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My German Shepard as a lump that was noticed 4 months ago the vet out her on antibiotics and has me wrapping because she won’t stop licking it now tonight I noticed her picking at it to where it is bleeding a little. The vet said the last time which was a week ago that if it did not get better that we would have to do surgery which she is old so don’t know that is an option he said. It seems to be getting worse and don’t know what to do any suggestions

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When a mass is found that has been there for several months and is bleeding, surgical removal is often recommended.  Surgery not only removes the lump but also gives you the ability to confirm what the diagnosis is if you send it to a pathologist to find out if it is something that requires additional treatments

For more information about lumps and some general advice on what to do when a pet owner fines a lump on their dog, I recommend reading this article:

https://www.vetbabble.com/dogs/questions-dogs/lumps-and-bumps-when-to-worry/

The article has some gerneral advice, but as the lump is old, and bleeding, it makes it more worrisome.

Other things that is often done is to find out more information about what the lump is before surgery.  One method of doing this is by having what’s called a Fine Needle Aspirate (FNA) performed.  This is where some cells are drawn out with a needle then looked at under a microscope.  However, this procedure does not always give a diagnosis which is why many veterinarians and clients just opt to remove the lump without performing a fine needle aspirate.

There are also many lumps that are just cysts as well that tend to rupture and bleed a lot, and there is treatments that can be performed by them.  For more information about them, I recommend this article:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/cysts

However, without knowing for sure what the lump is, it is impossible to have a tailored therapy for your dog and it always recommended to follow the advice of your veterinarian that has already seen your dog.

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