# Foot Lump - Ah!



## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Though I have nothing to offer other than well wishes and concern for darling Millie, I offer those in abundance. I hope your regular vet gives you good news this week.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

So frustrating to go to an inadequate vet. You try to do the right thing and get her in immediately and learn zip. I am 100% positive you have been over this dog with a fine tooth comb (literally) and would have noticed anything of signifigance. It does not sound like she was biting her paw or limping ect. My guess is you have diagnosed this already and it is some doggy skin tag. Of course you will want the good vet to check things out especially since it was nicked but I would be surprised if this was anything of consequence. Even now swollen and red it looks minor.


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## 2719 (Feb 8, 2011)

Hi
This happened to Teddy's front paw this past summer. I was shaving his front foot and noticed this bump inbetween his toes. He hadn't been favouring it or licking it.

I tried to soak it in epsom salts but found he was not a good patient and kept removing his paw. So I resorted to soaking a face cloth in an epsom salt/water mixture and then putting the face cloth around his paw. I did this for a week and the bump went away.

Still don't know what it was...but I think he may have just knicked it in the tall grass in the field and it got infected...maybe this is what happened with Millie?


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## rikkia (Nov 5, 2011)

*Hibiscrub*

I hope Millie's toe problem can be identified and fixed up by her regular vet soon.

In the mean time I swear by Hibiscrub. I pour a half teaspoon into a pint of lukewarm water and use it as a rinse on Poppy when she has any cuts or scratches.

She recently had surgery on her ears and using Hibiscrub and lukewarm water I was amazed how quickly it healed up.


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## Lilah+Jasper (May 13, 2010)

Jasper has something that looks just like this right now on the side of his torso. My vet said that it was nothing to be concerned about - she said it was probably an ingrown hair, etc and that it will run its course in its own time. I asked about care and she said don't worry about it. I still have some concern but I am trying to follow her advice  We were there yesterday afternoon and today it looks the same in size, shape and color.

I hope Millie is OK...


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

I hope Millie is okay! It's so frustrating when the so-called experts scratch their heads and tell you they have no clue. (So...not...helpful.)

Hopefully it was just a bug bite or something benign and it will go away soon. Keep us posted on what your regular vet says.


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## Dogsinstyle (Sep 6, 2009)

Bacterial infections! 


INTERDIGITAL FURUNCLES (cysts)

Interdigital furuncles-cysts


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

Dogsinstyle said:


> Bacterial infections!
> 
> 
> INTERDIGITAL FURUNCLES (cysts)
> ...


And yet again, I've learned something new here. :adore: >> *Dogsinstyle*

Thanks to *Chocolate Millie* for sharing Millie's "injury," because with every ailment we discuss on here, it's one less mystery when someone else encounters it. 

(I'm still laughing that CM mentioned the "messy shave job." I'd have been stressing over the same thing!  )


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## jasperspoo (Feb 25, 2011)

Jasper has nearly the exact same thing a few months back, and man does your story ever sound like mine. We couldn't get in to see our vet and we were planning to be away for a week, leaving the next day. I took Jasper to a new vet just to get it looked at. BIG MISTAKE! Anyhow, I ended up leaving later for my vacation and getting in to my actual vet (who I love!) the next day and we got it sorted out.

Like others have been saying, what Jasper had was likely just an irritation at the beginning, and then he was licking at it a bit, and it likely got opened up a bit, and then at the park, he followed another dog into the duck pond, and it got infected (or at least that's the scenario that my vet thinks is most likely) but the long and the short of it was that he needed a course of antibiotics. He did take a sample for a culture as well, but he certainly didn't need to put Jasper under to do that!

I hope that Millie's is a similar thing and that she can get over it quickly!


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## zyrcona (Jan 9, 2011)

Poodles have an increased risk of toe cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) compared to the overall dog population, although from the position of this I would say it was unlikely and the cause Dogsinstyle suggested is more probable. I would suggest talking to a vet who has experience with toe cancer and waiting another week or so to see if there is any change before resorting to surgery if the vet agrees to this.

What I think is most likely is that she has an infected hair follicle or has kicked something sharp that has worked a splinter under the skin while she has been running about. Shaving the feet makes the skin there more sensitive (my dog will work out complicated routes so she doesn't step in nettles when her feet have been recently clipped) and can occasionally result in ingrown hairs and infections, especially where the skin folds over between the digits. It's possibly just something similar to the boils humans sometimes get in hair follicles when they shave underarm hair etc.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

zyrcona said:


> *Poodles have an increased risk of toe cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) compared to the overall dog population, although from the position of this I would say it was unlikely and the cause Dogsinstyle suggested is more probable.* I would suggest talking to a vet who has experience with toe cancer and waiting another week or so to see if there is any change before resorting to surgery if the vet agrees to this.
> 
> What I think is most likely is that she has an infected hair follicle or has kicked something sharp that has worked a splinter under the skin while she has been running about. Shaving the feet makes the skin there more sensitive (my dog will work out complicated routes so she doesn't step in nettles when her feet have been recently clipped) and can occasionally result in ingrown hairs and infections, especially where the skin folds over between the digits. It's possibly just something similar to the boils humans sometimes get in hair follicles when they shave underarm hair etc.


