please help

[jamiegirl504]

i have a cocker spaniel that was given to me about 3 years ago, im not sure of her age however she went to the groomers 2 days ago and came home and i noticed a very red, hairless, hard bump well actually it just kinds of hang there under her ear and it looks bad, i called the groomers today and he said he did see it and put it in her file, he says that it is a cyst and when i asked him if i should take her to the vet he said no she should be ok, what do you guys think about this?? it just really looks bad to me, it dont seem to hurt her, but it's blood red and just hangs there like a ball, it's very hard... never seen this before!

[Margot49]

Totally understand.  Been there/done that.  Glad we are wiser now and hope others take some of these discussions seriously.

[Ghilly]

Margot, no, she did NOT do testing on her dogs, but being a teenager and my family knowing nothing about dogs at that point save for having had another Cocker for 10 years, we didn't even know that she SHOULD be doing it.  By the time we attempted to contact her to let her know that our dog had epilepsy, we never even got to talk to her.  Her husband answered the phone and told us that she had "retired" from the dog world and only had two older dogs that she was keeping as pets at this point.  And according to our vet at the time, epilepsy was so prevalent in the breed that we were pretty much guaranteed that any Cocker we had was going to have it.  What did we know?  We believed him.

I know a lot more now, after having gone through a couple of years of vet school (quite a long time ago, though), but still, my companions for the last 20+ years have been rescues, although always wearing a Collie suit of one color or another.  

Ghilly

[Margot49]

Good informative post.  Sorry you went through that with your Cocker.  They were a popular breed when I was a kid but over the years was hearing about issues with aggression.  Probably the supply and demand issues and indiscriminate breeding practices.
Sorry you had that experience with the well known breeder.  Did she do testing on her dogs? Dud you ever contact her?  I know, if any if my dogs showed up with problems, I wanted to know!!  Testing as much as many of us do, those genes can pop up then you need to research if it is your line or possibly the sire.  Been there/done that.   Nothing is guaranteed,despite our best efforts, but I would still pick a reputable breeder as my first choice.

[Ghilly]

Definitely have it checked out by your vet.  Your groomer should have mentioned it to you when you picked your dog up, even if it was just to say "were you aware that she has a cyst under her ear?".  I am a firm believer that nothing like that should ever go ignored, especially in a breed like the Cocker Spaniel that is fraught with genetic health problems.  Cockers are very prone to all sorts of skin issues and this could be an isolated incident or it could be the beginning of a lifetime of skin issues one right after another.  It happened to me with a Cocker that I had when I was a teenager.  I got her when I was 16 and had her 10 years, and the last 4 of those years were plagued by THE worst ear issues I've ever seen on a dog, epilepsy, and a host of other genetic problems.  Just speaking from my own person experience, please don't ignore ANY health problems with your little girl because she is behind the eight ball right from the start because of her breed.  I have had two of them in my life, the first was a pet store puppy that I was given by my grandfather when I was five, he lived 10 years.  He developed epilepsy when he was about 3 years of age but other than that, was basically healthy until cancer killed him at the age of 10.  The puppy that I mentioned above, that I got when I was 16, came from a breeder who was very well-known and respected in the breed, who showed her dogs and had some well-known dogs among dog people.  I THOUGHT that everything would be just jim-dandy with her because she came from such good blood, but we were outside going for a walk one day when she was two years old and she just dropped to the sidewalk and had her first epileptic seizure.  This was followed by 8 more years of epilepsy, horrifying skin issues after about her 6th year, eye problems (KCS or Dry Eye), and the worst ear problems that I have seen to date, despite having worked for almost 20 years in the animal health field.

The cyst is, in all likelihood, something very minor, but be sure to have your vet look at it and treat it so that you don't have to worry about her worrying it with her toenails when she scratches.  It also has the chance of becoming very painful for her, so my best advice would be to take care of it early so it doesn't become a major problem.  Please let us know what the vet says.  Good luck!  I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Cockers because of the two that I grew up with.  Despite their health issues they were extremely sweet and extremely smart and a real pleasure to live with!   :)

Ghyllie

[TattooGurl]

It's really super common for dogs to get cysts and stuff it's about as common as us getting a zit. Dogs have this amazing ability to grow a hard shell around anything it doesn't like. Going to a vet just for a small cysts is a waste of money but if your going for your yearly visit or getting shots you can talk to your Vet likely will just measure it and check back a year later. My friends black lab would get huge baseball sized cysts on his back and the vet drained it once made it worse so she never touched it again it eventually went away on it's own I would come back from time to time but it didn't seem to really bother the dog at all. If your really worried call the vet the techs will be able to advise you on what you should do maybe you can save a few bucks.

[Margot49]

Agree with Jerry.  Would be a good idea to get that checked and a Vet exam on the dog.  Surprised the groomer didn't mention it to you.

[Jerry_NJ]

I'd take the dog tot he vet.  If the dog has not had a general check-up this would be a good time to do that.  The diagnosis of the "cyst" would likely be covered under the general examination fee.  

We didn't bother in the past, but we now have our dog (a rescue Westie) in for a physical exam each year, he is estimated to now be 9 years old. He has had two lumps removed from his body, on his neck area, I don't recall the vet using the word Cyst, but that may be what they were.