I have a 3 year old female german shephard who has a "cyst" (per vet) behind her "armpit" for over a year. It's more up on her side than her breast area so I'm not really thinking breast cancer. I had it checked out by 2 different vets & was told it's no biggie - just a cyst that fills with fluid & I should just drain it. The vets drained it by applying pressure & had me follow up with warm compresses at home. Since then we've drained it at home, but it never goes "away". It just gets less filled and then starts the process of filling up again. It could get to be the size of a grape. The process of draining it obviously hurts, because she's protective of the area (nips; yelps) & knows what's coming if we approach that area. It's also drained itself naturally. What bothers me most is that it's in an area where she once had a tick & I can't help but wonder if that has something to do with it. I cannot say if the tick was taken out completely. I search on-line & found something called "Canine Hepatozoonosis" which is a cyst caused by a tick, but thankfully my dog doesn't have the symptoms associated with it. Her appetites good, clear eyes, lots of energy - just can't get rid of this cyst thing. And, the same area where the tick was is too much of a freaky coincidence to me. It concerns me so much. Now, my dog's got a second lump growing on her leg in the knee area. It started out small & is pretty big now (again feels filled with fluid). That one doesn't seem to bother her & I can touch it without causing her discomfort. We haven't tried to drain it & I don't know if pressure causes a lot of pain. It's gotten so big that it bulges through her hair. A third one is growing up by her shoulder now. I'm unaware of any ticks in the other areas, but can't help wondering . . .
I'd appreciate any info anyone could share with me. The research I did on-line suggests they're just sebaceous cysts, fatty cysts or skin tags - I guess the first was what the vets were talking about, but I want to be sure. If anyone knows of a really good place to have her checked out in Nassau County (Long Island, NY) can you please e-mail me at dstein5611@yahoo.com (I hope I'm allowed to ask for recommendations to be e-mailed directly to me & if not please accept my apologies). Sorry for such a long post and thank you.

To put your mind at ease you might ask your vet if he could send some of the fluid out to the lab for a cytology. That way you would have a better idea what kind of cyst your dog has.

Some dogs certainly seem more "lumpy" than others and probably someone on this forum may have an idea why that is.

Our vets do remove cysts and usually because they need frequent draining, because they have suddenly gotten much larger, or because the dog won't leave it alone. If it's painful for her I would at least talk to your vet about the possibility of removing it.

My GSD has the same problem when she was around the same age. It was a sebaceous cyst and eventually, it did require removal...The vets remove a large area around the cyst to be sure they get it all so the incision was quite large and took a long time to heal. The cyst was sent out to be sure it was not cancerous...

Now fast forward about 6 months and she has another one forming on her leg...I about died and this is what finally pushed me to put her on the Raw diet. Now, no joke on this one, that cyst started to dry up and fell off within about 3 weeks of changing diets. I sure wish this is something had done before the other cyst was removed.

I wish you lots of luck with your girl...

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

My GSD has the same problem when she was around the same age. It was a sebaceous cyst and eventually, it did require removal...The vets remove a large area around the cyst to be sure they get it all so the incision was quite large and took a long time to heal. The cyst was sent out to be sure it was not cancerous...

Now fast forward about 6 months and she has another one forming on her leg...I about died and this is what finally pushed me to put her on the Raw diet. Now, no joke on this one, that cyst started to dry up and fell off within about 3 weeks of changing diets. I sure wish this is something had done before the other cyst was removed.

I wish you lots of luck with your girl...

The idea of a better diet being related to cyst reduction might sound a little far out. However, there is science here. My understanding is that cysts are often pockets of toxins that are being expelled by the immune system.

To the canine digestive system, some of the ingredients in some commercial foods are toxic in large amounts (such as would result from daily feeding).

So, while cysts can derive from other sources of toxins than ingested ones, such as infectious organisms, and I'd want to rule them out, I'd then consider diet to be a simple and fast way to start approaching a recurring problem.

I agree with others that I'd ask about a biopsy cytology and also about removal, since it recurs.

I'm not a health professional, so this is only MHO.

Good luck!