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My dog has a red, hard bump on his chest. Clean it or see a vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Siberian Husky | Male | neutered | 7 years and 4 months old | 80 lbs

Hi my dog has a bump on his chest right behind his right leg. I was wondering what this could be? It looked like there was pus coming out of it on his hair, but besides that just looks like a red bump, that's hard. Do I need to take him to the vet, or should it just go away on its own? Should I clean it? And I'm not sure how long it's been there, maybe a week or two.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 9th, 2017

I am sorry to hear about Tonka! It is hard to evaluate the bump based on this photo, as it is a little blurry and there is no way for us to know the size of what we are looking at. If the red area is large/very raised, like the size of a nickel or raised more than 1/4 cm then I would be more suspicious that we have a small tumor of the skin (we can have both benign and malignant skin tumors). If the area is smaller and not bothering him, you can try washing with a mild soap and applying a topical antibiotic like neosporin 2-3 times a day. If the lesions isn't resolving by the end of the week or if it is more mass-like as I described earlier, then a vet exam would be recommended.

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    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 27th, 2020

    I don't think this is worrisome at this stage. It could be a cyst or it may be a benign mass like a histiocytoma. I would just watch it and if it does not go away on it's own in about 4 weeks or if it gets significantly larger in that time frame then she should see your vet. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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