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My dog has a sudden hard lump on his leg. What should I do now?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

I have a small, Yorkie Chihuahua mix. I just noticed a largish lump on the upper side of his leg, on his hip I guess you could say. I love him very much and this worries me greatly. It feels like a thick, maybe dime sized hard lump under his skin. It doesn't feel like it is connected to muscle. It appeared very suddenly for I would have noticed it if it were there. I gave him a bath this morning and I don't think it was there then. What could this be?? What should I do???

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on December 14th, 2016

There are many things that could cause a firm lump like this under the skin. This could be a localized inflammatory reaction due to an insect bite or a recent vaccination (if he got shots recently), a local bacterial infection causing a knot, or a growth of some kind under the skin that may be either benign or malignant (cancerous). Since you just noticed the lump today, you could opt to monitor it for now as long as it doesn't seem to be bothering him. If it's still there in four weeks, or if it becomes sore or seems to be growing, then I would recommend having it checked by your vet. He/she can do a simple test called a fine needle aspirate to find out for sure what it is, and whether or not it needs to be removed.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I can understand being concerned! This lump could be a cyst, a benign tumor, or a malignant tumor. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. I would take her into the vet tomorrow to have the lump examined. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the lump is diagnose, the vet can determine if it is something that may need to be removed surgically.

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