a tick. Skin tags are more dangly. It looks like a dermal (on top of the skin) bump. There are many types of skin bumps that can affect dogs- a lot are harmless: skin tags, hair follicle cysts, sebaceous adenomas, etc. And some are more concerning. Sadly a lot of the time we can't tell from just looking at them. If it suddenly appeared or grows rapidly, having it aspirated by your Veterinarian can give you a better idea of what it might be. An aspirate is a quick procedure where your vet uses a needle and syringe to suck cells from the bump. Then slides are usually sent to the lab for a pathologist to look at. If it comes back concerning then it could be removed. I hope I could help! Have a great day!
6Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on July 5th, 2017
Hi there! This doesn't appear to be a tick but some sort of small cyst (from what I can tell in your picture). Your doctor will likely palpate (feel very delicately) on the area and perhaps take a sample to see what is inside. No emergency, generally speaking. I hope this helps!
12Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on April 6th, 2017
Hello, it doesn't sound like what you are describing is a tick. It sounds more like a cyst or mass with pigmentation on the skin. Just like any bump or lump, it should be checked to make sure it isn't something that needs to be removed. Good luck with Jack.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on September 19th, 2017
Hello and thank you for using Pet Coach! Unfortunately it is too difficult to determine what the small bump is with your photo and description. Bandit is a young dog so the good thing is that this is likely benign and nothing to be concerned about. It may be a cyst or benign inflammation from something puncturing that area. If you are at all concerned, I would have your veterinarian take a look at this as he / she can perform additional diagnostics to determine what it may be. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via phone or text based consultation.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
I have an Australian cattle dog / Pitt bull. I need to know if this is a tick or if this is just a skin tab... He wears flea and tick stuff always so if it is a tick i don't know where he got it. He's acting fine. When I tried 2 remove "tick" w tweez
My dog has a big bump that kinda looks like a tick,it started out kinda like a black head. What us it
Is this a tick? Its on the back of my jack russell chi cross. It doesn't seem to be bothering him. See the very bottom of the picture
My dog randomly had this on her face , we thought it was just food at first but it appears to be like a bible on her skin , should I be concerned ? Is this normal ??
My mixed breed rescue dog has a couple of small black zit things which resemble in appearance ticks. They are not ticks, I have made sure of this. They do not hurt him when i touch them.
I took my dog (pit bull) to the vet for several yellowish looking bumps. She said she had pit bulls and these was very common in that breed and they was skin tags. They would eventually go away. The one he has on his back has pushed thru his fur and
Hello I have a young dog and i noticed she has a small black hard bump under her right front leg. it has a small black hole on the outer corner which seems to be either how whatever it is got in there or how the body is releasing whatever is built up
I just found an irritated bump on my 8 year old Maltipoo. I noticed it about a month ago but I thought it was a skin tag as he has developed a few of those now that he is older. It looks worrisome and he is clearly irritated when I try to get a close
This was just found on my dog and I was wondering if you can tell what it is and should we take her to an animal hospital now? She frequently has ticks and fleas on her body but we remove them very early and I’m not sure if this is related.
My dog has this little bumps on his body, but it doesn’t bother him at all. He’s acting totally normal. Was wondering what this could be?
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