Zyrcona, I brought up that possibility to my vet, while also acknowledging that it is most common in black poodles and that Millie is so young so I knew it was unlikely, and he actually sternly told me to not make generalizations like that (toe cancer being a problem that poodles may be predisposed to) because it is very dangerous. This is actually the MAIN reason why this vet made me very angry.


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## zyrcona (Jan 9, 2011)

ChocolateMillie said:


> he actually sternly told me to not make generalizations like that (toe cancer being a problem that poodles may be predisposed to) because it is very dangerous. This is actually the MAIN reason why this vet made me very angry.


Some vets, veterinary staff, and people in medical and other patient-focused professions are so damn rude, it is harming those professions. The other day I took a sick wild animal to a vet that happened to be nearby, and the receptionist was rude and arrogant both on the phone and in person (they euthanised the animal). Some years ago I went to see a specialist about a medical problem I had, and he was obnoxious and patronising and wouldn't take into account my personal circumstances in terms of what treatments he would offer. I ended up not going to my next appointment and reading a load of research papers and working out something by myself.

Unfortunately, someone I know has had bad experiences with the medical profession in the past, and now will not go to a GP at all, and instead pays a very charismatic patient-focused person rather a lot of money for advice and treatments using homeopathy and other superstitions. These people need to stop behaving like ivory tower recluses and treat their customers with respect.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

It looks like an injury. Maybe something poked her while running through the fields. Cancer doesn't look like that. This looks soft and swollen.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Your vet sounds very condescending. When someone tries to act superior like that it always makes me feel that they are insecure in their knowledge.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

outwest said:


> It looks like an injury. Maybe something poked her while running through the fields. Cancer doesn't look like that. This looks soft and swollen.


It's hard to explain, but it did not look like an injury. The initial bump was about the size of a grain of rice and just looked like an extra bump of skin. It was not until I hit it with the clippers that it swelled up and turned red. Now, that type of a reaction is not typical of a clipper nick, so whatever that little bump was, it is very sensitive and reactive.


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## Lilah+Jasper (May 13, 2010)

Dogsinstyle said:


> Bacterial infections!
> 
> 
> INTERDIGITAL FURUNCLES (cysts)
> ...


Well, the "cyst" on Jasper's side went away. Now he has one just like Millie's between his toes on his right rear foot. He is being treated with a round of antibiotics.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Whatever it was on Millie went away! Hmm..


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## Lilah+Jasper (May 13, 2010)

ChocolateMillie said:


> Whatever it was on Millie went away! Hmm..


Well that is great news - I hope Jasper's does the same! The referenced article by Dogsinstyle is quite an eye opener.


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## Ms Stella (Aug 16, 2010)

zyrcona said:


> Some vets, veterinary staff, and people in medical and other patient-focused professions are so damn rude, it is harming those professions. The other day I took a sick wild animal to a vet that happened to be nearby, and the receptionist was rude and arrogant both on the phone and in person (they euthanised the animal). Some years ago I went to see a specialist about a medical problem I had, and he was obnoxious and patronising and wouldn't take into account my personal circumstances in terms of what treatments he would offer. I ended up not going to my next appointment and reading a load of research papers and working out something by myself.
> 
> Unfortunately, someone I know has had bad experiences with the medical profession in the past, and now will not go to a GP at all, and instead pays a very charismatic patient-focused person rather a lot of money for advice and treatments using homeopathy and other superstitions. These people need to stop behaving like ivory tower recluses and treat their customers with respect.


I have an excellent solution for human health care providers! See a Nurse Practitioner


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

if that's a bad shaving job, i'd hate for you all to see my puppers feet!


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## zyrcona (Jan 9, 2011)

CharismaticMillie said:


> It's hard to explain, but it did not look like an injury. The initial bump was about the size of a grain of rice and just looked like an extra bump of skin. It was not until I hit it with the clippers that it swelled up and turned red. Now, that type of a reaction is not typical of a clipper nick, so whatever that little bump was, it is very sensitive and reactive.


Perhaps it was a blood blister? It could be that the clippers squished it and ruptured a vessel without breaking the skin.


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