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My dog has a large, fast-growing, draining tumor. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cocker Spaniel | Male | neutered | 12 years and 3 months old | 60 lbs

My dog has a tumor develop in less than 10 hrs in Feb. It then started to drain a night or two later (I'm a nurse and was in the middle of a 3 night shift stretch and couldn't get him to the vet). It drained and an open wound was the result. I dressed it everyday with medihoney and a wet to dry dressing. It healed. Got him to the vet finally, he said these are common and would probably happen again. Since then this has formed and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. What can I do??

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 20th, 2017

This looks like a very large tumor that has become necrotic and infected. When a tumor gets this large it starts to outgrow its blood supply and then portions of it die off and becomes necrotic. This tumor needs to be removed because it will not likely heal at this point. I would recommend taking Luigi to the vet as soon as possible to get him scheduled for surgery. Surgery at this age with such a bad infection does have some risks but I believe at this point the benefits of removing the tumor outweigh the risks of anesthesia. Good luck with your little guy.

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    Answered By Anna M., DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I suspect this is likely a completely different issue from the first mass, if your vet said the first one was a common issue. From your description, I suspect the first mass that resolved with cleaning & bandage changes was a sebaceous cyst, which is very common in cocker spaniels. This one, however, is quite the dramatic mass and is definitely NOT a common finding. You need to have this evaluated by a vet as soon as possible to discuss a biopsy diagnosis and the possibility of surgical removal. This is absolutely not going to resolve without surgical intervention and from the photo it appears to have areas of necrosis that are likely to get infected.

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